Highlights
- Three Chileans working as miners and a chef have formed a punk band in Kalgoorlie.
- Initially just for fun, the band is finding fame after supporting rock band, Eskimo Joe.
- All three moved to Australia for better life and work opportunities.
Pablo Uribe, Christian Marín and Pablo Riquelme say they couldn’t believe what was happening to them.
What had started as a hobby had suddenly become very serious, so rehearsals intensified all the way up until they took to the stage before thousands of people.
Until a few months ago, the punk rock fans had enjoyed jamming as a way to wind down and hang out but, due to the overwhelmingly positive response to their music as a result of the concert, their prospects in the music industry are looking promising.
They were interviewed on radio and for newspapers and now have multiple offers to perform.
Mr Marin, a geologist who emigrated with his family to work in the Kalgoorlie mines, was the band’s founder.
He said his passion for grunge, punk and rock and his love for playing bass began in Chile two decades ago when he was part of a band.
Kalgoorlie is a remote town, seven hours' drive from Perth. Source: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright
"Over time, I stopped playing bass, and focused on studying geology,” he said.
Mr Uribe, Mr Marin’s son, told SBS Spanish all the band members had made the decision to come to Australia because of better life and work opportunities.
Some time later, at a Latin-American-themed party held in his own home, Mr Uribe chatted with the mother of who would become lead guitarist for the band.
The woman had mentioned that her son, named Pablo Riquelme, was a musician and that he played the guitar.
The two Pablos met soon after and a great musical connection quickly emerged. The duo began to compose their own songs and play covers with great success.
But they needed a bass player. And since Mr Uribe had already given his father a bass last Christmas, the answer was obvious: Mr Marin would be the third member of the band Black Venom.
Eskimo Joe band members at the 2006 Aria Awards. Source: AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Little by little, they began to rehearse some songs to pass the time. However, they were very enthusiastic about the idea of forming a band and from the first rehearsals they realised that it was very easy for them to create original music, Mr Uribe said.
It all started as a hobby and when we realised that we could create original music, we did it very quickly.
“In fact, in one day we wrote a song called ‘Cool’,” Mr Uribe, who works as a chef, said.
Five months after the formation of their band, the group was approached to open for Eskimo Joe at a concert in Kalgoorlie.
Hitting the big time, opening for Eskimo Joe
Kalgoorlie is a gold mining town of approximately 30,000 inhabitants, located seven hours’ drive from the Western Australian capital city of Perth.
When the band heard Eskimo Joe was going to perform in the town, they applied to be the support act with a video of their music performances.
Days later, Mr Marin called his son with the exciting news that Black Venom had been chosen to open the show.
The bronze commemorative statue of Kalgoorlie's most famous prospector, Patrick "Paddy" Hannan, on the WA mining town's main street, which is named after him. Source: AAP Image/Rebecca Le May
After the news, the band members got time off their jobs to rehearse constantly.
“We've been researching the musicians we have here in Kalgoorlie and we've noticed that at the shows, people are very excited,” Mr Uribe said.
I think because it's a very small town people try to recreate the energy of the music of the big cities.
According to Mr Riquelme, many concert-goers had congratulated them after they performed on the big stage.
"We called the radio station, Triple M, which is well known here, and they invited us in for an interview,” he said.
Black Venom hit the stage. Source: Supplied
The band now has several musical projects in the pipeline.
To begin with, they say they are determined to promote their original songs and to see more of them being played on local radio stations.
