Hello magical friends, and especially my newest patron Lillian, without whom I couldn’t do these interviews. I’m your hostwitch Bess and I’m incredibly excited for this one, magical friends. It’s RiddleTM!
Before that, however, here’s some awesome music.
First up is Les Kids des Etoiles and “Dernière année à Poudlard.”
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That was Les Kids des Etoiles and “Dernière année à Poudlard” [lyrics], “Oh Luna” from The Chocolate Frogs, and “T is for Trouble” by Tonks and the Aurors.
And now, here’s my chat with Georgia of RiddleTM.
I am so excited today to be talking with Georgia from the RiddleTM. Welcome to the show!
Georgia: Yay! Hi. <Laugh>.
For me, RiddleTM is one of like my foundational nerd music bands.
Georgia: Oh wow.
Uh, “Rubber Duck,” uh, “For Jo,” although that’s more complicated these days. But for listeners who might not know about you, can you tell us a little about your history with wizard rock?
Georgia: Yeah. Um, we were like one of the first bands in the UK to do wizard rock I think. Yeah, basically I had a friend who was into wizard rock and she was like, “Hey, have you ever heard of the Remus Lupins?” And I was like, “No, I haven’t heard of them.” But then I went and listened to them and immediately I was just like completely blown away by how great it was. And I was writing songs already at that time. I was like in a band at school and stuff and played gigs at school. And then I just wrote songs about Harry Potter ’cause I absolutely loved it. And um, it was really good to kind of be the first in the UK. I think I just really enjoyed that <laugh> sort of, I thought it’d be more, um, there’d be more people in the UK doing it.
So how did it go from learning about wizard rock to becoming a band, writing the music, eventually even performing? What was that trajectory? How did you convince Victoria?
Georgia: I didn’t really have to convince her very much ’cause we were both really into the books and yeah, like I said, we were already writing songs at that time and yeah, we just kind of took what we already knew and started writing songs for Harry Potter and I think I found it a lot more natural, kind of, and and fun to write songs about Harry Potter ’cause it kind of gave me more of a focus and like I was able to put all of my love and energy into it, um, in a way I hadn’t before.
That is a, a thing I really love about wizard rock. You can… It’s freeing.
Georgia: Mm.
To not speak directly about yourself, your experiences, but sort of a little bit of a distance through this lens.
Georgia: Yeah.
How did the band name happen?
Georgia: So I was like one of those people who really liked kind of leetspeak and like, you know, I, I like kind of typographical stuff so I was like, “I like the name Riddle for the band” but I didn’t think it was quite Harry Potterish enough. So I was like, “well I might as well like put a little TM” and I thought I was clever <laugh> basically. And I did it RiddleTM because I like being Slytherin <laugh> but growing up I realized that I’m actually way more Hufflepuff than Slytherin.
Were there other band names that you all considered? Was there a lot of debate?
Georgia: Um, not really, I don’t think. ’cause Vic wasn’t really involved at that point. Um, and I mostly just came up with it on my own <laugh>.
I realized after I sent the questions that I think you were also one of my favorite time lord rock bands.
Georgia: Yes
You all were, was it Turn Left?
Georgia: Yes. Yeah, Turn Left. Yeah, I am. I’m really proud of my time lord rock stuff. They’re some of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written.
Did that happen the same way?
Georgia: Yeah, I suppose it did. Yeah. Yeah. I was super into Doctor Who um, and I immediately wanted to write songs for it. <laugh>
And you all were on the Trock On album.
Georgia: Mm.
How did you all learn about that? How did that community occur?
Georgia: Uh, I think Alex Day contacted me about it and he was like, you know, really enthusiastic and wanted to create this album and that was really exciting ’cause I’d never really done anything with them before. Yeah it was good. I felt like it was much more sort of professional in a way ’cause I think they were already signed and stuff like that and it was quite organized. But um, no it was really, really good to be a part of that
‘Quite professional’ and ‘organized’ are not words I ever hear associated with wizard rock.
Georgia: Yeah <laugh>.
So I imagine that was very different <laugh>.
Georgia: Yeah, I think, yeah <laugh> they were already really big.
