Q: When we last spoke just over a year ago, during New Zealand Music Month 2007, your sophomore album, Second Hand Planet, had only recently been released.
A year on, the album has been in the charts for 56 weeks, gone double platinum and singles Maybe and One Day have also enjoyed significant chart success.
All this suggests a rather large growth spurt in the lifecycle of Opshop.
Have there been any growing pains? Have band members had to make some tough decisions regarding their day jobs and commitment to the band?
A: There have. It's the old economy of scale situation: the bigger you get, the more you have to put into it.
I've certainly loved having a broadcasting career and it is probably something I'll go back to.
But with what has happened to Opshop in the past year and the connections we've made with people, the public in general, it has got to a point where we've had to choose whether this is us for the long haul.
Q: Is everyone now working solely for the band? A: We're all bums these days - professional bums.
The reality is, we don't know how long this is going to last.
We'll reassess every now and then. But for now it makes sense to be on the same page . . . we might as well make the most of the opportunity while it presents itself.
Q: Given that you are now "professional bums", are there any firm plans to head overseas on any extended working holiday, or perhaps even relocate?
A: I don't think we'll ever relocate . . . the fact of the matter is, last Monday night I was leaving to go to the UK, arrived in the UK on Tuesday morning, played a gig on Wednesday night, jumped on a plane on Thursday night and was back on Saturday morning in New Zealand.
Q: So is it more a case of being willing to put in those hours?
A: Yeah, I think you want to take your music or art to as many folk as you can and there is a certain investment in that as well.
It's just a matter of making sure those opportunities have some sort of viability to them.
Being from the Antipodes and trying to break markets around the rest of the world . . . it's an expensive proposition.
Q: Are there mechanisms in place to market your music overseas.
Is Australia a target?
A: We haven't done a huge amount in Australia.
We've had a bit of airplay here and there.
I don't think we initially wanted to do what a lot of New Zealand bands do, which is, you know, take the Australian route, build a base and head over.
We thought why don't we just go to a major destination, a major hub and put in the investment in time and resources in a places like Los Angeles and the UK.
Q: The profile of your band has certainly grown in the past year, but do you think your own songwriting has also grown?
A: I've experimented with different types of mediums to make music . . . what I'm finding is the studio is the writing tool these days.
It used to be, for me, a guitar, a pick, a piece of paper and a cassette recorder.
Then you'd take it to the boys in the band-room, they'd deconstruct it, accessorise it and you'd end up with a song.
These days I'm turning up with more complete songs I guess.
That's not to say we won't rip them to pieces and throw them into the Opshop machine which, of course, we will.
But we'll find out over the next 18 dates or so just how they turn out.
Q: Can you recall any strange or wonderful moments in the past year?
A: There have been so many highlights.
It has been an extraordinary year for us. We've been riding a fantastic little crest and may the surfing continue.
I'd have to say the [recent] Greymouth gig was right up there.
The train trip across . . . I haven't done that in a good decade or so.
That part of the country is so gorgeous. The Greymouth thing was pretty cool.
We got a powhiri when we came across in the train and that was pretty amazing.
But it was like being in the Wiggles when we played that night.
It was crazy. The kids were just going off, making up dance moves to Opshop songs.
It was a little bit weird. I don't know where the choreography came from but they seemed to have it all down.
There is that cherry-on-the-top stuff in that you have a job that can take you around the world.
We played in Dubai last year; that was pretty amazing.
We played at the House of Blues (Los Angeles) this year - to a pretty full-on room.
I won't go into how many big chiefs were in the room but, just to illustrate, there was a guy who turned down the Police and signed Madonna.
Opshop plays at the Queenstown Winterfest Big Night Out on Saturday, July 5.
Other acts on the bill include the Checks and Evermore.
