Biography: About Bic

Full Name:            Briolette Kah Bic RUNGA

Which means?:     Bic = Jade

                            Runga = Upper most or Highest Point

How do you
pronounce it:   

Birthdate :            Jan 13, 1976

Starsign:               Capricorn

Place of birth :      Christchurch, N.Z. 

(Raised at Kairaki Beach just out of Christchurch)

Nationality :           New Zealander, of Ngati Kahungunu descent

Residence:            1998: New York City

                             1999: Auckland, NZ

                             2000: Auckland, NZ

                             2001:  Auckland, NZ

                             2002: Auckland, NZ

Family :                Mother - Sophia Tang

                            Father -    Joseph

                            Sisters -   Boh (lead singer in Stellar*)
                                          Pearl (singer in Ce Soir).

Places Visited :     

-Ireland (produced a song there)

-Los Angeles (engineered Drive there, played at various venues)

-New York (home for a while)

-London (played there)

-Germany (played there with Neil Finn)

-Singapore (played there in '97)

Favourite Music : 

-Neil Young

-Momma's and the Poppa's

-Destiny's Child

-David Bowie (sang Ashes to Ashes in Germany live)

-Radiohead

-Portishead

-Depeche Mode

-The Smiths

-Grant Lee Buffalo

Favourite Drink:

Cuban Mojito (pronounced "Mohito"). It's got white rum, sugar and lots of yummy lime and mint leaves.

Professional skills : 

-Singing

-Songwriting

-Music Production

-Instrumentals

Instrumental skills : 

-guitar (bass & acoustic)
-piano
-drums
-xylophone
-mellotron
-banjo
-harmonica

Personal Philosophy : 

Be Realistic, Demand The Impossible.

On Growing up:  

"My mother used to be a singer. Both of my older sisters were musicians as well. In my house it was more than just a hobby. I watched my two older sisters go on to music professionally. It made me think that is was a possible career choice, more than a hobby".

First Song:

"It's all so far from the chilly flatlands of Christchurch where the Runga sisters grew up and - with other sister Pearl - wrote their first classic. "It was called I Can See Your Ass Shining in the Moonlight," says Bic. "That was the first song we ever wrote. I would have been four and Boh would have been about 10. Pearl, Boh and I recorded it on a little tape deck, then we became really fearful that mum and dad would find it so we erased it. What a shame! It could have been one of those things you release miles down the track. We used to record rude songs all the time - it was great fun."

Sunday Star Times, 3 November, 2002

How Bic's music career started:   

Entering the xtrasmokefreerockquest when she was a third former in 1989, In seventh form, she entered with a duo called Love Soup, and all her friends got themselves from Christchurch to Wellington where the National Final was being held.

See the Bic's Start page for the full story.

On getting started in the music industry in New Zealand: 

"When I had my first top 10 single ("Drive"), I was still working in a shoe shop. The public in New Zealand didn't realise how little money there was in music; when they saw me on the bus (and in the shop), there was some confusion about me. However, the humble start is good for the soul and ego."

On Songwriting:

"...the best songs write themselves. The other songs I don't think should ever be written. If I have an idea in the middle of the night, if I don't remember it in the morning, or if it doesn't finish itself, it probably wasn't worth completing. Sometimes when you're trying to fill an album out you have to go with those other songs which don't quite write themselves. But the timeless songs often come in their own time..."

On inspiration for the songs:

"A lot of the images and the lyrics are quite domestic. I don't really do much but hanging out at home and writing songs. I guess that's where my inspiration comes from. Words like, "kitchen sink" are in my songs a lot".

On touring versus studio work:  

"Being in the studio is probably preferable to me. I've found that promotion can be quite unmusical and sometimes you forget that you are a musician. Promotion is really just talking about music".

On the option of being in a band:

"I was in bands when I was a kid, you know, I was actually a drummer first, but I didn't actually like the sort of, the democracy of being in a band, and you know, having to, you know, be musically social, I'm kind of musically anti-social".

Sony Bio

Check out the official Bic Runga website bio sheet for 2002 @ www.bicrunga.com or a copy can be found on the "Bic Runga bio" page.

The bio being used by Sony Music NZ can be found at the Sony Music site or a copy can be found on the "Sony Music bio" page

Email Interview December 2002

Bic did an email interview with XtraMSN during December 2002, where she talks about her likes and dislikes, and plans for the future. Check it out here.