Petebox

A word about the Petebox. Amazing doesn't quite cover it. The guy's a machine - except that he's not. He's a human beatboxer with mammoth talent, a small amount of well-crafted hair and an incredible way of molding a stage show to wow audiences the world across. Fresh from a stint at the Bahrain Formula One, Pete is back in the country and busy making music, if not with his mouth then with his new band SWIMMInG. Go and watch the video. It takes a minute to get going but it's definitely worth it. We thought we'd have a word or two with the man himself and see what he's like in the flesh.

Whereabouts are you from?
Perth Australia, mate.

How's life treating you?
Life never really treats me, just exists alongside me, doin' my ish.

What's the first thing you did this morning?
Ate Shreddies, did my teeth and worked on the song I’m working on at the mo – it’s emo you know.

What inspires you?
Seeing people doing stuff they’ve obviously spent a long time working on. Oh and the graceful flight of the condor. They’re very big.

What scares you?
Age.

Describe yourself in three words.
Kinda alright really.

What's on your iPod?
Amusement Parks on Fire, We Show Up On Radar, Pilgrim fathers, Lone.

Do you have any pets?
Nup.

What's the hardest part of making music?
Getting rich and famous from it.

What other artists do you admire?
I guess it’s people I work with – the folks in my band Swimming – my brothers and friends from my city who are constantly working on their ish.

What is your favourite place in the world?
Don’t know, I’ve never been there.

Who's better, Superman or Spiderman?
Superman – Spiderman’s cooler indeed, but Superman is way better.

Tell us a joke.
Do you like fishsticks?

What was the last thing to make you laugh?
Happiness and cyanide.

What's your best trait?
Have you seen my hair?

What's your worst habit?
Not speaking another language fluently. Bad habit.

What's your proudest moment to date?
In beatboxing land… I got a Channel 4 Talent award in Dec 2007. That was pretty cool.
I’m also quite proud of my band SWIMMInG’s debut album ‘The Fireflow Trade’ which was released on 11/5/09. Oh and I’m proud of SWIMMInG’s website – www.swimmingband.com
I’m also proud of my website – www.thepetebox.com.

What's your favourite tipple?
Vodka!

What can't you stand?
Mushrooms.

Tell us something that nobody else knows.
The trouble I’ve seen.

When was the first time a song made you go "WOW!"
I had a children’s party hits compilation tape when I was about 7. There were a couple of tracks that either made me go nuts with excitement, or hit me in that emotional spot… awesome.
After that it was I get Around by Beachboys and Da Da Da by Trio. I made a tape with a whole side dedicated to each of them on repeat.

Why did you start making music?
It just made sense to. I used to have piano lessons from being a kid and I used to mess around writing bits and bobs on that, but it was when I heard Nirvana for the first time, when I was about 12, that I realised that being a musician was exactly what I wanted to do. I got a guitar and put everything I had into making music. Haven’t stopped since.

What's more important nowadays – skills or hype?
Hype goddammit

Do you have any regrets?
17 of them

Ever made a fashion faux pas?
Have you seen my hair?

Use the word Spank in a sentence.
Spank you very much