Sweet Amber has what is becoming a a familiar story in Darwin: a bunch of young friends decide to form a band and have a red hot go. They start gigging professionally at local venues playing covers. After honing their live skills at a local residency, they eventually branch out into writing original songs. A loyal local following grows around their high-energy guitar-based rock, with the ultimate aim to become exclusively powered by orignal songs..

Theirs could be the story behind any number of young NT bands out there working hard at the moment.. But this one belongs to Sweet Amber, who – still in early their days – have pulled off a bit of a coup, landing one of the coveted local act spots in this year’s BASSINTHE GRASS. Only a year after forming, they’ll be sharing the stage with the likes of Silverchair, Empire Of The Sun, Jessica Mauboy and Children Collide – plus what amounts to a record number of fellow local acts, including Semishigure, Leigh Chisholm, Sleeveheads and DJ Fish.

To say they’re pretty stoked is an understatement, but Sweet Amber also know the BITG gig will be a pivotal point in their development as a professional band, and in their confidence to move forward with what they’ve learned so far.

Jared Winter (right) is one of the two brothers in the band’s line up. Seems they’re also both from a musical family and have a great Darwin story to tell about that.. To find out more, Music NT caught up with Jared as he was taking a break from recording Sweet Amber’s first CD.

Music NT: Who is in Sweet Amber?

Jared Winter: Dylan Podsiadly (vocals), Rhys Winter (lead guitar), Steve-O (rhythm guitar), me, Jared Winter (bass) and Stuart “Ducky” Richardson (drums).

MuNT: How would you describe your sound?

JW: We’re a modern rock band with a lot of variety. If we had to explain it, we’d say ‘Post-Punk/Post-Grunge Rock’. Most of our work has a harder edge to it, but we also like to slow it down with a ballad here and there.

MuNT: How did Sweet Amber get together?

JW: In April 2009, Rhys Winter and myself decided to put together a band. Our original idea for a singer didn’t work out, so we asked vocalist Dylan Podsiadly to join. As Rhys and Dylan had been in a band previously so we knew what he could do. The next step was to find a drummer, so Stuart “Ducky” Richardson was ‘recruited’ as he had played drums for a number of years, including featuring in local punk band Plonker. As Rhys and I originally planned on a 4-piece, we began learning songs and went from there. After two gigs, we decided to add a second guitarist to fatten our sound. We auditioned a few people before finally choosing Stuart’s friend, Steve-O. The current line-up hasn’t changed since then.

MuNT: When you formed, was it just a hobby band, or did you have more concrete ambitions and a plan?

JW: No, we definitely wanted to gig publicly, that was always the plan. We started off learning approximately 30 covers to play at public venues, and after 2 months we began writing originals. We have a rule whenever we’re booked: we get to play our own material. At this point in time, any gig we play consists of 70/30 covers to originals, however we would like to move into becoming an originals-only band.

BASSINTHEGRASS is our first step to achieving this goal.

MuNT: What are your backgrounds – as in where are each of your from? Did you all grow up in Darwin?

JW: Rhys and I are brothers and we were born and raised in Darwin, along with Steve-O. Stuart was born in Darwin, but spent some of his youth in various NT towns (Katherine, Groote Eylandt, Port Keats) before moving back to Darwin in 2000. Dylan moved to Darwin with his family from Melbourne when he was 6 and has lived here ever since. All of us consider ourselves ‘local boys’.

MuNT: What was Sweet Amber’s first ever gig? Worst ever gig? Best ever gig?

JW: Our first gig was for an 18th birthday party at Howard Springs. This was when we were a 4-piece, and we played 3 sets of covers. Our first gig with the current line-up was at Dolly’s Bar in Leanyer. We’ve been a mainstay there ever since.

Our worst gig? That would have to be at Happy Yess late last year. We’d just set our gear up when Stuart, our drummer, doubled over clutching his stomach. He’d had abdominal pain all day, and a fever that hadn’t broken so he decided to go to then hospital. We later found out that he acute appendicitis and was booked into surgery the next day. But back to the gig. We’d just lost our drummer mere minutes before we were due to start. The place was filling up so we decided to play anyway, but with Shane Winter (Rhys and my father) filling in on drums. He’d heard the songs before and played drums for 20 years, so he was the best choice. Let’s just say we won’t be doing that again..! Despite his best efforts, the set didn’t go very smoothly and all we could do was laugh when Shane took his shirt off half way through!

Our best gig would have to be New Year’s Eve at Dolly’s Bar. The place was packed to the walls, inside and out, and we put on a great show. It was one of those nights when everything fell into place and nothing went wrong. Plus, we were dressed up in costumes for a bit of fun. Have you ever seen a wizard rock out on guitar, or a pimp bash the drums?! If not, then I guess you weren’t there that night!

