WARRNAMBOOL musician Sam Grayson - known for the early 2000s earworm Do it with Madonna - used his downtime in COVID-19 lockdowns putting together a new band.
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Warrnambool grunge, rock, alternative outfit Kids with Capes are releasing an EP at Highline bar + lounge supported by The Monaros and Hip Crack on August 20 from 8pm to 10pm.
Grayson was living in Melbourne when he decided to form a band but couldn't find the right line-up. "I was doing it as a lead singer but the songs weren't right - I picked it up and put it down a few times," he said.
He returned to Warrnambool three years ago when a friend suggested he give the band another go but with a different singer. "I started re-writing songs with a female singer in mind - that gritty Courtney Love sound is what I was after," Grayson said.
He formed the band with Shae O'Flaherty on vocals, Nick 'Turtle' Gleeson on bass, Ashar Bethell-Thwaites on lead guitar and Andy Christodoulou on drums.
"I knew Shae - I grew up jamming with her brother Miles - she used to jump around to us playing Metallica when we were 14," Grayson said. "I thought of her straight away but didn't know if she could sing but she had that grunge vibe and loved that kind of music."
Grayson sent O'Flaherty the first song he wrote for the EP, Love is Gone, to learn.
"She just blew me away - I was sitting back almost in tears - what an amazing raw and powerful voice," he said.
Grayson said after Warrnambool's The Loft closed in 2019 there was nowhere for locals bands to play.
"People thought I was crazy putting a band together with nowhere to play and COVID-19," he said.
The musician approached others who played similar music until he landed on the final line-up. "I was lucky enough these guys were really keen to do it," he said. "They're really well rehearsed - the time in between us jamming, they're really keeping on top of knowing the songs so the band's really tight."
Grayson said he recorded the tracks sending them to the other band members to learn. He began writing songs for the EP in January, 2021.
"I kept the ball rolling and to try and outdo each song that was going to be on the album to make the next one better than the one before," he said.
"It all moved pretty quickly after that - because of (the) COVID-19 (pandemic) I had the time invested into writing.
"Most artists wouldn't have the time to sit down and do it but I spent every day writing well into the early hours down in the garage."
The band recorded half of the songs in his garage for the EP with the other half to be recorded in 2023. It was mixed and mastered by Northeast Party House's Malcolm Besley.
Kids with Capes have tested the waters touring with fellow Warrnambool band The Monaros for a string of shows.
Grayson said the future of the band was to play as many gigs as possible. "(We'll) do old school and build it from the ground up and get some good support gigs behind bands and win people over that way," he said.
"One day my dream is to organise a massive gig at Warrnambool Racecourse with some really big bands. I think the Warrnambool council could do more for the music scene."
Grayson said growing up in Warrnambool, there were plenty of opportunities for bands to play. He was part of a band called the Slightly Injured Reagan's who supported The Living End, Magic Dirt, Shihad and Killing Heidi among others.
"The council were putting on these awesome gigs so I feel like there's potential for that now," Grayson said.
He is also part of The Androids known for their 2002 hit Do It with Madonna who have a string of shows coming up and are releasing a record and touring with Uncanny X-Men's Brian Mannix.
People thought I was crazy putting a band together with nowhere to play and COVID-19.
- Sam Grayson
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