When I was finished high school I had well and truly fallen in love with surfing.
I grew up in a small town on the south coast called Merimbula and was at the most dreamy in love stage and had totally caught the bug. Some days we'd look out at the half a foot onshore sloppy waves and all of my mates would stare at me like I was the biggest ding bat on the planet for actually wanting to paddle out. I'd cop hell for it and still get out there and have a blast all on my own.
I was playing a lot of music at that stage and was convincing the little restaurants around town to let me play classical guitar in the corner. They were my first gigs. I also started busking a lot and following around a chap who owned a coffee van. He would let me plug in my little PA and busk next to his line of customers. I borrowed a bunch of money off my parents, bought a van and kitted it out with my friend’s dad who was a carpenter. It was everything I had ever dreamed of; a big double bed with storage underneath and a chest of drawers, a little desk, some cupboards, and a few racks in the ceiling for surfboards.
I busked my arse off to pay back my parents and hit the road six weeks later. I pretty quickly ended up around Byron Bay hanging out with a cool band called Marshal and the Fro. Marshal gave me lots of support gigs and showed me the grittier, real side of gigging around. It was a blast and we had an amazing time. I fell in love with the whole region – I got up to the Gold Coast to figure out if Snapper, Kirra and Burleigh were as good as all the pictures in the magazines.
I hooked up with some great bands and muso's around the area like A French Butler Called Smith and the Hussy Hicks. I spent quite a few good nights out at the Mooball pub with a bunch of mates that I made out that way, and my first manager lived in Murwillumbah. We'd always get up before the sun and head off to Cabarita or around that area south a little. There are some great little secret spots and beautiful beaches.
In general it’s been an amazing part of my wanderings and the area means a lot me. It was my first port of call after high school and went along hand-in-hand with the liberation I felt at hitting the road and starting my career playing music. I'm stoked to be coming back there for Bleach* Festival and I love the idea of bending the concept of surfing to be more like a live performance than a competition. I can’t wait to see what a surfer like Dave Rastovich does with that kind of idea. Having left the Gold Coast off my last national tour I am very excited to be getting back there and seeing all the people I know. It’s going to be a blast.
I grew up in a small town on the south coast called Merimbula and was at the most dreamy in love stage and had totally caught the bug. Some days we'd look out at the half a foot onshore sloppy waves and all of my mates would stare at me like I was the biggest ding bat on the planet for actually wanting to paddle out. I'd cop hell for it and still get out there and have a blast all on my own.
I was playing a lot of music at that stage and was convincing the little restaurants around town to let me play classical guitar in the corner. They were my first gigs. I also started busking a lot and following around a chap who owned a coffee van. He would let me plug in my little PA and busk next to his line of customers. I borrowed a bunch of money off my parents, bought a van and kitted it out with my friend’s dad who was a carpenter. It was everything I had ever dreamed of; a big double bed with storage underneath and a chest of drawers, a little desk, some cupboards, and a few racks in the ceiling for surfboards.
I busked my arse off to pay back my parents and hit the road six weeks later. I pretty quickly ended up around Byron Bay hanging out with a cool band called Marshal and the Fro. Marshal gave me lots of support gigs and showed me the grittier, real side of gigging around. It was a blast and we had an amazing time. I fell in love with the whole region – I got up to the Gold Coast to figure out if Snapper, Kirra and Burleigh were as good as all the pictures in the magazines.
I hooked up with some great bands and muso's around the area like A French Butler Called Smith and the Hussy Hicks. I spent quite a few good nights out at the Mooball pub with a bunch of mates that I made out that way, and my first manager lived in Murwillumbah. We'd always get up before the sun and head off to Cabarita or around that area south a little. There are some great little secret spots and beautiful beaches.
In general it’s been an amazing part of my wanderings and the area means a lot me. It was my first port of call after high school and went along hand-in-hand with the liberation I felt at hitting the road and starting my career playing music. I'm stoked to be coming back there for Bleach* Festival and I love the idea of bending the concept of surfing to be more like a live performance than a competition. I can’t wait to see what a surfer like Dave Rastovich does with that kind of idea. Having left the Gold Coast off my last national tour I am very excited to be getting back there and seeing all the people I know. It’s going to be a blast.
Kim Churchill plays Bleach* Festival, Gold Coast, 21 March.
