Spotlight by Christian Thompson

When you think about what makes the Fleurieu great – what comes to mind?

Is it the world-renowned wineries? The fantastic restaurants, the local markets and festivals?

Maybe it’s the stunning coastline with surf spots ranging from the gentle grommet-friendly waves of Southport to the hairy, hardcore breaks at Knights?

For locals and visitors alike, it’s likely to be a combination of all of the above, but for some it’s all about the music.

The local live original music scene is an essential part of the Fleurieu’s identity and has been for decades. Of all the things that make the Fleurieu a great place to live, work and play, local music provides the soundtrack, blending the region's unique vibes with the rhythms of daily life.

The local music scene doesn’t just support local artists by giving them a platform to perform and grow – from an economic point of view, it brings punters to venues, cafes, wineries and festivals. It’s a win/win. But could it be better?

I sat down with local mid-coast muso and keen surfer Nick Vulture to talk a bit about where the local music scene is at, and more importantly, where he’d like it to be.

CT: Tell us a bit about your history with music and your history with the mid-coast.

NV: I played in a surf/garage/punk band called the Molting Vultures for 18 years. We were influenced pretty heavily by the local punk scene with bands like The Lizard Train and Exploding White Mice – that sort of sound and also more broadly by bands like Radio Birdman, The Ramones and The Stooges. It started as a bit of a laugh and it ended up being a bit of a laugh for nearly two decades!

Between 2012 and 2020 I was living in Melbourne and regularly coming back and doing shows with the band. In 2019 I decided to try my hand at doing some solo stuff.

I was going to see people play in Melbourne like Charles Jenkins and Tom Redwood, who are both Adelaide ex-pat musos and decided I wanted to have a crack at it. The idea of just being able to pick up a guitar and go anywhere was appealing after all those years of travel and lugging gear.

During lockdown in 2020 I started to listen to more varied genres and people more in the singer/songwriter space like John Prine, Justin Townes Earle, Conor Oberst, Phoebe Bridgers and the like. I was attracted to the darker lyrical songs which maybe had something to do with my own personal situation at the time. So over those months of being shut down and shut in, living by myself for a long period of time, I came out of all that with some songs.

I moved back home when the borders opened. I’ve been doing solo work here ever since and now I’ve got three albums out.

CT: Tell us a bit more about your connection to the mid-coast and the Fleurieu.

NV: I didn’t grow up surfing as a kid but when I was about 16 we moved to Sydney for Dad’s job and ended up living not that far from Manly. I went to a school called Freshwater High – sounds like a TV soap opera! but it was close to Manly and everyone surfed so I started to learn myself.

When I came home in 1987 I was going to Uni and I was perpetually broke and the closest surf I could get to was the mid coast. And often instead of being at Uni I’d just get in the car and surf the mid-coast and I really grew to love it.

CT: What about the surf itself?

NV: Surf-wise it’s no Eyre Peninsula. It’s not too consistent but I just love it – it’s such beautiful coastline and the surf is fun - there’s beautiful reef breaks here. So my relationship with the mid started from that. I just fell in love with it.

CT: How has the mid-coast influenced your music?

Well in terms of the Molting Vultures it definitely did. We had songs about the local surf breaks! I wrote one about Trigs (Trigonometry Point – Port Noarlunga South) and one about Gulls and one about the Trough – It’s goin’ off at the Trough.

With the solo stuff I walk this coast a lot and I often come up with songs on those walks. You get in a kind of meditative state where the lyrics really land on you.

I have a song called Barbara Grace Scott, which is about one of the bench seats along the coast that has an engraved plaque honouring her. It looks out over the U-Turns surf break. The song isn’t about her life as such but it pays homage to her.

CT: You started the mid-coast gig guide Facebook Group, which has about 400 members. How did that come about?

NV: I do a lot of things musically in the area – besides my own music. I also run the Saturday Live Sessions at the Port Noarlunga Arts Centre every three months. It’s folk, acoustic kind of stuff. We have two guests on the day – one from anywhere and one from the local area.

