When a band moves half way around the world to chase the dream of success it’s impossible to knock their determination.  When that band is of the undoubted quality of Agent then it’s pretty likely they’ll make their dream a reality.  Their superbly executed high energy, funk tinted metal and excellent song writing delivers every time.  You can take it from us, Agent really do have it all.  We knew the moment we heard them that Digitalgig would be saying hello really soon.  We think it’s time you got to know them too.

You moved to London from New Zealand. What’s the England experience been like so far?

James: We have been here for about 11 months now. The first 3 or 4 months were spent just setting ourselves up i.e. finding places to live, jobs to keep us ticking over whilst we were getting the band up and running, finding a studio that suited us, waiting for our gear from NZ to arrive etc. We also had to find a new drummer as our old drummer decided to stay on in New Zealand - that took a while! Also any money we did have was divided by 3 due to the exchange rate. It was tough going at the start and we certainly had a few moments of "did we do the right thing?" - but now we are more settled we are really loving it! There are bands and venues aplenty and a lot more opportunities than back home - we are definitely here to stay :)

What’s the scene like in New Zealand ?

James: In a nutshell the scene in NZ is just like anywhere really except on a much smaller scale. I love NZ music and there are some really good bands but in a country of 4.5 million people there really isn't the population base to sustain a career in the genre we play - which is why we moved. A select few artists manage to do it but I don't know many.

Is it an easy place to play?

James: Mostly Yes. NZers generally have quite a laid back approach to life so dealing with venues and promoters is pretty sweet. The scene is so small people can't really screw each other over or else everyone else finds out (that doesn't mean to say that doesn't happen by the way.) so it just kind of works. Organising tours and promotion is relatively easy and people are willing to help out. Getting the bigger support slots is slightly harder though as it’s more of a "who you know" situation - but where doesn't that happen?

What’s the music industry like over there?

James: Very small. There are a select few top dogs and heaps of guys struggling to make a buck below them. Most of the people are honest but we have had the misfortune of meeting some real idiots who still owe us money to this day. The industry is similar to most places as it has been dramatically affected by the digital age and internet.

Do you think that acts from New Zealand and Australia are overlooked internationally and have to move to places like the UK and the USA to get noticed?

James: Absolutely. The opportunities are far greater in the US and UK and you have to be where the action is or you get overlooked. The Internet has helped a bit but you have to get out there and do it and for us it was the UK.

How does playing live in the UK and London in particular differ from New Zealand ?

James: It's very similar in most respects however one thing I really do like about the UK that NZ doesn't have is that at most shows they split any door takings based upon the amount of people that you get through the door - which encourages bands to promote the gig more and be more competitive - which means better bands, more people, more fun shows!

You got a new drummer since moving here. Was the choice of an antipodean intentional?

James: Not really, we auditioned people from all nationalities but at the end of the day it just so happened that the guy that fit the bill was a bloke named Tim from Melbourne.

Do you have any plans to hit the rest of the UK with the Agent sound?

James: Yes we want to grab the UK and slap it about the face with the Agent sound - after a few more London shows we plan to start hitting the rest of the country.

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