These two legendary acts will perform at Splashy Fen near Underberg over the Easter long weekend as part of what promises to be one of the festival's most memorable line-ups in recent years.
Fronted by singer-songwriter-guitarist Dave Birch, Squeal were always the hard rocking crowd pleasers, headlining major festivals and tours and sharing the stage with international artists like Def Leppard, Chris Isaak and Metallica.
Birch is as talented in the studio as he is on stage, and apart from producing Squeal's own albums, he also produced albums for The Parlotones, Farryl Purkiss, Perez, Butternut, Roly Struckmeyer, Stealing Love Jones and The Finkelstiens, amongst others in Durban's Tropical Sweat Studios.
As a band, Squeal was often ahead of its time and spearheaded what the live music industry dubbed “the Durban Invasion”. While the airwaves were swamped with shallow pop and trite lyrics, Birch was writing songs that made you think.
Squeal was also one of the first bands to release an EP that was only available on the Internet, preceding current pay-per-download sites by about a decade. “The people who put it together were very cool, but I think they pre-empted the market,” says Birch. “The public wasn't quite ready to pay for music downloads back then.
For Squeal's fifth appearance on the Splashy Fen stage, the band is going back to its original recipe of Birch on vocals and guitar, Brett Barnes on bass and Craig Nash on drums - the three-piece that rocked the country at a time when “local” was only just becoming fashionable.
“I actually think it will be really good for the three of us to play this gig, because we never really put Squeal to bed,” says Birch. “I'm not saying you'll never hear from Squeal again, but I doubt the three original members will ever play again on a regular basis. Everybody wants to hear the early songs, so it's appropriate to have them played by the original three members.”
Another band that was undoubtedly one of the top rock outfits in South Africa in the 90s is Sugardrive, who recorded four albums and earned three SAMAs as well as repeated votes by the media as “Band of the Year”.
Fronted by singer-songwriter-guitarist Paul E Flynn, Sugardrive is back after a five-year break, and by all accounts better than ever! During the band's extended time-out, Flynn embarked on a solo career that saw him recording his debut album, ‘Fields', produced by Springbok Nude Girls' guitarist Theo Crous. Flynn also collaborates with Wonderboom's Cito Otto on his side-project called Absynthe.
Drummer Garth McLeod and bassist Gavin Wienand joined Bloodmoney, which later changed its name to Heroes Wear Red. McLeod left the band to manage Marshall Music full-time, but still plays drums for Martin Rocka & the Sickshop. Guitarist Michael Westwood is a full-time family man, but rumour has it he's planning a new band…
“It's been about 10 years since Sugardrive played Splashy, and from what I understand, the festival has grown a lot since then, so I'm looking forward to getting our point of view across to a largely uninitiated audience,” says Flynn, adding that their music is always best served up in a festival environment.
Squeal and Sugardrive will perform in the Grant Erskine Marquee at Splashy Fen on Thursday, 9 April, sharing the bill with the likes of Habit To, Gonzo Republic and City Bowl Mizers, amongst others.
“I'm glad to hear that Splashy Fen has invited SA's top two legendary bands to play this year! I hope the younger generation will appreciate their music and realise how good they still are,” says Barney Simon of Tuks FM 107.2. “Both bands wrote brilliant songs, have dynamic vocalists and influenced hundreds of new SA bands over the years.”
Supported by East Coast Radio and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Splashy Fen 2009 is not to be missed! Tickets are available at selected Game stores (R400), Computicket (R450) and at the festival gate (R500). Children under 12 pay R50 - tickets at the gate only. The price includes camping for the entire long weekend. For more information and the latest festival news, visit www.splashyfen.co.za or contact Pedro at 082 892 6176.
