The BDO Means Something
Illawarra Mercury, January 10 2002

Something for Kate are primed for the Big Day Out and know it doesn't get any bigger in Australian music.

AFTER amazing the nation in 2001 with the release of the platinum selling album Echolalia, Something For Kate have broken into the top rank of Australian acts.

The trio represents the best on offer at this year's Big Day Out festival, and given the hefty home-grown and international talent that is no lean statement. 

Discussing the upcoming Big Day Out in Sydney and the success of the band, drummer Clint Hyndman said he'd be happy just making records.

Playing in a band and making music is a good way to spend your 20s, but it has not been without a lot of hard work and it still is,'' he said. "Getting up on a stage and playing your own songs to a crowd who knows them is truly awesome. A lot of people dream of doing something like that, so you cannot take it for granted for one moment.''

After seven years working with guitarist and vocalist Paul Dempsey and bass player Stephanie Ashworth, Hyndman figures it was the record label who decided it was their time.

"We though that Echolalia was just another album, the production was better than our second album Beautiful Sharks but both have good songs,'' he said. "I think people in the position to decide turned all the promotion wheels and got things moving. Getting the gold album was nice, but getting the platinum was very exciting ... something else for Mum to hang on the wall.''

Something For Kate join the A-list Australian bands for this year's festival that includes Spiderbait, John Butler Trio, Gerling, Shihad, Grinspoon, Regurgitator, Machine Gun Fellatio, Magic Dirt and Eskimo Joe.

The Big Day Out is very different, it gets out to everyone with all the shows and is such an institution,'' Hyndman said. "How can we be anything but excited about playing the BDO, it doesn't get any bigger in Australian music?''

There have been significant changes to the handling of security and crowd control at this year's event. The usual focus on one or two big international bands has shifted towards strong but smaller acts, such as Prodigy, Crystal Method, Alien Ant Farm, New Order, Garbage and Basement Jaxx, which will make a perfect mix of pop, punk, dance and rock.

Hyndman was cheering about the new security measures and the plans to eliminate potentially dangerous activities.

"We have never encouraged moshing, we are not that kind of band and we won't have crowd surfing at our shows,'' he said. "In the past if someone starts crowd surfing, Paul has just stopped singing and had a vote, asking people to put there hands up for those who want to get kicked in the head and who doesn't ... generally the obvious wins. You don't pay the big ticket prices to have people jumping on you and there is nothing worse from the band's perspective of seeing 25-year-old guys crowd surfing and kicking 15-year-old girls in the back of the head. Being the ones on stage, you have the responsibility to tell people to stop and if they can see that the band doesn't support it, then more often than not they will.''

The Big Day Out 2002 starts on January 26 at 10.30am at the RAS Showgrounds, Homebush Bay. Everyone under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. Photo ID is required to purchase alcohol. Tickets are $93 (including GST but check for booking fees) and are available from Ticketmaster.