The Wizrocklopedia’s Rachel sat down with teen wrock duo Jake and Maddy of The Nifflers during this, their reign as one of two Bands of the Month for December. We hope you enjoy.

Rachel: Thank you for joining us, this evening, Nifflers! Congratulations on being Band of the Month.
Jake: Thank you… there’s more [than one] of you there?

Rachel: Well, no. Just me… in a few days, our readers? So, for starters, the classic question, how did you get started?
Jake: Well, I came across wizard rock in early ’06 randomly when I was searching for a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, but along with the search [I found] “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock”. I was in love with it and started finding as much of their (Harry and the Potters) stuff as I could. From there I found more bands and tried to find someone to start my own with. I turned to my friend Brett, but we only got as far as one song and a logo. We called ourselves the Delores Detention Regulars, a brilliant name on my part I think. It made us feel like badasses. Anyways. That flopped because Brett had no love for the series and never got past the third book.
Rachel: And so you turned to Maddy. You guys are one of many wrock sibling acts, actually. Does your being siblings make band stuff easier or harder, do you think?
Jake: Well, I was bandless again for a month. In that time I kept coming up with crazy ideas to find a new singer. Then after everything seemed hopeless, I was re-writing the first song I ever made on my own and tried it out with Maddy, and it was magic.
Maddy: Being siblings makes it easier. Having your bandmate around at all times helps a lot because decisions are made faster. And it kept getting more easy because, through wrock, we have become way closer then ever before. Which is really nice.

Rachel: So, how have your parents been about this whole thing?
Jake: Our dad has been really good. [He has] a big house, though, so he can’t really hear us play. He has gone onto our site and talks about us all the time. It’s how we got interviewed in our city’s biggest paper, from him talking to people.
Maddy: There is a bit of a noise restriction at our mom’s house, though.
Rachel: Ah, I know that problem well.
Jake: But when a show is coming up and stuff she lets us practice a lot. She is supportive and wants to help us out a lot. She helped with our pin printing and sells our merch as well.

Rachel: What are you looking forward to, in general, more than anything?
Jake: As a band?
Rachel: Sure, but basically anything. I don’t want this to be too redundant in an everyone-asks-me-this kind of way.
Maddy: Avril Lavigne concert. Three months and 24 days!
Jake: Wrockstock in May. I now think of having two lives. Wrock life and regular Toronto life… Wrock life is the better one because all my friends are there and I love them. As a band, recording with Christian.
Rachel: How awesome is Christian, really? He’s a fantastic musician.
Jake: On a scale of one to ten… ummm… 5,000. For one, he’s just really awesome. After road-tripping down to Wrockstock (17 hour trips there and back), and seeing Rowling’s reading with him, I can tell you that he really rules. Plus, he has helped us a lot music wise and continues to help us. Our first official wrock concert was Oliver Boyd and The Nifflers. He picked us up for the gig, set up for us and everything.
Maddy: There’s more to talk about, but I guess he really kind of feels like a older brother. That’s a good way to put it.

Rachel: And, for Jake at least, I’m sure meeting Jo Rowling together was a slightly big deal. How incredible was that?
Jake: It was a clash of awesome to say the least. Good times went down when we were on that adventure. It was really surreal. Myself and one of my few HP friends who knows what wrock is meeting the creator of the subject we sing about. Zany.

Rachel: I believe it. Tell me, do people from your school ever recognize you from the wrock scene?
Jake: As a matter of fact, just this past Monday when I walked into my co-op class, late, my teacher started talking to me about how he found out about The Nifflers through teachers I didn’t even know. I was baffled to say that least.
Rachel: Wow, teachers? What about you, Maddy?
Maddy: I would just be in shock if anyone ever found out, ’cause it seems like no one does.

Rachel: So, random but crucial: chocolate or vanilla?
Maddy: Chocolate.
Jake: Vanilla.
Rachel: I’m with Maddy on that one. Moving on. Favorite pizza topping?
Maddy: Pineapple and bacon. Sorry that it’s two.
Jake: Bacon. Wait! Same thing. They work so well together, those two.
Rachel: That is very interesting. Tell me, how do you feel about eating healthy? Personally, my view is that life’s too short.
Jake: I’m horrible with healthy eating. If you let that pizza toppings list go on it would be a way more heart-attack-worthy pizza.
Maddy: If it tastes good I’ll most likely eat it. We aren’t good with health, I guess.

Rachel: Well, I look at that as a very good thing. So, slightly more on track, do you regularly tear rooms apart looking for shiny things as your band’s name would suggest?
Jake: Only the things we have lost in the mess we call our bedrooms.
Rachel: Well, nifflers ARE cool. Who is your favorite fictional character, though, from any book or movie?
Jake: Oh, tough one.
Rachel: I know, it made me think, too.
Jake: I’m gonna give three. It’s too hard to choose one. Leslie Burke (Bridge to Terabithia), Luna Lovegood (had to throw her in), and L from the Death Note manga series.
Maddy: Gabriella Montez (High School Musical) and Violet from A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Rachel: So what books are you reading right now?
Jake: New Moon, the second part in the Twilight series, and The Vision of Escaflowne manga series.
Maddy: Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Rachel: And muggle music? What are you listening to?
Maddy: Avril Lavigne.
Jake: Jack Johnson, City and Colour, and the Good Cheer. They are constantly my favourites
Rachel: I believe the Good Cheer has some connections to the wrock world, as well.
Jake: There is a long story between myself and them. I just have a ton of their old songs from when they were under a different name. I’m their Toronto street team leader. I have their old merch. I came in first place for their contest when they toured with Alex.

Rachel: So, rumor has it that you, Jake, hold some potential to become the next wizard rock heartthrob. How do you feel about that?
Jake: Thanks for making my cheeks flush red! I don’t know how to answer this!
Rachel: Haha, then don’t worry about it.
Jake: I feel very good. No! I got it.
Rachel: Go for it.
Jake: I never really expected that. But I have factors going against me, I think. Well just one factor. I’m kinda a young un’ it seems. I just try to have fun with my friends and I guess that’s what makes a heartthrob. And the ability to jump high!
Rachel: That is so High School Musical. You know, I hear Alex recently saw HSM2 and got pretty into it.
Maddy: Yess. They all join the wildcat side sooner or later.
Rachel: Wrock School Musical, we should get on that.
Maddy: YESS. And Toby could be Chad!
Rachel: This would work out. Maddy, I assume you’d like the role of Gabriella?
Maddy: Yes.
Rachel: That would work, I think, but who to cast as Sharpay?
Maddy: Kristina. She’s a Slytherin.

Rachel: Okay, the dreaded question. Plans for the future? In general, band-related, whatever.
Jake: Play what we can for as long as we can, I think.
Rachel: Amen to that. You know, I was worried for a while, but it doesn’t look like wrock is going anywhere. So that’s good.
Jake: It’s because we all love each other too much to give it up, I think.
Rachel: Yeah, that sounds about right. I think I’m losing my real life. Luckily, I’m totally okay with that.
Jake: Me, too.

Rachel: Okay, before I conclude the official Nifflers Band of the Month interview, is there anything I haven’t asked about that you’d like people to know?
Jake: I guess a thank you to everyone that decided to look our way. It’s really nice when you think about how short life can be and how people decide to make us part of theirs.

The Nifflers can be found on MySpace by clicking here.