FANGZ On The Importance Of Supporting Grass Roots Venues | theMusic.com.au

Excelsior Hotel, Annandale Hotel, Gaelic Club, Frankie’s Pizza, Q Bar, Spectrum, Brighton Up Bar, Hideaway Bar.

These are all venues I’ve played since I was 17. So where are we now? Well, I chose not to expose myself to the sad retelling of these stories. I’m sure some of them are cool wine bars, restaurants and office blocks. I hear one of them will be a reunion place for things like scene pop band Metro Station.

i love live music. A week without seeing the band live makes him feel incomplete, like he hasn’t had his morning coffee. Lately, I feel guilty when I haven’t seen a band for a week. How can we continue playing with a band without supporting the scene ourselves? Especially now, when venues need us most. We lost HiWay (formerly Hideaway) and Oxford Tavern last month. Whatever the situation, something hit me.

Two more small to medium capacity rooms were lost. The room I was in as a teenager expected me to go out on a whim and give an awful rock ‘n’ roll band and a 15 minute set a chance. I remember doing a band competition where you could win if you brought in the most people. Luckily the other members of my band had friends. Eventually we were given the chance to put on a real show and it all started at the Excelsior Hotel. The Excelsior Hotel radio birdmanFirst public gig in 1974. That place.

We went from supporting local bands to eventually selling out the first headliner at the venue. We built it whole (even if it’s small) around Excelsior. That was our stepping stone. where we cut our teeth.

I recently saw a young band doing this at Frankie’s Pizza. It’s so cool to see the band grow from the opening slot of the first show, maybe playing 3 covers and an original song that is very similar to one of the covers…and a year later , the same band owns Frankie’s and the stage outright.

Australia has some of the best bands in the world. I think this is because we are getting the rep. We have a healthy live circuit to play, watch and learn. However, this will only happen if grassroots venues continue to receive support from punters, artists and government agencies.

With so many venues being lost, it’s easy to say ‘live music is dead’ or ‘the scene used to be…’ but this needs to stop. If you say something enough, people will believe it to be true. it’s not. Countless venues need your support and you need to advocate for them. The newly reopened Lady Hampshire is back as a dedicated live music venue.

Crowbar tirelessly put on some of the best shows in the country. At Duke, you can walk around most nights and discover your new favorite band. Moshpit, Lansdowne, House of Music and Booze, Vic on the Park, Mary’s Underground, The Vanguard, Oxford Art Factory, Waywards, The Alley, Lazybones, The Great Club, Jolene’s, Shady Pines, The Chippo, and more. As of writing, there are probably more locations open.

The next time you and your buddies discuss hot topics, DZ, King Giz again Amir and Sniffers You can even record while eating expensive Tex-Mex. Grab your bill, head to your local gig hall, and consider giving your next budding artist a chance to ‘wow’ you. After all, everyone has to start somewhere.

FANGZ will release a new single “Fine Without You” on April 28th (Friday).