To people who have not really followed the musical journey of Melbourne rock outfit Kingswood it would appear they have burst onto the scene in the last couple of years, with support slots to bands such as The Living End, British India and The Saints, as well as a major support slot with Aerosmith.
They have played at festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Groovin The Moo and the Big Day Out and their debut album, Microscopic Wars, which came out last year, was nominated for an ARIA award.
They have had two songs in the prestigious JJJ Hot 100 and have been the ‘new’ Aussie rock sensations on everyone’s lips.
Except they are not new in the sense of the word. In fact, they have been together as a band for 10 years now, forming the seeds of the future rock band from their high school years. It seems strange then that a young band with so much to play for would take a decade to release their first album, but according to bass player and back up vocalist Jeremy ‘Mango’ Hunter, it was a stance the band didn’t take lightly. “We just wanted to take our time with it,” he explained. “We didn’t just want to have one or two good songs and 10 crap songs on the album, we wanted more like an album with 10 good songs and only two crap ones.”
To record the album so long in the making, Kingswood decided to venture to Blackbird, Nashville in the U.S, not because they weren’t confident in the ability of studios in their home country, but because they felt it was the right thing to do for the band. “We thought it would be a different experience to what we were used to,” Mango said. “We had recorded a lot in Australia with demos and stuff so we thought we would try it in a different country and bang out an album there. We have invested so much time and money into the band that we thought we’d pick a more known studio and producer and see what they could do to help us out on the next step.”
That next step was ‘Microscopic Wars’, a belter of a rock album that sounds like the music that would blare out of the speakers of an old Kingwood. It has helped turn the band from a touring band with a dream into a band quickly establishing themselves on the Australian music scene. Mango says that while the hard work and touring the band has put in over the years, smaller progressions such as getting into the JJJ Hottest 100 have also helped spread their musical message. “It’s a buzz that people out there appreciate our music enough to put a few votes up,” he enthused. “You don’t really think about it or write songs for that reason but it’s nice to get the recognition I guess. I don’t think it’s really changed things for us that much as a band but I suppose being on the album introduces you to a lot of new people that buy the album, but might not have come across you otherwise.”
Kris Peters
Kingswood play the Tanks Arts Centre on Friday May 22. Tickets can be bought for $25 plus booking fee from www.ticketlink.com.au
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