Alt-rock band Newgate Crowd introduce me to the Adelaide music scene in my new podcast segment, ‘Spotlight’

Here’s a thing. I love the Melbourne music scene. After all, that’s where I spent the most time in Australia.

But there’s heaps of great things happening in other parts of the country. So, it’s time to get out of my comfort zone and explore other regions of the Land Down Under. Like South Australia, for example.

Especially that I found pretty cool guides – the members of an emerging, local band, Newgate Crowd.

PART 182 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE

To set the context for this post, let me geo-locate you first.

South Australia (SA) is the fourth-largest state in Oz. It’s located in – yes, you guessed it – the country’s southern (central) part. Inhabited by 1.8 million people, its population is roughly the size of Hamburg in Germany. But because it’s a mostly arid land, more than 3/4 of South Australians live in the capital, Adelaide, and the surrounding areas.

The state is famous for its wine. In fact, half of the country’s production comes from the local vineyards. You might be even familiar with some of its regions: McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra or Barossa Valley. 

That last one is the gateway to this story. It’s where the protagonists are from.

Newgate Crowd are Kai Bingham (drums), Joey Mulholland (bass and backing vocals) and Wil “Viddy” Vidovich (lead guitar and vocals). The three have been playing together, albeit in different configurations, since 2019. Two years later, they decided to make it a permanent alt-rock threesome.

They list Royal Blood, Karnivool and Muse as their main influences. And all I can say is that they surely know how to nail those “beefy riffs, heavy drums, and auditory charisma.” There are also some grungy notes in their sound here and there. Listen to their debut EP, Auditory Processing, and you’ll know what I mean.

But what does it have to do with the whole wine introduction?

Even though it’s home to one of the most famous Aussie drops (and my fave Shiraz!), Penfolds Grange, Barossa Valley is definitely not where any heavier sounding band would hope to find their audience. Or any band at all.

So, naturally, Newgate Crowd look to Adelaide for gigging opportunities. The state’s capital is also the place to be when it comes to hanging out with members of their local community and rubbing shoulders with touring musos, festivals and other industry events/people passing through the city.

Now, the South Australian music scene is not my territory – to say the least. Hence, when the band pitched one of the singles to me, I thought it’d be great to let them guide me through what Adelaide has to offer.

And I’m glad I chose the musos from South Australia to kick off this fresh gig on my Silly Talks Music podcast that I – spontaneously – called ‘Spotlight’. They might be fairly young and pretty new to the whole music industry game. But their good vibes, unspoiled enthusiasm and general awesomeness in sharing their love for the music are what any fan (and journo) ultimately wants to see.

They clearly enjoy being a part of the Adelaide music scene. Plus, they’re literally experts on its ins and outs. For instance, did you know that most shows in the SA capital are all-ages events? It’s because of the demographic attending them, which is pretty rare in other places in Australia. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind if the gents hadn’t told me.

But the interview wasn’t only an introduction to the musos’ fave local venues, bands and what’s happening in their home state. It was also a cool chat about their short but sweet story as a band so far. And I mean it – the “blind date” was set up by their mums. Awkward, right? But it turned out to be the best music-matchmaking ever if you ask me.

You’ll also find out about some other aspects of the Newgate Crowd life.

Like, which member wanted to learn to play the drums, inspired by a character from the Muppets. (Spoiler alert: he ended up hating that instrument.) 

Or how on Earth they managed to drop an EP within the first year of officially releasing music. 

Or why Viddy’s mum’s Pilates studio is a far better place to write music than Kai’s shed.

And I might have mentioned my accidental encounter with Hilltop Hoods some years ago at some point in the conversation. (Which tells you how much I know about South Australian music right now.) 

We also discussed their latest single, “Change of Mood”. Interestingly, they consider it a “milder” side of their alt-rock sound. I see it as a catchy tune with great guitar riffs and proper head-banging potential in the bridge part. 

So I’ll leave you to it. Buckle up for the wholesome 46 minutes of “Radelaide vibes” with Joey and Viddy from Newgate Crowd.

Update:

After I’d sent the podcast episode to the depths of the internet, the band have dropped me another message: “We feel proud to be a part of the Adelaide music scene. There’s so much more we could say, too!”. So we’d have to catch up again at some point!

In the meantime, however, they’ve redirected me to yet more resources about their music scene, which I’m more than happy to share with you here, dear readers.

Adelaide Scene is a project run by Will Everett from the punk band, Violet Harlot. It is all about supporting live music, indie bands and indie venues. He also hosts a segment called Feedback Loop on Three D Radio and ensures he is knowledgeable about independent music Australia-wide.

So go check out Will’s platforms as well. And make sure you boost Newgate Crowd’s streams from afar if you can’t make it to their gigs, okay?

Fancy more video interviews about Oz-based projects? Here they are:

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A lot is going on in the world these days, most of it rather grim. Additionally, bad news travels fast and “sells” well, so we find out about everything almost instantly, whether we want it or not. No wonder many people are feeling anxious, myself included. But if these difficult times have taught me anything,…

by Silly McWiggles

Published by Silly McWiggles

"Here for a good time - not a long time" 🎵 Curious music blog-her 🥁 Aspiring band manager 💡 Freelance experience designer 🎙️ Podcast-her 💪 Forever activist