I also help run the Mid-Coast Folk Club on the last Thursday of the month down at Sourc’d Wine Bar Aldinga. We’ve had some great locals headline, like Tom Redwood and Jen Lush and Jessica Luxx. We had a Queensland band touring Australia called JC & the Tree. They were incredible. We’ve even got a band from Norway playing later in the year.

It is really hard work getting people out to watch live original music. It’s definitely gotten harder since COVID so I was thinking about some different strategies around promoting live music, and the mid-coast and surrounds has got quite a few little venues around the place and there are musicians playing original music trying to make a go of it.

So I decided to start something up on Facebook. Just mid-coast based original music – I’ve had to decline some cover bands or artists that aren’t on the mid-coast. It’s really about supporting the venues down here and supporting live local original music.

CT: Tell us about some of the venues on the mid and surrounds.

NV: There are quite a few wineries. Big Easy at Aldinga is one of the more well-known venues. It’s a beautiful spot. There’s also Red Poles at McLaren Vale. Shout out again to the Port Noarlunga Arts Centre - one of the most beautiful sounding venues in Adelaide.

Sourc’d that I mentioned earlier has original music every Saturday night. It’s an amazing little space. RIP to The Pepper Tree at Aldinga that closed not that long ago, unfortunately.

There’s also the Stone Pony that Jen Lush runs in Willunga. It accommodates bigger touring acts and there’s the Cooee Arthouse at Aldinga that Loren Kate has set up. The Port Noarlunga Football Club still puts on punk and hard rock shows on a semi regular basis. They had a big one recently.

CT: What about the Surf Clubs?

NV: Yeah the Christies Sailing Club has live music every Friday and Sunday. Southport Surf Life Saving Club also has music – and they’re part of the Port Noarlunga Blues Festival. The surf clubs are great spaces - fantastic locations. I’d love to see more of them get on board. Moana Surf Club had an open mic thing for a while. It’s got all the makings of a great venue.

CT: How do you rate the health of the local music scene at the moment?

NV: It’s pretty good. The music I’m talking about is mostly singer songwriter style and there’s a lot of really good people. The Mid-Coast Folk Club is really drawing out people wanting to try their hand at the singer songwriter stuff and there’s some great people performing there.

CT: Looking forward, what are your hopes for the scene?

NV: It’d be good to see more venues obviously, but it would also be good to see more venues focusing on original music. I feel like there’s a little bit too much focus on cover bands or tribute acts and they all have a place and I get that and I’m not being critical of them. It’s a bit of a chicken or egg thing – if people don’t go out and see the original music then the venues won’t put them on so we need people to support. Bums on seats for local original music!

Venues have a big role to play, but it’s hard and they are struggling. Insurance is off the radar. I’ve had this conversation with a few venues recently – everything is expensive. The electricity. Even the oil that they cook with… everything has gone nuts and they’re all scraping through.

I totally get that venues do what they need to do, but if they can occasionally take more of a risk and promote it through their channels so that it becomes more of a thing then that will help a lot.

CT: In the meantime – the Folk Club – what are the details if people want to go?

NV: Sourc’d Wine Bar Aldinga. Last Thursday every month. Kicks off at 6pm. Only $5 to get in. Super fun night – the last few have sold out. Popularity is growing which is awesome.

CT: What about local radio?

NV: Triple Z and Tribe FM are great supporters of the local music scene. Fantastic stations. Kym-Maree Kujipers runs The Local – which is a great show. Todd Richmond Bennett does a show on Tribe FM as well, called Naked Radio.

CT: Last question. Are you still surfing?

NV: I sure am – we just need some waves!

For your chance to win a copy of one of Nick’s albums visit the Fleurieu app's WIN Button to go into the draw.

Nick has also put together a Spotify playlist featuring the artists mentioned in this interview. Have a listen here.

To check out Nick’s upcoming gigs or listen to his songwriting podcast visit www.nickvulture.com/

Seeking more local sounds? Check out our local radio stations online - link here

Nick Vulture. Photo credit: Luke Greaves