Bad Pony Release ‘Catapults’
Photo Credit: Richard Clifford
As a music fan, you might hear this question thrown around a bit. “What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to”. Now I’ve been lucky enough to see some pretty incredible acts in my days from stadium fillers to my friend's band in a dingy pub, but the performance that stands out in my mind is Bad Pony at The Standard Bowl in 2016.
A few of my uni buddies were in a band called Chasing Giants and they were playing their first gig of that year. Being the fantastic friend I am (don’t fact-check that), I decided to head on down to The Standard Bowl (a venue I’d never been to before), and see my mates play. As soon as I walked into The Standard Bowl, I knew that night was going to be amazing. There was a bowling alley, there were pool tables, and not to mention, I was going to see some bands play.
The first two bands were at least somewhat familiar to me. Up first was Trouble Cruise who at the time went by Yours Truly but had to change their name for what I assume are obvious reasons. Like Chasing Giants, Trouble Cruise and I went to uni together but I can’t say we were incredibly close (although I recall them being wonderful lads). Next up was the aforementioned Chasing Giants who played a great set.
The headliners for the night were a band I had never heard of before. As you probably guessed, that band was Bad Pony. There were so many things about their set that blew me away. I loved how they didn’t have a single drummer, instead, they shared parts of a drum kit with different members of the band. The songs were incredible with the chant-like vocals on songs such as ‘Zombie’ and ‘Guard Down’ really standing out to me. But most of all, it was the pure energy the band exuded that stood out to me. They somehow transformed that relatively small room into something that felt more like a stadium show.
Since that gig, both Chasing Giants and Trouble Cruise have disbanded, The Standard Bowl has shut its doors, but Bad Pony remains. In fact, they have just released a new single called ‘Catapults’ which is to be featured on their upcoming debut album ‘Forever Up & Coming’, due out February 10th.
The first taste from the album, ‘Catapults’ has everything I’ve come to expect from a Bad Pony song; catchy choruses, gang vocals, unique guitar lines and introspective lyrics. Despite all this, the song still feels incredibly fresh. It’s great when a band is able to use the elements they’ve become known for in new and inventive ways.
Talking about the track, Bad Pony says “Catapults is a cute little love song about being grateful for and acknowledging past lovers. My early dating days were full of intensity, mismatchedness and ultimately a bunch of people who left me - but I learned a lot from each of them which is a nice little takeaway”.
If I haven’t convinced you yet that Bad Pony is a band worth seeing live, why not check them out for yourself? They have recently announced shows across Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong to celebrate the release of ‘Forever Up & Coming’. Details for those shows can be found here.
