Words by Tom Disalvo //
Ahead of their national album rollout, Kingswood recount some of the craziest moments from tours gone by.
Starting 2020 with a head-rocking bang, Melbourne rock quartet Kingswood have today dropped their long-awaited album Juveniles, after having teased fans with their punkish new single ‘Bittersweet.’ The LP, the bands’ third full-length release since its inception in 2010, is an upbeat, punchy ode to the rock’n’roll rebellion of the boys’ youth, boasting lush pop-rock singles like ‘You Make It So Easy’ and the more grimey guitar strings of ‘Ready Steady.’
This latest offering showcases the ARIA-nominees’ musical diversity, tracking the trials and tribulations of youth across a percussive sonic soundscape of lush indie to ‘70s guitar rock.
Securing 2020 as the year where Kingswood reins supreme, the boys also unveiled a string of 20+ Australian shows, kicking off in Victoria today and continuing nationally through April, May and June (dates below – tix here). With years of experience performing alongside juggernauts AC/DC and at staple festivals like Splendour in the Grass, lead guitarist Alex Laska recounts some of the craziest band moments touring across Australia below:
Touring is its own monster, it’s like all the naughty kids got sent away on a school camp, for Juveniles, but there are no teachers. It is immensely fun, and when asked to recollect the five wildest regional shows, many things come to mind. We have never been a band inclined to share with the world what goes on in the witching hours, from when we walk off stage till we climb in to the bus the next morning, we tend to keep it to ourselves. But a few things come to mind that I will share with you today, and they share a common theme, that although death lurked close overhead, and in some cases we were lucky to make it out alive.
Wollongong
On the After Hours, Close to Dawn Tour a few of us rode motorbikes between shows. Starting up in North Queensland each day usually included a 2-4 hour ride in the sunshine, sometimes we would take the scenic route, and a few weeks in there were no regrets. We left Newcastle on a 3hr ride to Wollongong, unaware that we would arrive at the show 9hrs later, and very nearly dead. The skies turned black as Tropical Cyclone Debbie closed in. We had no trailer for the bikes and the van had to press on to set up the show.
After very quickly becoming soaking wet and at 100km/ph extremely cold, we pulled into a K-mart, bought thermals, gloves, socks and jocks, wrapped ourselves in garbage backs and continued on. We skidded, slid, nearly came off, nearly got hit by trucks that couldn’t see us in their mirrors because the visibility was so poor, we should have stopped but we had no other way to make the show. We passed a bus rolled onto its side and a jeep on its roof, but somehow none of us came off and we pulled into the show with 30 mins to spare, other than al getting his fingers a little sliced up cos his hands were wrinkled like he’d been in a long bath, we were ok.
Mackay
There was a show in Mackay, I won’t say where but I doubt they had put a rock’n’roll band on before us, and I doubt they have since. It was early days and they didn’t know what to expect or what they were doing. They had no crowd barrier, they served their drinks in glass, and punters in thongs were welcome, and had no security.
Very soon the floor of the mosh had a layer of broken pint glasses, people had cut hands and feet, blood made its way onto the stage, as did a couple of very hammered locals that I can only assume thought it was karaoke cos when I refused to give this girl my microphone she tried to stab me with the broken glass she was holding. Our roadie Jimi managed get them off the stage and kicked them out. The boyfriend was furious and called the pub after the show, but our greenroom was the office so we all had a little friendly chat to him.
Darwin
We love getting up to Darwin, its always good night out, but one year after Bass in the Grass Festival we may have cooked it a little too hard, and one of our crew, who I will not name, and not Jimi, found himself last man standing at Monsoons, without a room key. So he decided to scale the 12 storey hotel and climb in through the balcony.
He got lost and made it to the roof, where he called reception so that they may let him down, but instead they called the police, so he freaked out and climbed down into a random balcony where he negotiated his way into the hallway, and to Al’s room, where he said, “I’m gonna hide in the closet, if the cops come I’m not here”. They did come but he was never found. On a side note I fell asleep in the shower two rooms down and flooded the carpet of a whole wing of the hotel. Safe to say we aren’t allowed back.
Tasmania
There was the time at some dudes house in Tasmania after a show, where I thought I could skate on his back shed ramp, but failed to even drop in, the board came out from under me and my head slammed into the bar. The guys still talk about the sound it made. And the dude told me recently that there is still blood stains on the ramp. I also have never been able to skate so I don’t know why I thought I could that night.And a special mention to Al and Josh who once got wheeled out of hospital, driven to the gig just before showtime, and after, driven immediately back to hospital. True dedication to the fans.
KINGSWOOD 2020 TOUR
Thursday, March 12th Barwon Club Geelong
Friday, March 13th The Corner Hotel Melbourne
Saturday, March 14th Volta Ballarat
Wednesday, March 18th Kambri ANU Canberra
Thursday, March 19th UOW Unibar Wollongong
Friday, March 20th Oxford Art Factory Sydney
Saturday, March 21st Cambridge Hotel Newcastle
Thursday, March 26th The Gov Adelaide
Friday, March 27th The Rosemount Perth
Saturday, March 28th Prince of Wales Bunbury
Sunday, March 29th Freo Social Fremantle
Thursday, April 2nd The Triffid Brisbane
Thursday, April 9th Republic Bar Hobart
Saturday, April 11th Saloon Launceston
Sunday, April 12th Forth Pub Devonport
Thursday, April 16th The Northern Byron Bay
Friday, April 17th Miami Marketta Gold Coast
Thursday, June 25th The Jack Cairns
Friday, June 26th Otherwise Bar Townsville
Saturday, June 27th CBD McGuires Hotel Mackay