Is there any other music my listeners should be looking out for that we’re not aware of besides Turn Left and RiddleTM?
Georgia: Uh, not really. I do have some like muggle music but I’ve never really put it out on the internet before. Um, I should probably try and do that at some point.
I agree! So when I knew I was interviewing you–’cause this was like a really big deal for me and I wanted to make sure I did it right–I asked my friend who runs Your Wizard Rock Resource what questions I should have and she had a whole list
Georgia: <laugh>
A lot of them were mine so not everything was an overlap but she wanted to know are there any other songs that you wrote back in the day and didn’t record or didn’t release for some reason that you think might be fun to hear about?
Georgia: There’s always like bits of songs that I write, like there’ll be like a melody that I’m like oh that’s really awesome. Um, but then it never quite makes it into a whole song. So there’s still things that I’ve got like rattling around in my head that I’m like, “that should really be a song” but it’s not <laugh>
That makes me optimistic for future questions in this interview.
Georgia: <laugh>
And I guess the last one from Susannah that I’ll cover is, do you have any hard copies of your albums and can anyone who might be interested buy one?
Georgia: Uh, yes I do have hard copies. I think I still have a BigCartel website that has them on it.
All right.
Georgia: But I might have to update it.
Well for sure we’ll make sure that we have that link by the time this goes out.
Georgia: Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah.
Because that is some exciting news.
Georgia: <laugh> and I was thinking of making a BandCamp as well that
Yes, 1000%.
Georgia: Yeah.
BandCamp is my all-time favorite. Please do that immediately.
Georgia: <laugh>
My patrons wanted to know, how would you describe RiddleTM and you know, Turn Left’s sound because a lot of us are familiar with like, you know, the the punk band, person with guitar singer-songwriter, but RiddleTM is a little bit different.
Georgia: Yeah, I think the main thing is that we evolved quite a bit from the first album, which was very acoustic to the third album, which was much more produced ’cause I was getting more into production. It kind of, you know, changed a lot over time but mostly I think I’d call ourselves like singer-songwriters, pop sort of sound. And I was listening to like a lot of Keane and Biffy Clyro and stuff and I think you can hear that in some of the songs. And yeah I think I’ve always kind of been more influenced by like folk for my wizard rock stuff ’cause I love that way it tells stories and like… I think with “The Sorting Hat,” like I wrote that with like a lot of folk in mind. Um, ’cause I wanted it to kind of tell the story of like these old characters that are kind of quite mystical and like, you know, like a fairytale kind of thing. And yeah, so folk music definitely is a big influence for me.
I like that description ‘like a fairytale.’ ’cause I think that is the feeling I get with a lot of RiddleTM music.
Georgia: Yeah and I think, I think as well like I kind of like to make people cry. I think I always listen to like old wizard rock and like a lot of the songs are quite fun and like jokey and happy and I’m like not like that at all.
That’s something that you and another of my favorite wizard rockers How Airplanes Fly Had in common.
Georgia: Yeah, for sure.
It’s interesting that there was some similarities there between liking you know, the the more emotional and also being a songwriting machine as you said.
Georgia: <laugh>.
You mentioned being surprised that there weren’t more UK based wizard rockers. What was it like being both in the birthplace of Harry Potter but very much not in the center of wizard rock?
Georgia: I think like the wizard rock scene when I was in it in the UK was amazing. Like there’s not very many of us but we are super enthusiastic and I loved that. And like a lot of the events were put on by the fans rather than us bands kind of pushing for it. Yeah it was amazing to like go to the Yule Ball in Edinburgh and you could like walk around and see like, you know, where she wrote the books and stuff and like it was really nice to be in that place. But at the same time, I think… Partly like now I think that there’s so much kind of official Harry Potter stuff that it kind of makes it hard to carve out a fandom kind of community in England. And yeah, I don’t know, it is sort of a bit disappointing I think sometimes especially ’cause like I think there’s still kind of a lot of um, like confusion about fandom in in the UK. I don’t think it’s very popular in that way. Granted I haven’t been to the US that much aside from going to conventions so it’s like, might be a bit biased <laugh>
What do you mean there’s some confusion about fandom?
