“Are you going to the gig?” was once a common question, to which the answer was invariably, “Of course, I’ll see ya there!”. But with the state of Australian music at the moment, the question is being asked quite a lot less and now the answer is far more commonly “No”.
OnlyBands are of course trying to turn this tide back in the opposite direction and we’ve recently found something that’s perfect for all the gig pigs out there. The Gig brings two nights of punk and metal to the town of Orange, New South Wales across September 4th and 5th. Regional doesn’t often get a lot of live music, so a new regional music festival is well needed.
Night One is Punk Night and features the likes of Luca Brasi, The Bennies, Where’s Jimmy?, and Ghazza. Night Two is Metal Night and brings us a truly thunderous line-up of Windwaker, Diamond Construct, Whisperhead, Stare at the Clouds, and Stone Sovereign. There are both one night and two night passes on sale here.
Richo from Luca Brasi says that he remembers that the people Orange know how to party from his days working down the road in Cadia. Will they prove to him that they’re just as keen to let loose as they were back then? Well we sure think that local legends Where’s Jimmy? and Stone Sovereign will do a fine job of getting the crowd riled up!
The team behind The Gig are CCT Productions, who do sound and lighting for events happening all across central NSW. They’ve of course always wanted to bring more live music to Orange so they went ahead and did it! We spoke with Mitch Colton from CCT to learn a bit more about The Gig ahead of the festival:
1. Let’s get the word straight from the horses mouth. Tell me in one sentence, why should you come to The Gig?
Because it’s gonna be some bloody good live music. Bring a few mates and have a few beers? Sounds like a great gig to me!
2. Who came up with the idea to bring two nights of blistering metal and punk to Orange? Was this something you’ve wanted to do for a while now? Or did something happen that made you think “Hey, that’s a good idea, let’s do it”?
Sam (CCT Productions’ Managing Director) and I have been in so many conversations about how someone should do — or “Why doesn’t someone do it out this way?” — so we decided maybe we are crazy enough to be the someone and make it happen or it never will.
3. When you first told people in Orange about the festival, what was their reaction?
Excitement! The fact that a genre specific event is coming to town that supports live and local music.
4. What was it like booking the line-up? Who was the first act you approached?
Windwaker. We had a vision for each night and then started dialing managers and agents. It was a challenge to get the balance of starpower and local talent and a bill that will work. Oh, and Where’s Jimmy? were definitely at the top of the list for our punk night. Their band started in Orange and actually went to the same school I did. They’re coming off the back of a tour across France too, so the fact they’re coming back to their hometown is awesome.
5. Tell us a bit about the TNT Stage. You’re trying to give local bands a time in the limelight of course, but why was it important for you to have a stage like this?
A lot of regional bands don’t get that opportunity, shout out to Off The Tracks at The Vic (Victoria Hotel, Orange) as a fine example of a pub supporting live heavy music. As a production company we see a lot of great talent in schools and community events, we wanted to give these bands a chance to play on a real stage with real production, with a real bill. It’s our way of supporting the live music community and getting great live music out there.
6. What was your first gig that you went to? Who’d you see and what impact did it have on you when it came to music?
First gig I went to, after The Wiggles, was the Gignition Tour at the Hordern back in the mid 2000s. I guess even back then, I had an appreciation for mixed genres, although it’s a bit different to our punk and metal split that we have.
7. What was the festival you attended? Which festival did you first work at? Was that what made you want to becomes part of the industry?
Well I’ve been working as an AV tech for about 15 years now. My debut would have been Molong Music and Arts Festival. I thought working with Thirsty Merc was awesome, so I got to chatting with those around and ended up joining the tour team for a couple of their shows. But by the time I got to festivals I was already hooked working in the industry and live events.
8. Did you know some of the line-up before you put this on? Or has this been a process fo getting to know a bit about them ahead of the show?
Haven’t seen any of the bands live before we put the bill together but have listened to them all heaps! It was a pretty surreal feeling to get to think about the music I love and decide as a team who we think would fit The Gig best.
Luckily I got to see The Bennies twice last month in Perth in the lead up (thanks Hannah and the boys!). The fact we’ve got Orange Showgrounds on their tour poster alongside those big cities is still surreal.
9. If The Gig happens again next year, is there an act you’d want to gun for? Maybe one that couldn’t make it this time round?
Jebediah, would be awesome, or Magic Dirt. There are so many awesome metal acts I don’t even know when to start.
We also asked some of the line up how they were feeling about heading to Orange for a weekend of fun:
Luca Brasi
We’re super excited to be heading out west, and especially to Orange for the very first time. Richo actually spent a year working at Cadia back in the day, so while it’s a first trip for the band, it’s also a return to old stomping grounds for him. Orange certainly knew how to party back then and, by all accounts, it still does. We’ve heard The Standard is gone, but we’re looking forward to grabbing a beer at The Nob (Orange’s Hotel Canobolas) and finally making the trip out. We’re so stoked to come and visit.
Where’s Jimmy?
We’ve just finished our first overseas tour and coming back to play The Gig in the same town we started in is a pretty cool full circle moment. The fact we’re on a bill with some legends who don’t usually make it out west just adds to it all.
Windwaker
Orange isn’t a city that gets shows like this very often, so we’re stoked to be part of changing that. The Gig‘s lineup is properly mixed with lots of different genres, which is exactly the kind of bill we want to be on. We’re bringing new tracks to play live in Australia for the first time, and can’t wait to see everyone there!
Stone Sovereign
This is the kind of lineup you’d expect to see in a capital city, not Orange. Getting to bring our sound, myth, folk melodies, all of it, to a night like this, at home, is something we’re genuinely stoked about.
With all of that said and done. We of course only have one question left for you: Are you going to The Gig?
Yes, this is a paid partnership but if you made it this far down, you probably don’t care.
