So another Gum Ball Festival is well and truly done and dusted. Loved by so many, The Gum Ball has become a yearly ritual for so many festival goers, but sometimes talking about the culture of music festivals we forget about one of the most important elements: the musicians. So we asked a couple of musicians to report on their experiences at Gum Ball. Ngaiire, Lindi Ortega, Ed Kuepper and Wade from Wolf and Cub ran us through their favourite moments from one of Australia’s favourite festivals.

Ngaiire

Getting There:
“Well it’s quite simple. Considering the Hunter Valley is only a bee’s dick from Sydney we veto any kind of need to hire a Tarago and opt to car pool it.

I went up with Tim (bass) and Evan (drums) in Tim’s ol’ Toyota Corolla. We ran a little behind schedule as I got lost in the rabbit hole that is the Estate of Mind studio trying to find an outfit to wear for the show. We were on the road by 3pm cutting through traffic like the demons we are. We got as far as Turramara on the Pacific Highway and stopped to oil up the car and pick up a couple of Turramara peppered steak pies (Straya mate) and off we went again.”

Setting Up:
“We parked under a giant tent with lights and a make shift change room while my new manager Jeremy ran around making sure I was comfortable. Jeremy or Jezz as we’ve been calling him, has only been with me for a few months maybe less and this was his first festival with us so it was so wonderful to have someone wait on me but also equally weird that I now didn’t have to worry about finding paper for my set lists, how close we were to going on stage, where the rider was or where the tents were for that matter. Having done it for so long by ourselves I almost felt bad that he was doing all of it!”

The Set:
“The Gum Ball audience were pretty bangin’ by the time we launched into the show post dry ice assassination. Needless to say we were all a little rusty having not played a gig for a few weeks and the sound on and off stage was questionable making the gig a little less enjoyable. In all essence it was one of the most challenging gigs I’ve done but from the feedback of the audience afterwards it seemed like they still got a bit of voodoo voodoo. I was happy it was over to be honest but Jeremy won awards for being best manager that day by pep talking me and plying me with Tequila, which I too wilfully accepted. After shotting a couple with me, Mia Dyson walked by and we had a little yarn. It was the first time I’d met her and she was so very lovely. What better way to make new friends. Over more tequila. She hesitated but reaaaally not that bloody much as she knocked back one like baby’s milk.

Thanks Gum Ball. Even though your sound guys were loose I really loved being out under the stars, hanging around bon fires re-connecting with my peers again and everyone was just so relaxed. On a serious note though, however unconventional and sometimes difficult our lives as musicians may be we are so lucky to be able to do this and be a part of a community that are almost like family when you meet up between months.”

Ed Kuepper

Getting There:
“Early start to get the flight to Newcastle, surprisingly stress free even though I hate airport check-ins .Got into Newcastle and arrived at the same hotel I’d swear on a stack of bibles was the one I told the agent I never wanted to stay at again…..anyway unpacked and realised I needed toothpaste so, off to the local mall.
I had a reasonably leisurely drive out to the festival grounds which are about an hour out of Newcastle.”

Setting Up:
“The festival grounds themselves were much more bushy than I expected and there were hundreds of camping tents set up amongst the trees. We found the backstage without any Spinal Tap moments and were welcomed by a loose aggregate of crew and other musicians, all very informal and friendly.”

The Set:
“Doing a solo acoustic show at a rock festival made me think Arlo Guthrie at Woodstock and I said as much to the crowd, but clarified I didn’t know any drug songs.

Halfway through the set I decided to just take requests from the crowd and drop the setlist as long as they did the appropriate bits that I couldn’t do. The crowd were marvellous, knew all the required parts and did them with gusto. Theywere very happy I’d said I’d use them as my backing band, their enthusiasm only slightly dampened by the announcement that they wouldn’t get paid and that they’d all have to share the one room. I finished the set with possibly the most raga-fied version of Laughing Clowns ”Eternally Yours” I’ve ever played to a really nice response , said my goodbyes and headed backstage. Signed some stuff, posed for a couple of snaps then drove back to Newcastle. All in all a really good night , hope to do it again some time.”