Georgia: I just think that people don’t really know like what fandom is, in here. Like you know, you phone up somebody and like say like “I want to host a Harry Potter thing” and they’re like, look at you like you’re crazy <laugh>. You know. It, I think it’s quite embarrassing sometimes for people like… I don’t know, it is just not quite as enthusiastic as the US
That’s really interesting that the fandom subculture has become such a thing in America with the Marvel movies and anime being much more commonly popular than they were. But that hasn’t seen the same effect elsewhere.
Georgia: Yeah, I think ’cause a lot of it is driven by teenagers here. Like you can go to the-London and there’s like a lot of anime conventions and stuff like that, but it’s predominantly teenagers and adults. I think there’s a sense that you should grow out of it and stuff like that, which is annoying <laugh>.
Oops! <Laugh>
Georgia: <laugh> Absolutely.
So you mentioned uh, an Edinburgh Yule Ball. Are there other cool events or experiences, uh, that you can talk about?
Georgia: Um, yeah, I think the first show we ever did was the in Birmingham library. And I just remember the environment of that was just like the atmosphere in there was so amazing ’cause I’d never been to anything in real life before I’d, I’d never done a show and so I was like, “oh no one’s gonna ever turn up. It’s just gonna be like, you know, me playing to myself.” Um, and it was packed. Like the library was completely full and there was so many like families and it was just such a warm and comforting environment and I was so nervous and I was like, I’m never, you know, like, “oh what if they don’t like me?” And then it was just like everyone was so friendly and amazing. I really love that.
So I’m curious ’cause I don’t have a good grasp on your band makeup. It doesn’t sound like it was 50-50 you and Victoria working together. Did you just like drag her in when you needed her for something?
Georgia: Oh no. So <laugh> generally she sings the songs and I write them and record them and stuff. But yeah, she’s just as big a part of it as me and in my opinion because I love her voice and I think she’s just really great and she’s such good moral support as well all the time. <laugh>.
Okay, so Victoria’s the voice and And you play what all instruments?
Georgia: I play the piano, guitar, and bass.
Cool.
Georgia: Yeah. <laugh>.
Do you still have a collection? That’s–
Georgia: Yes. Yeah. <laugh>,
That’s a thing I’ve learned. Uh, musicians do not just have one instrument. There are,
Georgia: Oh no, definitely not.
A range of choices.
Georgia: Yeah. <laugh>. Yeah.
How did you make the jump from recording the music to doing a live performance? Were you invited? Was it something you booked?
Georgia: Uh, I was invited I think. I think so. I don’t think I would’ve, yeah ’cause I was always <laugh>. I was nervous all the time so I was, yeah I definitely did, we did um, organize one in Oxford, but I think that was quite far into when we started performing and the first time we were invited to Birmingham and it was amazing. Yeah, we just took our keyboard there and um, performed. But I think with the later songs it’s harder to translate them to live performances. Yeah. I don’t work as well with backing tracks and stuff <laugh>, so yeah, I like to play everything live.
Our next block of music has arrived, bringing with it Lena Gabrielle and “The Dan Song.”
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You just heard “The Dan Song” from Lena Gabrielle, “Bombarda” by Totally Knuts [lyrics], and Seven Potters with “Dudley” [lyrics].
Here’s a bit more of my conversation with Georgia of RiddleTM.
What is the most fun that you had doing wizard rock? It sounds like there’s been so much that went into it and came from it.
Georgia: Uh, I think probably writing songs is really good. That’s always a fun part of it. Um, but I think Terminus in Chicago was just like life changing. It was amazing. And like I went to the um, 2458 room, the party there. That was amazing. Like seeing the amount of Harry Potter fans and kind of being recognized in corridors was very strange <laugh>. And there was one time when we went to watch Ministry of Magic playing like an acoustic set and we were just gonna go as like audience members and then like they were like, “oh hey it’s RiddleTM, do you wanna come and play a song?” <Laugh> That was absolutely surreal. I just loved that so much. Yeah, that was, that was amazing.
