This Friday 13th of February, grab your glass slippers and head to the ball; The Crown and Sceptre Ball, that is.
After the Fringe Parade, The Crown and Sceptre on King William Street in the CBD, are holding a massive Fringe opening party.
Featuring local bands Funk Latin Union, Jupiter and Headphone Piracy, the Ball is set to be a night of smooth grooves and a party vibe.
Steve Dedz from Headphone Piracy reckons the venue and line-up are the perfect combination for a great night out.
“We haven’t played at the Sceptre since it reopened so we’re really looking forward to it,” he says.
“Jupiter are like funky, acoustic, soul, hip hop, jazzy style and they’re actually good friends of ours. Alyssa (Fletcher) and Jack (Franceschini), [of Jupiter] are just awesome. I haven’t heard Funk Latin Union (Noni, Cynthia, Jaime, Jose, Andre, Stix, Dave, Clarrie, Richard, Lachlan) but I’ve heard good things about them. It seems like the Crown and Sceptre is going back to its old days, which is a really good thing.”
Headphone Piracy, made up of Steve and his brother Sean (Krave Kemistry) are reemerging after a bit of a break and this gig is getting them back out on the scene.
“We haven’t played a show for a little while and we’re pretty much reintroducing ourselves to the Crown and Sceptre. Me and my brother Sean both played for many years in Poetical Justice and we did a lot of shows there. So to actually do it again is pretty exciting and a lot of our friends and followers are excited too. We’re really looking forward to it,” Steve says.
Having taken on a couple of different forms since its conception, Headphone Piracy is very much a passion project from the brothers who just love making music.
“Sean is the creative beat-maker and we write the songs together. I come up with vocal hooks or vocal lines and he comes up with hooks also. Headphone Piracy came from the fact that Poetical Justice weren’t doing many gigs anymore and we’d sort of gone into a retirement/hiatus sort of state and me and my brother really wanted to keep doing music. He was really getting into his electronic beats and creating beats and producing beats and I was still writing a lot of songs and lyrics,” Steve says.
“One summer we put together some stuff and then three months later we had about three or four tracks we wanted to do. We got a live band going with us and then we sort of evolved into being able to do a live show, then just being us two. We’ve always been in the live music scene but this has sort of come to fruition from us wanting to carry on music and being really keen to work together on it.”
With some of the best names in hip hop at the moment hailing from our fair city, Steve says it’s a good place to be if you want to make that style of music.
“Adelaide hip hop scene is definitely up there. Obviously I’m biased because I’m from here but it’s gone through phases and changes and I think it’s in a really good place; there are some really good acts coming out of Adelaide and a variety of hip hop rather than just one sort of hip hop,” he says.
“That’s what I’m digging about Adelaide. I was always into old school hip hop and seeing a lot of those acts come up and then we got on the scene in Poetical Justice. We weren’t really in the hip hop scene but because we MCd but we felt part of it, but I think there’s a big range of diversity coming up at the moment which is good to see. You’re always going to get your poo with your wee and your gold, and some of it can’t be dusted with gold but I think there’s more positive than negative, that’s for sure.”
But despite the ups and downs of the industry and its incumbents, Steve says Adelaide during Fringe time, is always the best time to enjoy the whole arts scene.
“Adelaide at Fringe time? I always say to people interstate or internationally it’s the best time to come to Adelaide so check it out because it’s so vibing! Especially recently with all the new pop up bars and the new street food stuff and the live music, live arts, live drama; it’s just a good place to be. I dig it,” he says.
After the Crown and Sceptre Ball, Headphone Piracy have secured a spot on the bill for a festival, which they are completely stoked about.
“At Easter, we’ve got a gig at Blenheim Festival which is going to be our next big show and we’re really looking forward to it. It’s in Clare Valley. It’s getting bigger and bigger each year and this year they’ve got some international acts like Tony Joe White (USA) and Z Star (UK). They’ve got a heap of local and interstate acts too. It’s going to be really good and they’ve got us on the night shift too so it’s going to be a really good night. Apart from that, we’ll probably just keep recording some tracks and see where it takes us,” Steve says.
Get along to The Crown and Sceptre after the Fringe Parade before you turn into a pumpkin because Headphone Piracy are bringing the fun.
“It’ll be a live, energetic show. Get ready to dance, get ready to enjoy yourself, get a drink before we start. We’re bringing the vibes, we’re bringing the grooves, and I think people will have a really good night,” Steve says.
Crown and Sceptre Ball is on 13th February, doors open at 9:30pm and entry is free.
By Libby Parker
Upside Adelaide 