Shameless Plug is a series where we turn things over to creatives. In exchange for plugging their project, they have to spill their guilty pleasure, biggest inspiration, personal motto and a few other secrets. Today, Mainard Larkin shares his favourite venue, and the reception to his early work The Giant Carrot.
Mainard Larkin, the musician formerly known as Randa, released his first new song in four years in February. Two more singles followed, with an album due on the 22 May. The new music, released under Larkin’s own name and Lil Chief Records, marks a sonic shift. Gone is the rapping and electronic beats. Instead we have alt-country folk, heavy with guitar and heartfelt vocals. It’s a big change after a decade
Despite the shift, the music and its world (brought to life in music videos), contains much of the distinctive presence Mainard has been known for since he was a teenager – clever and cute lyricism, playfulness, nostalgic aesthetics, and pop-culture references mixed with introspection.
Here is Mainard's Shameless Plug.
My favourite arts space is The Hollywood Avondale, I’ve been to some really sick gigs here… Ty Segall, Lucy Dacus, FILTH AKL. It’s my favourite spot to watch films, some of my favourite experiences include screenings of Boogie Nights, Licorice Pizza, the documentary Streetwise, Mikey and Nicky, Do the Right Thing, Steven Spielberg’s debut theatrical feature The Sugarland Express and just recently I caught NZ film The Weed Eaters which was great.
My favorite podcast is Trash Tuesday Podcast with Esther Povitsky and Khalyla Kuhn, described as “a safe place for the unhinged and mentally ill”. I appreciate the honest takes and shares on this one, the hosts and guests are comedians so it’s crack up but also very human and offers that ‘parasocial hanging out with a group of friends’ type feeling. My day job consists of a lot of data mapping so it’s fun to put on during the work day. My latest favourite is The FatFish Podcast hosted by Jaime Garcia and friends. Jaime is a super funny guy and he often has fellow comedian Kat Bird co-hosting who is also funny as hell.
My closest collaborator is my friend Shannon Fowler aka. Tom Lark! Shannon co-wrote and produced my upcoming debut LP Rattlesnake Boy. Shannon is wild talented, a real mastermind when it comes to music, the production side, and knowing how to craft a perfect track. His latest album Moonlight Hotel was released last year and is an absolute home run.
The one Aotearoa arts event I never miss is the NZ International Comedy Festival. I mostly go to see friends perform, and friends of friends. So much talent. It feels so good to crack up, to laugh and cackle. There’s this video reel going around, of the kid who plays Lizzie McGuire’s little brother saying in an interview “I think I’m looking forward to cracking up… I hope I can, like, totally crack up, I haven’t totally cracked up in a long time.” That’s how I feel every year leading up to this festival.
The moment I knew I wanted to be an artist was in Year 3 when I wrote a story called The Giant Carrot, which got a great reception from my classmates. I followed up with a sequel The Giant Potato… which was not as well received. I liked the feeling of creating something, a story which hadn’t existed until that present moment, and then experiencing the responses from my peers. It also taught me sometimes it’s best to take a risk rather than milk a successful creation to sell as a sequel. Hahah.
The best thing about being in the arts is connecting with other artists of similar and different mediums, making friends and meeting people who have similar worldviews and goals. Some of my favourite artists are also my close friends and I get to see them grow and succeed. Even just appreciating my pals' endlessly unique interests is a blast.
An artwork everyone should experience at least once in their life is a solar eclipse of the sun, in 100% totality. An artwork presented to Earth by the universe. In 2017, I got to travel with some friends in an RV from Nevada to a small town in Idaho to catch this spectacle. We all had these little fold out sunglasses you’re supposed to wear to protect your eyes during the eclipse. I couldn’t help but take a peek without them, it appeared like a great alien eyeball in the sky… so out of this world. I wish that everyone could see this.
My all time favourite artwork is Salvation Mountain by Leonard Knight, a famous folk art site/ hillside visionary environment in the California desert. It’s comprised of adobe brick, straw, discarded materials and features murals made from thousands of gallons of paint. It’s a large-scale gospel inspired creation with the intention of expressing unconditional love to humankind.
My favourite TV shows are How To with John Wilson, The Rehearsal, Hacks, Malcolm in the Middle, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. It’s so hard to choose one, I guess here is a list of favourites from my lifetime.
My shameless plug is my debut album ‘Rattlesnake Boy’ will be released via Lil Chief Records on 22 May. It’s an alt-country concept album loosely based on the life of a fictional professional wrestler during the 1990s. This project has allowed for much fruitful creative collaboration from writing songs with Shannon, to the album art illustrated by artist Imogen Temm, and the various music videos which so many people helped to create – here's the latest!
