Hottest new acts line up in CQ to Kick Start 2019
Nothing is off limits for Colt Seavers Band frontman during his daredevil performances including setting fire to the band's instruments.
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The inaugural Kick Start music festival promises to set CQ on fire - literally - when it kicks off Thursday at Yeppoon's Maurie Webb park.
The Colt Seavers frontman is a professional bull rider and stuntman who's worked with the likes of Tom Cruise on The Last Samurai and Heath Ledger in Ned Kelly.
Nothing is off limits for this rockabilly outlaw during his daredevil performances including setting fire to the band's instruments.
Their music's just as hot if rave reviews from this year's show in Tamworth are anything to go by.
But the real hero behind this new event on Rockhampton's music calendar is Gary Vincent who runs On Hire Rentals on Thozet Road.
Vincent's showing me his hand-painted Tardis portaloos as he relates how he came to spend the last eight months pulling his latest gig together after a five year hiatus.
A talented muso in his own right - he played professional guitar around Sydney's surf beaches - Vincent turned to instrument sales and events management after his very first glimpse of Lammermoor Beach enticed him to come live in CQ.
"The big beach, the blue water, the few islands on the horizon...I knew this was where I was meant to be,” he said.
Locals will remember the Rockeze music shop Vincent ran on Musgrave Street between 1991 and 1996 before he moved on to full-time events management.
What they won't know is from how far back he had to haul himself to help others make their music.
"I was in the Army when I broke my back,” he said.
"It was one of those classic 'you'll never walk again' scenarios; it took me nine years but I beat the odds.”
By the late 90s, Vincent had brought such star acts as Smokey, Thirsty Merc and SuperJesus to the region.
He also helped his wife Christine to raise five kids between them.
Like her mum Christine, who works in disability services, Rochelle will enter into health services having just completed a degree in nursing and midwifery.
Thursday, though, will see her on the ticket stand and her partner, Carl, on security.
Tauren Vincent is following in his father's footsteps as a professional guitarist who's toured with Daryl Braithwaite.
"Jimmy Barnes wanted Tauren when he was only fourteen but I put my foot down and said he was too young,” Vincent said.
Then there's his "adopted son” Cameron Cusack whom Troy Cassar Daly "discovered” in Tamworth.
Cusack will join the Colt Seavers band as well as nine other acts during Thursday's concert which begin at 1pm.
"Cameron's an amazing guitarist who's ready to go to the next level,” Vincent said.
"Troy's so convinced of his talent, he's given him one of his own songs, Hot Rod Town.
"Cameron's also an amazing songwriter in his own right so I can't wait for people around here to get to see him.”
In fact Vincent's counting the days until he can share the Kick Start lineup with locals and out-of-towners alike.
"I've pulled all the stops I have to get this many amazing acts together in Central Queensland so locals don't have to travel to get a great start to the New Year,” he said.
"It's twelve hours of music for only $60 in a great venue with heaps of facilities including proper toilets and a bar”
Vincent's even waived fees on the drinks and food concession to help the under 12 Seagulls rugby league team raise funds for their equipment.
"My uncle played for Seagulls and I've known their president Dave for ages so I wanted to give something back in exchange for letting us hold the gig at their club,” he said.
And what does Vincent say about the likelihood Colt Seavers band will set themselves on fire this Thursday?
"I have a fire extinguisher.”
Originally published as Hottest new acts line up in CQ to Kick Start 2019
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