Peter Balkus: I love your song “Going Places”. Can you tell us more what that song is about?
Itamar Starets: It’s about a relationship in which the girl has commitment issues. She can’t make up her mind on what she wants to do and the guy is tired of it all. It’s partly based on thigs I’ve been through.
– But watching the video, it looks like it’s the men in the video who have “commitment issues” and treat the lady as shit…
Firstly, the video doesn’t have to reflect the lyrics one by one. The last character (me) was actually nice to her. And she did date 4 guys who are friends, which isn’t very nice either. But anyway, the lyrics talk about a guy and a girl and they focus on the girl’s commitment issues.
– When and how has it all started as a band?
It started more than a year ago, when I found Kristian (our lead guitarist) on Gumtree. Kristian knew Dimitris (drummer) from a previous project and he was just looking for a new band. Then Sam the bass player and Dimitris came on the same place to my day and the band was formed.
– I hate this question but have to ask: Name of the band. Secret Cameras….
Basically, it’s almost impossible to find band names that haven’t been used. You think you got this great name and then you look it up and damn it, it’s already taken. Kristian, our guitarist, is good with names but every time he would find something, it was taken… We were sitting in my home studio discussing this, and he gave a few ideas until he said Secret Cameras. We looked it up and it wasn’t taken. That’s about it.
Secret Cameras are based in London. Do you like this city?
Yes, of course. Why would I be here if I didn’t like it? It took some adjusting though. The weather, new culture and having no money were issues at the beginning but it definitely grew on me and things are much better now.
– There are many new bands out there. What motivates you to keep going and play in the band?
Music is my passion and it’s all I wanted to do since I was about 14 so that keeps me going. I really enjoy the process of writing a song and then starting to arrange it, mess about with different sounds, effects and such. I can do this for hours and hours, the whole process fascinates me and when it’s starting to take shape, it’s magic. Being in a band is fun because you have other people around you to share the whole experience with. The music industry is incredibly tough, yes, but I like the challenge.
– What kind of audience your music is for?
I suppose people in their 20s-50s, who like something a bit alternative but with a commercial appeal. This is just a guess though.
– You said that music is your passion. What kind of music inspires you?
Lately I’m becoming more and more intrigued by all sorts of combinations of electronics and guitars. I find a different blend of sounds really interesting.
– Do you get annoyed that your music is not being played on the national radio?
Well, firstly, Going Places was played by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music a couple of times and by Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 2 so we are getting a bit of national airplay. However, when you are an unsigned band that’s just started out, you should know that the amount of national plays you get will be very limited because it’s mainly specialist shows who play unsigned artists and those shows are usually at off peak hours. So I try not to get annoyed so that’s just the way it works.
– Congrats. Do you have any gigs lined up for 2017?
So far, we have our EP launch gig on March 17th at 229 The Venue Click here for Info, and Camden Rocks Festival on June 3rd. More gigs/festivals to be announced soon.
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