Uh, I don’t know anything about Terminus. Was that like a fan led convention? Was it–
Georgia: All? Yeah, that was um, before LeakyCon. I think it was like one of the old conventions. It was in two thousand and…eight? 2008 I think. Yeah. And we were invited to that and they like paid for our accommodation and stuff, so yeah, that was amazing. And I remember being like scared ’cause I was like, “Mum, I, I wanna go to the US and go to this thing” and ’cause we’d been invited there and I was like, “oh, she’s never gonna say yes.” But she was like really supportive so that was nice. <laugh>.
So you were still very young then?
Georgia: Um, yeah, we were 17.
Wow. And the Welcome to Room 2458 is one of the first albums I ever had, but I know nothing about its history. How did that- was- you said it was a party?
Georgia: Yeah, yeah, it was like, um, I think it was just gonna be a party with like a few bands performing but it turned into like a whole wizard rock show and it was like, so kind of anyone could play anything and it was like such a great environment and yeah, absolutely amazing. Like just everyone like gathered on the floor and like the room was so packed it just, you couldn’t move for people. Like everyone was like walking over each other and stuff. <laugh>, it was amazing.
This was just someone’s hotel room?
Georgia: Yeah, it was just someone’s, someone’s room in the hotel.
And they just decided to record what was going on?
Georgia: I don’t think they recorded, I think the, the album itself is just songs that were played at the party.
Oh okay. That’s so fun.
Georgia: It was super fun. <laugh>.
So did you come to US conventions a lot?
Georgia: Um, yeah we did like Terminus, I think two or three LeakyCons and two or three Wrockstocks as well. Yeah, they’re, it is amazing. It’s just the best. I loved it. I loved Wrockstock. Like yeah I still remember the bacon at Wrockstock. It was so good! <laugh>
Wrockstock was the like weekend away camping thing, right?
Georgia: Yes. Yeah, it was like in Missouri. Yeah, we went to the Ozarks and like had a really nice time like by the lake and yeah, lots of shows and parties and stuff. It was nice. It was really, really lovely.
Were there any little bits of magic? Music on the lakeshore, an unexpected meeting?
Georgia: I think that the main thing for me was just the, you know, like Harry and the Potter stuff. Like, you know, the, the way that they would like get the crowd like just going crazy and like you know those big numbers that everyone’s singing along. And I dunno.
You haven’t as RiddleTM been particularly active for a while but you did come back last year for the Pedia Comp Club.
Georgia: Mhm <affirmative>.
which gives me hope when I ask. What are you working on these days?
Georgia: Um, not very much to be honest but I have like I really love doing the compilation CD and I really want to do more. I really, really do And like, because I’ve been working so much I’ve recently uh, decided to change my schedule and take more time off and like I’m thinking about what to do next and I just really want to do more music ’cause it’s where my heart is and I just love it so much and I’ve been like singing and stuff a lot more and it’s just really nice to get back into it. I think because I kind of left wizard rock, like I found my social anxiety just getting really on top of me unfortunately. And that was the main reason that I stopped doing it and I really love doing it but at the same time it’s like getting over that social anxiety is just really challenging but at the same time it is therapeutic for me to write music. So it’s kind of a bit of a sort of, yeah it’s tricky situation but I really do want to do more of it.
Well I hope we get to hear some of that or even help out with it soon. I know everyone is always up for a collaboration.
Georgia: Yeah, I was, I was playing songs today and I was like started something like started a little song <laugh>. The thing is I write songs really quickly. Like if I write them then like I wrote “For Jo” in like a night. Um, and my mum like she was like napping on my bed and <laugh> she woke up and I was like, “oh hey Mum, I wrote “For Jo”” <laugh>
That’s like a superpower.
Georgia: Yeah, it’s good. It is really nice. Like yeah I think um, it’s always been my way of like blowing off steam and kind of my favorite way of expressing myself.
So you have significant experience both in wizard rock specifically, uh, nerd rock more generally with trock. Uh.
Georgia: Mhm <affirmative>.
–and music in general. What kind of advice do you have for new wizard rockers?
