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What's Happening- Page 26
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Melbourne indie rockers Satellite Sky have just released their self-titled debut EP. Recorded in L.A...Melbourne indie rockers Satellite Sky have just released their self-titled debut EP. Recorded in L.A with producer Paul Lani (U2, Bowie, Prince, Rod Stewart), two of the songs, With You and I Like It made quite a splash at the L.A Film Festival where they were featured in the Netflix Best Film Award Almost Kings. 2011 has already seen the siblings tour throughout the U.S, including several standout showcases at SxSW in Austin, Texas. You can also catch them in the upcoming U.S documentary 'Rockin The Wall'. Their EP is available for download on iTunes. www.satelliteskymusic.com
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SXSW Aussies in Austin- Page 46-48
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by Jonathan Burnside
I headed down Sixth Street, which, during South by Southwest, is closed to t...by Jonathan Burnside
I headed down Sixth Street, which, during South by Southwest, is closed to traffic and is absolutely packed with music-goers. Through an open window of one of the smallish clubs that seem to line the street for miles, I sqw a woman with multi-coloured hair smashing her kit like each drum was the captive head of a loser ex-boyfriend. That and the sign that read 'Three Dollar maragritas' provided plenty incentive to get me through the door.
Drink in hand, I was basking in the noisy grunge/ glam energy when the singer yelled out, “Thank you Austin! We’ve come all the way from Melbourne, Australia to play for you and we’re having a blast!”. I was surprised. The show wasn’t an official South By Southwest showcase, just one of the hundreds of events taking place each day and night free to the public, no wristband required. South By Southwest has taken on such a momentum that artist from around the globe head Austin to take their places without official showcase bookings. Every record store, dive bar, pizza joint, laundromat and pawn shop puts on sideshows on their retail floor or parking lot. I wondered whether this Aussie band had busked rather than BBQ’d their way to Austin.
After the show, I introduced myself to Melburnian siblings Kim and Pete Kicks, the drummer and guitarist / singer of Satellite Sky.
Jonathan Burnside: More Aussies! I had no idea where you were from when I wandered in. Your show wasn’t an official showcase. Does that mean you’ve come all this way on your on bat?
Pete Kicks: Yes. Being an independent band, we organized everything ourselves with no label, management or government support. We had been over to the US before and made friends with the other bands we played with while here. They’ve been happy to lend us a hand and they helped us get these Austin shows, as well as dates in Arizona and Los Angeles.
JB: So you’re not ones just to fill out an application, lick a stamp and hope someone agrees to help you make your dreams come true?
Kim Kicks: We can make it to the post, but we’re not people who have the patience to wait for acceptance letters in the mail. The world is a big place and if you really believe in what you're doing, don't sit around waiting for someone else to approach you or fund you to come and play festivals like South By Southwest. We work, work and then we do more work. We go out there and make it happen for ourselves. We make sure our live show is at a level that will allows us to stand out from the crowd. The work pays off. Every venue we’ve played in the States has let us know we’re welcome back any time.
JB: What motivated you to do all this work to play at South By Southwest in particular?
KK: While some say size doesn't matter, it really does in this instance. almost everyone involved in the music industry in the U.S and most parts of the world are here representing. For us personally, the fact that all our shows were on 6th St definitely helped expose us to a wider audience. Most of the connections we made were quite random and involved people like yourself, who happened to be walking past the venue while we were playing and liked what they heard. As a band, it's easy to get lost amongst the hundreds of other bands playing at that moment, so we were lucky that some of the stages we played opened onto 6th St and we were able to draw in crowds. Working with some good event promoters also helped. They were very supportive in creating a buzz about our shows.
JB: Having walked the walk, how would you advise intrepid Aussie considering such a move?
PK: I’d advise them to carry their passports when driving from L.A to Austin. We didn't. Unbeknown to us, there was a U.S border control just outside of El Paso. We were detained at 7am in a small office in the middle of the desert until several phone calls were made verifying who we were. It was like some bad American movie. We were just wishing we weren’t the ones appearing in it.
