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Crossroads Presents...
 It's
been a while since there's been a live venue in the southern
region that's consistently presented live, original music. The
good people at the Reynella Enterprise & Youth Centre have long
been determined to change this, and their monthly open-mic Stage
Against The Machine nights were the first step towards developing
the Crossroads as a regular live venue.
'Crossroads Presents...' is the second step, a monthly night showcasing local talent in an all-ages environment. Co-coordinator Avalon Sperring has long been a fixture in the South Australian music scene and is a staunch and vocal advocate for live music, so it's no surprise that Crossroads is a project close to her heart. She sees it as being an opportunity to help to bring back the sort of thriving southern gig culture that she (and, for that matter, I) so loved back in the 1990s.
"Historically - well, for the past 30 years anyway - there's been a quite vibrant scene in the south of original independent music, and we want to re-establish that, with people actually attending live music events," she enthuses, "and trying to re-kickstart that live culture which has really kind of disappeared here, except for pockets of hardcore bands."
 While
Sperring applauds the re-emergence of a few live venues south
of the city (such as the Esplanade Hotel at Brighton), she misses
the days of original venues running all the way down the coast
- the Holdfast, the Seacliff, the Victoria Hotel... "and in
the recent past, the Blue Water Cafe [in Moana], which did a
great job of providing original live music on a regular basis,
and the Singing Gallery [the occasional venue in McLaren Vale].
And those two are both really important in that they're not
traditional gig spaces," she points out. "And as much as we
love our pubs and everything, opening up that non-traditional
space up was part of our plan. Crossroads is not your regular
gig venue, but it's got a stage, a PA, lights and a warm, inviting
atmosphere, so that - to me - makes it a venue!"
It's the punk rock do-it-yourself aesthetic made glorious reality. "It is, isn't it?" Sperring laughs. "In a refined way, of course, and thanks to the City of Onkaparinga, Mission Australia and of course Arts SA. Bless their little punk hearts!"
The Stage Against The Machine nights will be used as a way of procuring new talent for the Crossroads Presents, but Sperring is quick to point out that the plan is to bring South Australia to the southern area rather than exclusively use southern-based artists.
"One really important aspect is providing performance opportunities for emerging artists who have gone through our music program or come through the centre, to actually allow them to open for more established acts. We want to bring a southern audience to experience bands that they haven't seen yet - some people find it quite difficult to get out of the area, as public transport's not as good as it could be, which is another issue, so we want to expose artists to new audiences as well. Punters may not have experienced our great range of SA artists."
"We're looking at the first gig as very much independent singer/songwriter oriented, but we're looking across all genres rather than just keeping it southern-focused." Already there are plans for nights of punk and hardcore bands, as well as hip-hop and alternative rock. "We're looking at things more like a musical theme night."
Andrew P Street
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The first 'Crossroads Presents...' happens at the Reynella Enterprise & Youth Centre (corner of Main South Road and Pimpala Road) on Fri 23 April with Liam Gerner and Leigh Stardust. It's all-ages to boot.
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