PDBY had the pleasure of talking to Meg Norquoy, who is a performing artist from Pretoria. In this interview Meg chats to us about her music career, how she started and how social media has impacted her music journey.
At what age did you realise that music was your passion and that you really wanted to pursue it as a career?
So I think I always knew that I enjoyed music and singing from a super young age. I still remember my favorite songs from when I was in nursery school. I always toyed with the idea of singing as a career, but I never took it seriously until August 2021, [when] I was presented with the opportunity of a gig. After that first gig, the gigs haven’t really stopped, so I guess it’s only now that I’m realising: “Hey! Maybe I should do this for real now?”.
You started posting videos of you doing covers in 2017, but in 2018 you posted about finally making a video singing something that you wrote, how long did it take you to transition from performing covers to writing your own songs, and how has that helped you grow as an artist?
I loved singing along to songs all the time, but it was thanks to one of those silly assignments for a compulsory music subject in grade 9 that started my love for writing them. We got told to write a song for marks and after I figured out the first one, I started writing more and more. I think I only started singing originals on stage in my first year of varsity at the Aandklas Open Mics though.
How did the name Meggs and Toast come about and what does it represent?
Well, I’ve been looking for a guitarist for a while now, and when Johan and I chatted after an Open Mic at Aandklas, we decided to play together. The name was a joke I’d decided on for my Instagram account after a night out with friends filled with horrible puns. Johan, a man of puns himself, didn’t mind being the toast to Meggs.
How has social media helped you grow your brand as an artist?
I’ve found that once you start playing gigs, an Instagram account helps a lot because we’ve [got] a few opportunities due to our content. However, Tiktok trumps all apps in terms of getting content out there. So many more people see and share songs/covers posted on Tiktok. So it’s definitely helped with putting our name out there.
Parents are usually skeptical about letting their children get into the arts, how did you convince your family that music was the one for you and that you could make it work?
Unfortunately in my case, skepticism was never an option for me. My mother was a musician in the 80s and my dad went with her to gigs. So my mom taught me how to play guitar and piano, and my dad would happily listen to whatever I played (even if it was horrible). They’ve always supported me in music and inspired me! My dad shows my videos to anyone he meets, which can be kinda embarrassing, haha..
Is there any specific artist that inspires your music?
Johan and I have varying tastes in music, so our originals sound very different. I’ve been inspired mostly by Paramore’s newer albums, as well as YouTube-made artists like dodie and Orla Gartland. Johan’s main inspiration is Matt Costa. Soon, we’ll be writing songs together, so it’ll be cool to see how our songs sound in the future.
What do you hope to achieve in the future through your music?
Johan and I want to put our music out on all platforms and aim to do so in the coming year! We’re passionate about music and to be able to share our music specifically would be amazing. Personally, I would love to play at big festivals in the future, like Park Acoustics or Splashy, so it’s definitely something we plan on working towards!
Is there anything that you are currently working on that you would like to share with us?
At the moment we’re working on originals mostly, but we do have an online concert coming up with 11:77 productions which is super cool! It was shot at the stunning Blades Hotel, and I recommend watching their Instagram page (@1177productions ) to see when tickets go on sale!
Image: provided
I am Minentle "Minnie" Mndiyata, a second year Enviromental Science student with a passion for writing, singing and watching movies. I come from the Eastern Cape, I am living my dream as an Entertainment journalist at PDBY❤️