JB: So what’s the tally? Do you believe the trip has paid off for you?
PK: Definitely. We met awesome people and bands throughout the week. Several of the bands we played with have asked us to tour with them in the future and we've forged good working relationships. But it's not really about an end result at this moment. We see it as a starting point for our band in the U.S. We received a really positive response from our shows and any time there is an opportunity to play to crowds like in Austin, it reaffirms our desire to tour consistently and to get our music out. We're definitely not going to sit on our asses waiting for someone else to do the work for us. And now we have several opportunities waiting that have since come our way as a result of playing at SxSW. It’s been well worth the work.
I said goodbye to Satellite Sky and limped off into the busy crowd. It had been a great week of music but rough at times. In an unsuccessful effort to pass myself off as local colour, I’d worn a pair of black cowboy boots on my first day of revelry in Austin. After a long afternoon session of listening and drinking, I crossed a cobblestone street with a friend who was by then literally and figuratively blind. His seeing eye dog bolted, now also blind having lapped up several Lone Star tallboys. I viciously twisted my ankle as the heel of my boot sank into a rut while trying to save my friend from a fall. As we hobbled to the corner, my friend (let’s call him John, because that’s his name), heard beats blasting from a boom box that belonged to a dozen Brooklyn rappers busting rhymes on the sidewalk. John promptly dropped his pants, showed them his third eye and yelled, “hip-hop sucks!”, an opinion I neither endorse or agree with. “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You” suddenly played in my head as everyone on the street glared at me
as I tried to pull John’s pants up with one hand and grab for the drunken dog with the other. Ah, Texas! Well worth the trip.
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Gretsch Current Artists
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About the Artist
"Kim Kicks has quickly become known as one of the best rock drummers around, with ...About the Artist
"Kim Kicks has quickly become known as one of the best rock drummers around, with enough energy to light up a small city, fusing humor and flash with a loud, dominating stage presence… like a female version of the Animal from ‘The Muppets’, with true musicianship.”
-Devon Wendell, International Review of Music
Satellite Sky. Prior to this, my brother Pete and I played in various bands with different musicians until we formed Satellite Sky.
Why did Kim choose Gretsch?
Why did you choose our products? I was given a Gretsch kit in appreciation for helping out a friend. I have since used that kit and loved it. The sound that can be pulled from the 20”kick is awesome. .. it’s not the size that matters!!!!..but how you use it! Being in an independent band, I have had to carry my kit around and pack it into small cars on tour so the 20” kick served it’s purpose while still getting a great sound out of it.
I was then loaned a Gretsch maple snare and it has travelled the world with me. I love the durability and the sound…my drums get quite a beating and have to be a great product to survive.
Gretsch Connection
20” kick,
12” Rack tom,
14” floor tom
14” snare
two x crash (18” & 19”)
20” ride
Influences
As far as drummers go...Animal (the muppets), John Bonham (Lef Zep), Dominic James (Muse)), Paul Hester (Split Enz/Crowded House), Mike Bordin (Failth No More), Will Calhoun (living Colour), Ketih Moon (The Who), all the "Funk Brothers" drummers.
I admire any artist in any artistic field whether it be music, photography, painting, sculpture, etc, who does anything that is awesome and unique and does it out of passion because they live, breathe, sleep and dream it - Artists who pursue their dreams and passions no matter what.
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GIBRALTAR WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW ARTISTS TO THE TEAM!
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GIBRALTAR WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW ARTISTS TO THE TEAM!
March 08, 2011
Kim Kicks performs with...GIBRALTAR WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW ARTISTS TO THE TEAM!
March 08, 2011
Kim Kicks performs with Satellite Sky. This band was formed in Australia and is now located in Los Angeles. They will be performing at SXSW and their latest record was produced by Paul Lani (U2, Bowie, Prince, Rod Stewart).
supersonic