Ed’s new album The Return of the Mail-Order Bridegroom came out on Friday April 18th via Valve/ MGM

Wolf & Cub

Getting There:
“If you’re driving to Gum Ball Festival I suggest that you pay close attention to the Google maps on the iPhone because it takes you the longest way possible and nowhere near the highway. I only say this because I was able to see a whole bunch of awesome little towns on the way in that I usually bypass. If it weren’t for the fact that We were in such a rush in the mid afternoon to make it there I would have stopped more than a hundred times for a quick pot or a sandwich and a peruse through the antique and second hand stores littered through the townships.”


Setting Up:
“Arriving at the festival we were greeted by a bunch of familiar faces who frequent the best festivals. All the smiling, muddy, high viz legends who tell us where to park and where our beer is and where to dump our gear. We go behind the stages to check out the setup and see how it all rolls.

I love the double stage set up at Gum Ball. It’s my favourite kind of festival stage set up. There’s no breaks between bands, but still the following band has time to set up comfortably without a rush and likewise when you’re done playing you have time to breath, get a beer, cool off and pack down without someone jumpin’ in your grave and pressuring you to get off.

I found an awesome stall that had these crazy puppets that were modelled on characters from classic films. I wanted to buy “the dude” from The Big Lebowski but settled for a quick picture of it instead. What the hell am I gonna do with a puppet anyway? I grabbed a pizza from the mobile pizza Winnebago and found that my friends from the band Cabins were working in there.”

The Set:
“I won’t bore you with the gory details of our set but what I will say is that we usually base the decisions of which songs to play in our setlist on the vibe of each show or festival. We can strip it back and do a real rock out set with little experimentation. Or we can play a softer more ambient based set or whatever. We just feel it on the night.

We played some for the young, some for the old, some for the new, some for the haters and some for the tattooed, gumball chewing, glow stick waving, fire twirling fairies and we had a large and electric time that I want to do again and again. Thanks again for having us Gum Ball.”

Lindi Ortega (CAN)

Getting There:
“It was a sunny Friday afternoon when we left Sydney to venture two hours north of the city to perform at the renowned Gum Ball Festival. That morning I awoke at the crack of dawn, due in great part, to my incredible jet lag. I was happy however to be up with the birds because this was my first time ever in Australia and I wanted to savor every moment of the adventure I was about to embark on.

The first thing I noticed about this beautiful country of yours, is that the sky is a mosaic of multi-layered clouds that stack and streak across each other like the most epic painting I’ve ever seen. Your trees are lush and statuesque, and your grass is a vibrant green that blankets the fields for miles.”

Setting Up:
“I awoke at an ungodly hour the next morning to get prepared for my slot at The Gum Ball festival which was at 10:30am.

When I was ready we piled into the car and headed to Gum Ball. When we pulled up we realized we were truly in the country. Lots of tents were set up with campers all about. We were greeted and showed to a little tent with a couch and offered some breakfast and tea. Very friendly the Australians are.”

The Set:
“It started to rain just before my set. I thought everyone was going to return back to their tents and not stick around to hear me sing. But the rain was short lived and lots of people remained. I played my 12 songs. It was a lovely atmosphere. Dancing children, families clapping along. The scent of pit fires filled the air.

When I was finished performing we went backstage where I was offered some wine. Of course I couldn’t refuse. To be fair, I hadn’t eaten much breakfast and the wine got me a little tipsy. I walked around the grounds in this state of fuzzy bliss, pinching myself and wondering how the tunes I wrote in my bedroom brought me all the way to this incredible experience on the other side of the world.

Sadly we could not stick around all day as we had to return our rental car. So we packed up our things and headed back to Sydney. I stuck my head out the window and yelled goodbye… I took a deep breath and closed my eye trying to imprint the moment in my mind so that I would never forget it.”

Be sure to catch Lindi while she’s in Australia:
Tuesday 22nd April at The Toff 
Thursday 24h April at Brighton Up Bar

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