Music SA is pleased to announce that six South Australian acts have been selected from more than 100 applications to showcase their live performance on the Clipsal 500 Adelaide concert stage with some of Australia’s best live artists from 27 February 2015.
On top of an incredible line-up of headliners, concert-goers at this year’s Clipsal 500 Adelaide can now look forward to a feast of South Australian live music, with the announcement today that six talented local acts will join the bill as Music SA Bands on Track Support Acts.
Chosen through Music SA’s Bands on Track project – a partnership with the Clipsal 500 Adelaide with support from Nova 91.9 and Mix 102.3 – the six South Australian acts chosen to perform over three nights on the Clipsal 500 Adelaide Concert Stage are:
- Koolta and URTEKK Selected to open for Stafford Brothers, Havana Brown, Timmy Trumpet and Ruby Rose on Friday 27 February 2015
- Jac Dalton with Sonic Divide, and Lazy Eye Selected to open for THE ZEP BOYS and celebrated rocker John ‘Swanee’ Swan on Saturday 28 February 2015
- Grenadiers and Horror My Friend Selected to open for Cold Chisel with Spiderbait and 100 Proof on Sunday 1 March 2015
Ahead of the big race Glam Adelaide got to know a little about the acts and how they feel about being chosen to play in front of not only some of Australia’s top acts, but to thousands of revved up fans. Here is each of the band’s responses:
1) Tell us a bit about how you got started.
-Kultar Ahluwalia (aka Koolta)
“I started writing raps and making beats in my teens after being inspired by artists like Ice Cube, Public Enemy and then more local artists like the Hilltop Hoods who really paved the way in those formative years (early 2000s).”
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“Sheer excitement and shock! Really honoured to be a part of this massive show. Thank you Music SA and Clipsal!”
-Davison Jones (URTEKK)
“Ben (on drums) and myself (on bass) were playing in a band previously, which split as they sometimes do. But we decided to keep jamming, because of that special bond the rhythm section has. Martin got jealous so we let him in on the synth action and eventually we asked Damo to join the party to put the icing on this musical cake we’ve been baking. It’s all quite romantic really.”
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“You reckon Barnsey would be up for a selfie?” That and a wee bit of excitement about the scale of the production .. dat PA yo!”
-Jac Dalton (performing with Sonic Divide)
“In an effort to bring some terrific new arena rock tracks (written and recorded with Perth icons) across to the East Coast, I approached mates Sonic Divide – an established SA rock force in its own right – to consider trekking completely away from the typical and becoming two-bands-in-one. Fans of the edgy melodic are destined to find the new spot this band has created, between rock and the hard place, to be both familiar and exciting.”
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“We thought a mate was playing a mean trick on us (haw) – but realizing that it really WAS Music SA on the phone… in a word – ‘humility’… for an opportunity like this is not just about ourselves, but representation of ‘every’ artist and band in SA.”
– Evan Whetter (Lazy Eye)
Originally the idea of a blues band was something half-jokingly shared over a bottle of red as Erica & I medicated our way through jazz school. However for both of us it was a deep seated dream that once released into the ether, quickly developed a life of its own, leading to the inevitable demise of two rather promising jazz careers, but the beginning of something far more gratifying.
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“High Fives all round!”
–Tom Gordon (Horror My Friend)
“Originally, Josh and I, along with our previous drummer were just looking for something to do after we graduated High School a few years ago, which culminated in Horror My Friend. Sam joined the band mid-last year and he’s been a great addition to the lineup.”
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“We couldn’t believe it, it still hasn’t really hit us. We’ve always wanted to play on a festival-style stage and the fact that we get to play with Cold Chisel, Spiderbait, 100 Proof and Grenadiers is awesome.”
–Jesse Coulter (Grenadiers)
The usual story – we met at a swap meet for buying and selling black market kidneys. Bonded over our shared love of Liza Minnelli, and the rest is history!
Reaction to being chosen for Bands On Track?
“Excitement. Followed quickly by fear, then acceptance, and then an overwhelming craving for pancakes.”
It’s not hard to see that we’ve got some real characters emerging on the SA music scene judging by some of those responses, so we thought we’d throw in a poignant, serious question for them to ponder, asking them each where they’d like to be in five years:
Kultar Ahluwalia-“I’d love to be working in music as a full-time career whilst also giving back to the youth in our community. I’m currently engaging in youth workshops for councils in Southern Adelaide (my local area) and it’s awesome seeing kids make progress with their art!”
Davison Jones (URTEKK)-“Hopefully not carrying our own backline and of course occasionally getting nostalgic about the old Clipsal days while listening to a Ben E. King record. Fingers crossed we actually do end up standing by each other .”
Jac Dalton (performing with Sonic Divide)-“Because we’ve had the privilege of observing life for a while, the journey for us is not one dictated by wealth or notoriety. Rather, it’s our hope to be able to play for audiences with similar visibility as this in places where we’re known and loved – utilizing the moment to share things we’ve learned along the way – hopefully enabling the world we touch to be just a little bit better for our being here in the first place.”
Evan Whetter (Lazy Eye)-“Travelling the world enriching people’s life with our live show and recordings.”
Tom Gordon (Horror My Friend)-“Still playing music I guess, whether it be in this band or another. You never really know what’s going to happen. Everything positive that’s happened to us at this point has been pretty surreal, so we’re not necessarily expecting much, but we’re really happy with the way the band’s going.”
Jesse Coulter (Grenadiers)-“If none of us are dead, that will be a fine start.”
This is a fantastic initiative by Music SA and is a brilliant opportunity to showcase local talent and provide a platform or in this case a ‘fast track to discovery’ (excuse the pun)
We hope that they each get to fulfill their desires, and look forward to seeing them strut their stuff after the race each day. For those attending the Clipsal 500, show your support for our local artists by making some noise for them while they play.
More information on Music SA’s Bands on Track project can be found at www.bandsontrack.com.au
For more information on the Clipsal 500 Adelaide & the After-Race Concerts visit www.clipsal500.com.au
By Dazz Hassan
Twitter:@DazzHassan
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