Lucy Suttor (Dick Move)

Where are you from? 

Tairāwhiti - Gisborne

Was there music around you when you grew up? How?

Yes, all the time. More often than not, it would be my Dad blasting the likes of Dire Straits, Herbs, or Leonard Cohen through the stereo. Growing up with an older brother also meant I was quite often trying to prove how cool I was by sitting with him and his friends while they listened to California punk rock and watched surfing videos.

When did you start making music? How has the music you make changed over time?

I played guitar throughout my school years, joining various school 'rock bands' at intermediate. We would play Tom Petty covers at the local Irish pub from time to time. High school was where I formed my first band for Smokefreerockquest; we named ourselves 'Pain Repaid'. When we started writing music, we quickly realized the Lily Allen-esque songs we were writing didn't really lend themselves to such a hardcore band name, so we changed it to 'Delusion'. That name change is very funny in hindsight, however, at the time, we just thought it was a cool word. After High School, I went to Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, and my musical ventures took a back seat for a while. It wasn't until the formation of Dick Move that I got back into making music, only this time I put down the guitar and picked up the microphone. Having never really been a 'singer', this was daunting, but I think my experience with performance through acting helped with the confidence, especially as we make punk music, which is all about expressing ideas and rallying the audience.

You participated in Smokefreerockquest... How was that experience for you? Do you have any advice for this year's participants, or young musicians in general?

I loved Smokefreerockquest. At the time, being a kid playing music in Gisborne, there weren't many opportunities to take the music outside of the school assembly hall, so this felt like the big time. It sounds very cliché to say "just have fun!" but I do mean it. If the feeling of being on stage performing excites you, keep pursuing it! It's also a great opportunity to expose yourself to different genres of music and also to be inspired by your peers.

You have played on some major stages and had some great media coverage of projects you've been involved in... Is there any part of your musical journey that stands out as particularly special/a favourite moment?

Earlier this year, we joined Foo Fighters on their tour of NZ. That was definitely an incredible experience and an honour to represent Kiwi music on the big boy stage. I had to pinch myself quite often, reminding myself that little Lucy following her big brother around listening to/being inspired by rock/punk rock could never have dreamed this is what she'd be doing 20ish years later.

When you're writing, what do you start with? What is your process from beginning to end?

Dick Move is a highly collaborative band. Lyrically, it usually starts with an idea that stems from social/political happenings at the time, then either Justin will whip together a melody, or I will come with some scribbled-down lyrics, and we will smash out the individual parts at band practice. We practice a lot, usually once a week. If we have a show coming up, we will play the set over and over to ensure it's tight as hell, or if we are in our 'writing weeks' (which we are currently in), we will focus solely on nutting out new material.

How do you choose what songs to release?

It usually just comes down to the songs that are the most fun, or the ones that have the least profanities to allow radio play. Haha. What are two things you have learned along your journey, that you would tell yourself if you could go back in time?

Ideas don't have to be fully perfected before you share them (I'm still trying hard to work on this all the time), and that the audience can be your best friend if you allow yourself to have fun with them.

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