Fairfax columnist Sam de Brito has just learned a very important lesson: don’t mess with hard-working Aussie bands. We know what you must be thinking – that just seems obvious, doesn’t it? Maybe not.
In a recent profile of homegrown actor Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom, Netflix’s Bloodline), de Brito addressed the concept of “paying your dues” in artistic pursuits, framing it as a fairly alien concept for today’s artists.
As far as de Brito’s concerned, “in our era of instant reality TV fame”, artists have forgotten what it means to pay their dues and are instead more interested in achieving instant fame by selling out.
“When abs or eyebrows are enough to score you a gig on Home and Away and four baristas with beards can do a note-perfect ‘copy-version’ of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ for a national ad campaign, credibility has been reduced to a Santa Cruz T-shirt bought at General Pants,” he writes.
The “four baristas with beards” de Brito refers to are Australian band Kingswood, who recorded a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic for a recent Isuzu ad campaign.
While most will abide the Home and Away dig, de Brito was way off with the stab at Kingswood, whom most readers will know as one of Australia’s hardest working bands, with a prolific track record of national tours.
Kingswood guitarist Alexander Laska isn’t about to take de Brito’s ill-informed stab lying down either, penning an eloquent retort to the columnist’s claims, which he’s now kindly shared with Tone Deaf (read it in full below).
“As one of those bearded baristas, I’ll have you know that today I attempted one hundred abdominal crunches and at no stage did my musical capacity grow, nor was I able to convince Barbara, the lady on the Swiss ball next to me, that I had become a better musician,” Laska writes.
“As I understand it, the term ‘credibility’ can be defined by the qualities of being convincing or believable, particularly with regard to artistic performances in this context.”
“From humble beginnings, we have worked tirelessly at growing as an independent musical entity and toured our country countless times.”“Therefore, by your description, which generously suggests a ‘perfect’ copy version of a song, you have deemed us credible, as a ‘perfect’ rendition of something suggests to me that it is both convincing and believable.”
“To produce something of this standard, one must have aptitude in a number of areas; an understanding of music, a technical capacity in which to exercise that understanding and a developed musicality granting you the ability to replicate that which you have heard before in an organized and musically coherent manner.”
“To develop these takes time, practice, patience and education, a ‘paying of dues’ if you will, not in the industry sense, but rather to the art of music itself.” Laska goes on to cite his degree in music, the culmination of a musical education that began at age seven.
“Furthermore, Kingswood has been in the industry for almost ten years now. From humble beginnings, we have worked tirelessly at growing as an independent musical entity and toured our country countless times.”
The band’s relentless touring, Laska writes, has put a strain “on all aspects of normal life, from jobs, family/friends, and relationships, to even the vans we use, having blown up our poor ’93 Toyota Hi-ace commuter, Peggy, on the Hume three times now”.
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“To keep your dream alive is an arduous and costly process, particularly as an independent band… once you develop to a certain level, there is an expectation of quality, and quality is also costly. This means that when opportunities present that provide a financial boost, sometimes, you have to take them.”
“It goes without saying that all musicians and bands would prefer to have their own originals used in media, as this is another side of the ‘credibility’ coin, but more often than not, we aren’t afforded that luxury,” Laska writes in his final salvo.
“Every once in a while however, you are granted a little victory, and ours came along in the form of the Netflix bravura, Bloodline, as you fittingly described it, and ironically now in more ways than one.”
“In episode twelve of this enthralling series, at approximately forty-three minutes and forty seconds, you’ll find a song called ‘Ohio’, an original song by a little band from Australia called Kingswood.”
Kingswood’s Open Letter To Sam de Brito
Dear Sam de Brito,
As the founding member for Australian band, Kingswood, I recently read your article concerning the talents and development of one Ben Mendelsohn, particularly his latest efforts in the Netflix series ‘Bloodline’. For the most part, the article is great and I agree with you regarding Mendelsohn’s immense talent and capability. However, the article also touches on the ideas of ‘credibility’ and ‘paying your dues’ in artistic pursuits. In your introduction you categorise ‘four bearded baristas’ producing a ‘note perfect copy’ of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ with abdominals and facial features granting positions on daily soaps, implying that in some way, they are of equivalence. As one of those bearded baristas, I’ll have you know that today I attempted one hundred abdominal crunches and at no stage did my musical capacity grow, nor was I able to convince Barbara, the lady on the Swiss ball next to me, that I had become a better musician.
As I understand it, the term ‘credibility’ can be defined by the qualities of being convincing or believable, particularly with regard to artistic performances in this context. Therefore, by your description, which generously suggests a ‘perfect’ copy version of a song, you have deemed us credible, as a ‘perfect’ rendition of something suggests to me that it is both convincing and believable. To produce something of this standard, one must have aptitude in a number of areas; an understanding of music, a technical capacity in which to exercise that understanding and a developed musicality granting you the ability to replicate that which you have heard before in an organized and musically coherent manner. To develop these takes time, practice, patience and education, a ‘paying of dues’ if you will, not in the industry sense, but rather to the art of music itself. Having the fortune of playing and being educated in music since seven years of age and seeing that through to a completed musical degree at tertiary level, I feel compelled to declare that I have been ‘paying my dues’ and will always continue to ‘pay my dues’ to the art of music.
Furthermore, Kingswood has been in the industry for almost ten years now. From humble beginnings, we have worked tirelessly at growing as an independent musical entity and toured our country countless times, putting strain on all aspects of normal life, from jobs, family/friends, and relationships, to even the vans we use, having blown up our poor ’93 Toyota Hi-ace commuter, Peggy, on the Hume three times now. We have done this to propel our dream, from getting our first batch of T-shirts made to funding our first record, to engaging with the people who have supported us from far and wide, to respect the process it takes for the industry to deem you ‘credible’, and we have done it by ‘paying our dues’. To keep your dream alive is an arduous and costly process, particularly as an independent band and not only your dream, but a standard, as once you develop to a certain level, there is an expectation of quality, and quality is also costly. This means that when opportunities present that provide a financial boost, sometimes, you have to take them.
To therefore associate or insinuate that the processes/circumstances that have led to this version of ‘Go Your Own Way’ are equivalent to that of reality TV fame or the ‘short-cut’ is a gross surmising. Sure, I can appreciate how you may have come to this conclusion, as from the outset it seems obvious, which is why I felt it necessary to write a defense, not only for myself, but for the countless bands and musicians that have to make decisions that sometimes may not resonate with all audiences, to keep their careers alive. It goes without saying that all musicians and bands would prefer to have their own originals used in media, as this is another side of the ‘credibility’ coin, but more often than not, we aren’t afforded that luxury. Every once in a while however, you are granted a little victory, and ours came along in the form of the Netflix bravura, ‘Bloodline’, as you fittingly described it, and ironically now in more ways than one. In episode twelve of this enthralling series, at approximately forty-three minutes and forty seconds, you’ll find a song called ‘Ohio’, an original song by a little band from Australia called Kingswood.
Also, I don’t drink coffee.
Kind Regards,
Alexander Laska.
