New Year’s Eve is always a memorable night, but for Midnight Juggernauts their performance at Falls Festival a few years ago topped the list for an unusual reason. “I remember one year when we played in Tasmania at Falls Festival, it was halfway during our set there was a massive storm that came in and they had to shut down the stage,” Andy Szekeres [bass/vocals] says.
“Then we came back on and after 25 minutes they decided it was safe to start the festival again. You know there were 15,000 people waiting for the music to come back and obviously everyone was ecstatic because the music was on and the night wasn’t over. There was lightning and thunder everywhere and part of me was thinking, I hope I survive and don’t get struck by lightning.”
It’s safe to say the band survived the storm and continued on to celebrate their 10th Anniversary with a Melbourne show in November this year. “It was amazing – it’s kind of surreal and weird thinking that we have been playing for ten years,” he says.
“We had a lot of fun playing in our home town and we were so happy to see all these people who have come from our past and it literally felt like a birthday celebration, or it was more like a marriage 10th anniversary kind of celebration I think.”
Instead of celebrating just in the traditional sense, Midnight Juggernauts have come out with a new EP, with all proceeds going towards the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation. The contact came via drummer Daniel Stricker but it was something the band had been thinking of for a while.
“We had the idea that with our 10th anniversary, instead of just doing a traditional release and going down the normal path the idea of also donating to some charity that we all really believe in would be a good idea,” he says.
“So we’ve kind of met with those guys and it came together really easily. They were really into the idea of a cross collaboration between us and them. A lot of people have got behind the idea and we’ve had quite a few donations and it’s been really good for those guys.”
Redirecting EP profits to a charity is just one of the many new concepts created this year with a new experimental audio/visual electronic set AERIALS also added to their live shows.
“It was an interesting idea that we created just from having a really different perspective on life. We really brought it back to the visual idea of looking at things from an above or below perspective and how interesting different elements look, whether it’s looking at landscapes or microscopic elements. It was such an interesting visual idea, that at times you couldn’t really tell what perspective you were looking at,” Andy says.
With a new electronic sound to match the new look, the next decade looks to be a series of firsts and constant development from the trio. And they’ll be bringing in 2015 through the best possible way: playing their new music at the inaugural Beyond the Valley festival on Phillip Island. Let’s hope this time they’re blessed with better weather.
When & Where: Beyond the Valley, Phillip Island – December 30-January 1
Release: AERIALS EP out now.
By Amanda Sherring
