Kaleidoscope play a dirty, fuzzy strain of psych-rock and have been blowing out eardrums all over town for a while now. They’re one of the big names on the Kiama Youth Stock festival this weekend, and guitarist Sweeney gave the Mercury some facts
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Who are Kaleidoscope?
Kaleidoscope are three dudes from the South Coast who play way too loud for the surfers of Gerrongong, so found a sort-of home in the dirty fuzz capital of the world, the almighty Wollongong. Or you could just say we’re Darcy, Kane and Sweeney.
Members in any previous/current bands?
Darcy and Kane were directly sourced from the most successful Limp Bizkit cover band of Kiama "Stiff Cookie" while Sweeney was once known as "Papa Sweeney" from "The Butchers".
When and how did the band start?
First off "Stiff Cookie" couldn’t make their first show because the guitarist couldn’t play the date. The guys thought "who is the most nu metal guitarist in Gerroa?" And I obviously came to mind with my extensive face paint collection. After an intense version of "My Generation" we decided to do our own thing, and nothing would ever stop us.
Describe your music.
We mostly listen to and learn life lessons from Violent Soho, Tumbleweed, Dune Rats, Babymachine, Bulldoze all Bowlos, and any legend around.
How did your sound develop and how has it changed over time?
We’ve learned how to get our 15 minute mega heavy psych jams down to a friendly four minutes without losing the heavy or the vibes. I reckon anyway...
What’s the Wollongong music scene like now?
Pretty mad, there are legends all over the place! And when you think "man all the legends must live here" you get some legends like Hollow Gods road tripping up to play Rad and ramping up the mad vibes. Wollongong's got so many good bands, but we’re kind of stuck with venues. Rad is awesome but it can’t be the only all original venue in a city with so much mad music.
Where/when are your next shows?
We’re playing at Waves in Towradgi on May 16 as a benefit for a legend who Wollongong lost last year. It’s called Rock For Rob and has an awesome lineup, check our Facebook page for deets.
We’re selling the last of our 7" records with "Myalla" and "This is One (You Can Ignore)", which are on CD and wax, and are running pretty low. After that we might have some pretty interesting stuff planned for the year...
