Like Guns'n'Roses, Dire Straits and Adele, a humble Aussie band is out to make history like those before them with the help of "Peggy", a beauty who previously hung with penguins.
Kingswood will roll into the NSW Illawarra today as part of an extensive tour, possibly the largest tour by an Australian band, and made possible by their renovated tourist coach "Peggy".
The "Home Towns" series will see the group head far and wide to play more than 150 shows this year in places like Tomakin, Moruya, Queanbeyan, Bathurst and Bulli's Heritage Hotel.
Guitarist, vocalist and band manager Alex Laska said he would "love" them to go down in the Guinness Book of Records.
Guns'n'Roses for a long-time held the global record for their "Use Your Illusion Tour" with 194 shows in 27 countries, running from 1991 to 1993. But that was beaten in 2011 by Jared Leto's band Thirty Seconds To Mars with 309 concerts worldwide.
Heading to the furthest corners of the nation may not see Kingswood sell 600,000 tickets like pop-diva Adele in 2017, but they do have a heck of a lot more gigs than Adele and previous Australian record-holders Dire Straits (who performed 48 shows on their 1986 "Brothers in Arms" tour).
Regardless, Al and his bandmates are stoked to hit the road in style, in their renovated 1990 Mercedes 303 coach which now sleeps up to eight people, is dappled with plenty of red/black velvet, burgundy vinyl, a large television and even has a "cinema room".
"It was used as a Phillip Island touring bus, I imagine for people from ... Melbourne going to Philip Island to see the penguins and stuff," he told the Illawarra Mercury.
"We bought it in September last year and went to Europe and America and did some touring ... then as soon as we got back we stripped it completely to its shell, and designed and built our home on wheels."
Al said it was ironic their tour was called "home towns" despite he and his band-mates now living on this bus until at least July, but it's comfortable having spent most of their money on it, he said.
And despite having an ample bar set-up on "Peggy", they are responsible lads, with a driving roster so they don't get into trouble.
It will certainly make their travels to Wollongong a lot nicer than one of the last times they ventured this way in a fight for survival.
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They rode their motorbikes from Newcastle south, but hectic storms meant a 90-minute journey turned into a "horrific" eight-hour adventure to get to their next gig.
"We all still talk about it, I can't believe we survived," Al said.
If you see "Peggy" out on the road, why not honk and say "G'day" to the Kingswood clan.
Their new album Home is out now and filled with Americana vibes and bluesy rock, and was recorded on a ranch in Wongawallan, QLD.
Kingswood perform at Bulli's Heritage Hotel, Thursday March 16.
Desiree Savage
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