Georgia: Uh, I think like just enjoy it. Like just be yourself and do what you want to play and, and kind of don’t worry about what anybody else thinks or like, you know, if they’re gonna hate it or whatever. <Laugh> Like just write what you want to write and put, put your whole self into it ’cause it will be great for someone. And yeah, I think I kind of feel like, like new wizard rockers could teach me more than I could teach them, to be honest. ’cause like back when I did it, like it was just like put a song on MySpace and it’ll get play, right? But now it’s just like, I don’t know where to put music on the internet anymore and it’s just kind of more disparate, you know? I think it’s just really important to just have fun with it and I love that you don’t have to like be professional about it and like sound perfect, your love comes through in what you do and it’s just really nice to hear.
I also really like to get specific concrete advice for people who are like just beginning. How to tune a guitar. What’s the best keyboard if you’re traveling for a show, you know, that kind of thing.
Georgia: Um, I think like get something like lightweight <laugh> for sure. Like um, generally I just use a guitar tuner on my phone. Like you there are apps you can get that do guitar tuning. Um, I love having a capo on my guitar ’cause it makes it just much easier to play like chords. You don’t have to learn like more complex chords ’cause it’s, yeah, it just gives you more versatility quicker I think. And then you can kind of work on the chords as you go.
What is a capo and how does it make it more versatile? Does it turn it into something else?
Georgia: It just clips onto the frets on the guitar and like you can slide it up and down and like make it higher or lower, whatever.
Okay.
Georgia: It just, yeah.
I am here to represent everyone who has no idea what we’re talking about.
Georgia: <laugh> Yeah, I’ve never got any like instrument lessons so I just kind of learned it all by myself so I don’t, I don’t know any of like the technical terms either.
Did you like watch YouTube videos or did you just like push buttons until something sounded cool?
Georgia: Uh, push buttons til it sounded cool. For sure. Yeah, that’s my preferred method.
That’s impressive.
Georgia: <laugh>. Yeah, I’ve been playing the piano since I was three so I’ve always, it’s something I’ve just always done.
It’s time for our final music break, starting with Justin Finch-Fletchley and “Like I Lost You.”
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That was Justin Finch-Fletchley with “Like I Lost You,” “Leaving Isn’t Going Home,” by The Weirdos Are Out [lyrics], and “Nevertheless, I Persisted” by Lauren Fairweather and the Moaning Myrtles [lyrics].
And we’re back to the last part of my interview with Georgia from RiddleTM.
Thank you so much for talking with me today. This has been so cool.
Georgia: <laugh> Oh thank you for asking me. It is just really exciting to like get an email out of the blue and just like be able to dip my toes back into the wizard rock world. It’s really, really nice. Like it’s, some of my best memories are from wizard rock and I just, I’m really glad it’s still going and that you are still working on it and yeah, it’s really nice to know it’s still there and if I want to return then I can and it’s great.
<laugh> and you’ll be welcomed enthusiastically.
Georgia: Yeah, I hope so. <laugh>
Where can WZRD listeners find you and your music online?
Georgia: So Spotify‘s probably the best place or YouTube. Um, I’m kind of on all the sort of streaming places. I’m on Twitter at RiddleTM. I think that’s about it. I do want to set up a BandCamp at some point ’cause that seems to be where all the cool kids hang out.
If you do that between now and, uh, April 14th. I will add that link.
Georgia: Okay, I’ll try. Yes. Okay. Deadlines are good for me. <laugh>
And you said you have a BigCartel?
Georgia: Yeah, I think it’s RiddleTM.BigCartel.com.
All right. I’ll include that too.
Georgia: Yeah. Super.
If you heard a song today and you thought “I could listen to that again” then go to the transcript at WZRDRadioPod.com, follow the link and buy a copy of your very own. It’s the best way to support your favorite musician, and without our wizard rockers, we wouldn’t be here.
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If you want to keep up with WZRD between episodes, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at WZRDRadioPod. If you don’t believe in social media, you can also comment on the transcript or email me at WZRDRadioPod@gmail.com.
And now, here’s RiddleTM!
Georgia: I thought I was gonna go for “Sorting Hat,” but I really love, um, “9 & 3/4s.” I love Vic’s voice on the song and I love the harmonies and yeah, I think it sort of really encapsulates what we are as a band and um, I just absolutely love it and I hope you love it too.
WZRD Radio Podcast 