Jungle beat rocks coast
LORNE is set to host a giant Australia Day party in 2018.
The Lorne Hotel has been hand-picked as the location of one of three Urban Spread events — bringing Australian live music to Victoria’s outer suburbs and regional areas.
Urban Spread’s 2018 Summer Road Trip will see The Jungle Giants and special guests Northeast Party House put on a special outdoor show in Lorne on January 26.
The Urban Spread party machine — presented by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) as part of its Towards Zero vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads — has been rolling through Victoria since being formed in 2015, and has featured local big names like Seth Sentry, The Jezabels, The Rubens, DZ Deathrays, The Bennies and Alex Lahey.
The latest local big name to jump on board is The Jungle Giants, which makes its way to the coast on the back of a massive 2017, in which it released its third album Quiet Ferocity — picked as Triple J’s album of the week and widely praised as an indie triumph.
The Brisbane four-piece is now three albums deep, after forming in 2011, releasing its first full-lengther Learn To Exist in 2013, follow-up album Speakerzoid in 2015 and third album this year.
The band’s singer-guitarist Sam Hales said succeeding as an independent band was now easier than ever, in a News Corp interview earlier this year.
“There was this archaic idea that you sign to a label and then you’ve made it,” Hales said.
“Labels are gripping on now, things are changing, it’s not a perfect world for them any more. People can do it on their own.
“I talk to friends who sign to labels and I ask them ‘What percentage are you getting?’ and they’re like ‘Dunno, we haven’t really reviewed that yet and I’m like ‘What the f--- are you doing?’”
The rise of streaming music is a big factor in the ability to stay independent — particularly when you have more than 35 million Spotify streams going for you.
“Every now and then we get something like eight grand — we get cash — and all our streaming revenue goes straight back into the band,” Hales said.
“It’s only going to get bigger and better. People say ‘Why isn’t this song on YouTube?’ I’m like, ‘Get on Spotify, dude’. Once Spotify reach a certain amount of people they’ll start paying more.”
While The Jungle Giants will be the major drawcard of Urban Spread’s 2018 Summer Road Trip, there will be plenty of punters heading along to see their special guests Northeast Party House spinning a few tracks for a DJ set.
Since forming in Melbourne in 2010, Northeast Party House has lived up to its name, building a reputation for exhilarating live shows and a charismatic mix of dance, rock and pop. Urban Spread’s 2018 Summer Road Trip will host an outdoor party at the Lorne Hotel on Friday, January 26. Tickets are on sale now through urbanspread.com.au