MuNT: Where have you been playing in the NT so far?

JW: As mentioned, we mainly play at Dolly’s Bar in the Hibiscus Tavern in Leanyer. Any given night that includes 3 sets with about 8-10 originals sprinkled throughout. It’s great playing there because you can build a solid following within the northern suburbs.

We’ve played at numerous Happy Yess gigs too. We featured in the TEASE festival held at Brownsmart and opened Youth Week recently at the Palmerston Aquatic Centre. Aside from that, we’ve performed at two weddings, an 18th birthday party and been booked for a Football Presentation night and a 40th Birthday party at the PINTs Club. Basically, we’re keen to play just about anywhere!

MuNT: Who are some of your fave NT bands?

JW: We’ve played with a few of the local bands around town and couple of them deserve a mention. We enjoy ZEDMAJOR, Crassic Park, Burrfoot, Sex in the Desert, the Push Crew, Dave Garnham and S33d. There’s so much local talent, its hard to choose the best.

MUNT: Did you guys have any particular mentors who’ve helped you along the way, with your music?

JW: Musically, we tend to rely on each other. Because we each have our own stlye, our own influences, we’ve been able to impart that on one another.

Our biggest helper off the scene would have to be Shane Winter (my father). He’s our sound guy, which is major bonus to have when not gigging at a festival or similar event. He’s also given us a lot of advice about how to plan ahead in the music world, what’s expected of paid bands and how to react when things don’t go quite right. Basically he’s given us our understanding of the do’s and dont’s of the music scene. He’s been a great help and anyone in the band will tell you that we wouldn’t be where we are now without his help.

MuNT: What was your reaction from you when you found out you had been selected as one of the local acts for the bill at this year’s BITG?

JW: Excited!! This was our main goal this year as it gives us an opportunity to play our music to a much wider audience. It was quite funny, really, when I got the call from NT Major Events. I was so stunned, I didn’t know how to react…so I didn’t! It must’ve seemed very strange and I’m sure they were expecting a different response. Only after calling all of the boys and hearing their reactions did it start to sink in..!

MuNT: What does it mean to you to be added to the line-up?

JW: It means a few things to us. First and foremost, it’s a chance to reach more people. Anyone in a working band wants to play to more and more people, and this is just about the biggest event in the NT. It also means that we’re on the right track, that what we’re doing is catching the attention of the ‘higher-ups’ of NT music.

MuNT: Does this mean that you’ll be able to meet and mix with the interstate acts?

JW: I’m not sure, actually. We’ve heard a whisper that the local acts will be kept separate from the big name bands. We certainly hope not, it’d be great to pick their brains on the Australian music industry but mainly, it’d be great just to get to know them. If there’s one thing music does, it unifies people. Regardless of where you’re from or who you are, you can share in a common interest. It transcends petty borders like race or social caste.

MuNT: Do you guys have a strategy about your music – and particular ambitions? As in, how far would you like to take playing music together

JW: We have one main goal, which involves many little goals. In the end, we would like to do this as a career. That’s the end result that we’re working towards. However, we break that down into steps along the way, even going so far as having goals of what we want to achieve after each month or two. This isn’t just a hobby for us. Everyone in the band is just out of high school and most of us hold down full-time jobs, while others pursue tertiary education.

MuNT: Will you move to interstate to pursue a music career as a band? Or with technology now, do you think you can be successful and stay living in the NT?

JW: This is something that we’ve discussed briefly and filed it under ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’. It’s very easy now to say we’d be happy to move in a few years, but personal lives can change, so deciding now would be moot.

As to whether we can still be successful living in the NT? Yes, with technology where it’s at now, I think it’s possible. Here’s some food for thought: our largest fan-base is from the United States, and we’re in discussions with a number of Canadian radio stations who want to air our music. [Wow! - Ed]

MuNT: What’s the best advice you’ve heard for young musicians?

JW: Get out there and play. Play every opportunity you can get your hands on! The local music scene in Darwin is very supportive of young bands, so don’t think that you have to do it all on your own. If you have a question, ask it. You’ll be surprised about how much you can learn from the local musicians, and you’ll be even more surprised at how willing they are to help you.

MuNT: What do you think you need to have, in order to be successful in the music business?

JW: You need to want it. It’s all well and good to say that, but you have to really mean it.

MuNT: Please finish this sentence: “In 5 years Sweet Amber will be…”

JW: “… signed.” Very simple, I know. We would like to be signed to a record label in 5 years’ time, that’s our next major goal. How many minor goals will we have to fulfill to get there? I don’t know, but as long as we’re enjoying what we do we aren’t going to stop until we get there.

Sweet Amber will play at BASSINTHEGRASS at the Darwin Amphitheatre on May 22^nd. Check out their music on MySpace or drop them a line on the Music NT Forum.