…..SoSuterBill…..

BILLY SUTER chats to Durban violinist and music teacher Jane Magner – who forms one half of the hit duo, Veranda Panda, with husband Liam Magner. Jane and music-mix master Liam will perform alongside Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert in a fun new show, Retro Fest, which runs at Durban’s Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from November 7 to 17. Booking is at Webtickets.

WHAT can music-lovers expect from your shows with Liam, Lisa and Aaron at The Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre? And what are you most looking forward to about this colourful production?

Expect what you know, in ways you have never knew before! I am so excited for the collab. Aaron and Lisa are powerhouses in their own right, and it’s going to be amazing to bring their comedic genius and our unique Veranda Panda musical creativity together; to breathe life into so many well-known songs, to reinvent them and present them to Durban audiences like never before.

Latest news from you, personal and/or professional?

We have a new single coming out. One week after Retro Fest ends, we are releasing Carry Me, featuring Tanner Wareham. I can honestly say it’s my favourite song we have ever written and produced, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

Also, after close to seven (incredible) years teaching music at Clifton School in Durban, I am leaving the full-time job life to pursue Veranda Panda in all its creativity and performance, full-time. Clifton has been incredible in so many ways and if I had a stunt-double, I would keep doing both in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, the technology isn’t quite there yet and I am in a place where something has to give. I’m really excited and blessed to be in a place where I can go all-in in terms of the direction of my creative focus and energy.

How busy is Veranda Panda these days, how long has the duo been around now, and where/when did you first form the team?

Veranda Panda is busy! As performers, Liam and I come alive and thrive in a live-show setting. We never shy away from a challenge and aren’t afraid to put in the work – and, man, we are working hard! It’s great and we love it!

Liam and I first met backstage in 2010 at the Durban July fashion show. Organiser David Gouldie had booked Liam and the string quartet I was in, and had arranged a visionary collab as part of the show (as only David can). Liam and I started chatting, then jamming together informally for a few years, before deciding that we wanted to properly commit to developing Veranda Panda as a creative duo.
It’s a been a journey on so many levels, which I feel like we are still on… but that is exciting because it shows we are still growing creatively and there is so much more to come.

When, how and why did you first get into mastering violin, which led to you spending a decade as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra?

Definitely not a master, by any stretch of the imagination – always practising and always learning! But I started violin as a result of attending Gordon Road Girls’ School in Durban.

The music teacher, Mrs Deppe, and principal, Mrs Johnstone, acquired a whole host of instruments when the Durban Music and Ballet school was closing down, and because I had started the recorder in an attempt to do everything my older sister did, Mrs Deppe thought I might be a good candidate to give it a try, which my parents fortunately supported.

The thought of learning the violin had never really occurred to me before then, but as soon as I tried it, I was completely fascinated and in love with the instrument, and never looked back.

I took music quite seriously through school (violin nerd alert!), was in youth orchestras and took music for matric. I then went on to study for my BMus and MMus at UKZN, during which time I found my way into the ranks of the KZNPO family for many happy years of making music together.

When did you and Liam marry?

We got married in 2019, five whole years ago! Fortunately we snuck that in before the year-that-shall-not-be-named…

What are three highlights of your Veranda Panda career?

One was our Splashy Fen Main Stage this year: I have never felt so proud of a show we have created. We pushed ourselves creatively, took risks, had super collabs (The Rejoyce Collection, #VPDrumline and Gary Nixon) and everything about it felt so strong. Bringing that kind of show to a festival we love so much, to a KZN crowd so full of energy who loved us right back when it all came together, was nothing short of glorious.

Another highlight was our first playlisting on 5fm for our song, Pineapple Sunday, featuring Jess Sole. It was so left-of-centre and weird, and we couldn’t believe it had somehow found its way on to mainstream radio. It doesn’t always work out that way, but this was true victory for being yourself!

A third highlight was in Botswana in December, 2023. We were booked as a surprise for a 40th birthday celebration at a lodge in the Okavango Delta for about 25 people. Our music has never taken us somewhere more incredible and the experience was breathtaking from start to finish.

Playing a live set, ‘silent disco’-style, in the middle of the wild delta, to possibly the coolest, collective group of adventurous friends we have ever come across, was a party and a privilege that will be hard to beat for years to come.

What is your favourite song right now?

Disconnect by Becky Smith and Chase & Status

Three of the finest albums ever?

The Cat Empire by The Cat Empire. Such energy from this group, and raw unapologetic soul!

Deathcab for Cutie’s Bixby Canyon Bridge. Ben Gibbard is the most incredible storyteller when he writes music. The way he has constructed this album is amazing from start to finish.

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Do I really need to justify this one?

Worst song in history?

Rocking All Over the World (even before the Barnyard Theatre show of the same name that I appeared in). Now it is properly dead to me!

Song you most associate with your teens?

Probably something by Blink 182.

Song you most associate with your early childhood years?

Mango Groove’s Special Star.

The size of your music collection and the artists represented most there?

So vast! Everyone has a home – from Mozart to Modest Mouse.

The local artists you most admire?

GoodLuck and Goldfish. They are all such hard workers and incredible musicians and performers.

Artists from abroad that you most admire?

Laura Marling and Regina Spektor. I love their honesty.

Pet hate/s about the music scene in South Africa?

The very narrow range of what is considered popular/successful, which then leads people to only like a very narrow range of music/artists and not explore outside of that. This leads artists to abandon their unique voices to try to emulate that. And so the cycle goes…

The one music act you would give the world to see perform live?

Chase & Status.

Ever asked a music personality for an autograph?

Never, I am so not like that.

Music acts you have seen live and loved?

As an international, Seal was incredible. Locally, Goodluck, Jeremy Loops, Goldfish and Droomsindroom are always crackers.

The greatest musician of all time?

Bach/Beethoven/Mozart.

Best band in history?

The Beatles.

The most embarrassing artist represented in your music collection – and why is that artist there?

Britney Spears. She had some great songs!

The one song that will always be guaranteed to get you on to a dancefloor?

Baddadan by Chase and Status.

Your choice of karaoke song (and why)?

Lemon Tree by Fools Garden. It’s hard to explain but it’s always a winner!

The first song you ever performed for an audience?

It’s a Small World Afterall.

Guilty pleasure: a song you really feel you shouldn’t enjoy, but secretly do?

Miley Cyrus’s See You Again.

Worst decade for music?

No decade is bad! I refuse to be one of those ‘my music is better than their music’ people. There is good music in every era if you look hard enough between the playlists.

Instruments you can play?

Violin first and foremost, and then guitar, piano, saxophone and a smattering of drum-kit. And singing, of course.

The song you’d like to be played at your funeral?

Closing Time by Semisonic. Just kidding – probably a version of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony.

The piece of music/song you find the saddest?

The final movement in Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony.

Two music icons, dead or alive, that you’d most like to invite to dinner?

Boyd Tinsley (violinist from Dave Matthews Band) and Freddie Mercury …because Freddie is a one-man party! Just come to Retro Fest at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre to find out why!