Sure, spunky-looking babes in a band are nothing new; it’s been done. And done. Even in South Africa. What hasn’t been done in these parts is a band of them making music that borrows from the ethereal underworld of rock while referencing opulent soundscapes and intricate imagery.
Just when you think you’ve heard it all, along comes something that totally resets your ears and makes you sit up and take notice. And not just because the five music makers all happen to be spunky-looking babes! jon monsoon deborah rossouw
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The band was part-realised at the end of 2008 as the fantasy-madeflesh workings of a drum teacher instructing Sherri Liss in the art of percussion. The others knew each other through boyfriends in bands on the Cape Town unsigned indie scene. “None of us necessarily knew how to be in a band, we just knew that we wanted to be in one,” explains bassist and backing vocalist Helen Westcott. They set about finding a vocalist, mindful not to end up as a girly-band that sings about girly things. When Kathy Davy (better known for her stints as a violin-wielding session muso) stood at the mic for the first time at an audition one day, the band knew they’d found her. The music that followed employs the voice as just another instrument in a heady mix of drums-bass-guitarkeyboards and meandering interludes, that sooner reference a forgotten era than stand in imitation of something else already tried. That the local audience is ready for something more visceral than what is currently on offer was proven at Coal’s debut gig: a mid-week, winterrainstorm-soaked affair that saw the venue packed to the rafters and more turned away at the door. Those that got in stood in slack-jawed awe at what transpired on stage. “We always considered ourselves something of an acquired taste,” reckons Helen, “that people would take a long time to get what we were trying to do. But after our first show, we felt we were onto something special…” Kathy adds, “Cape Town audiences are notoriously fussy. They were probably appreciative of what we were doing: daring to be different and giving them something new to think about.” And therein lies Coal’s greatest challenge: to be accepted as a band that is liked because they’re good, not because they’re good looking. “People look at a girl on stage and will sooner say something like ‘Gee, she’s hot!’, before saying ‘Gee, she’s a hot bassist!’” opines drummer Sherri. “We don’t wanna be good for girls, we wanna be good – full stop.” Coal has a firm plan in place, part of which is not to gig as often as most new bands do. “Each show we put on is just that – a show! A lot goes into the planning, our outfits and the stage design, so we want to keep it special every time we play, both for our audience and for ourselves,” says keyboardist Linda Scarborough in explanation of this atypical strategy. We, for one, will be watching closely. Look out for them on facebook.
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one small seed