2014 marks the 20th anniversary of iconic Australian band, Something For Kate and they are celebrating with a tour, a film, a book and the release of their entire back catalogue.
Paul Dempsey and Clint Hyndman have been in the band since the beginning with bass guitarist Stephanie Ashworth joining in 1998.
West Terrace venue HQ will host the Adelaide leg of the anniversary event on August 19 where audiences will view the screening of a short film tracing their 20 year evolution before the band take to the stage.
The book, ‘Paper Trail’ has been the labour of love by bassist, Ashworth who says it will show a different side of the band who formed in in their teens.
“The book is a visual history of everything and has lots of fun, behind the scenes photographs and it will probably reveal that we’re not as staunchly serious as everyone thinks we are,” she laughed.
“We have so much archival material from the very first gig the band played. I am a little bit of a hoarder so we have this incredible collection of really interesting stuff. There’s history about the artwork, original song structures and notes, photographs, and artwork people have sent to us,” Ashworth said.
As well as their entire back catalogue being reissued on deluxe CD (with B-sides) and iTunes, Ashworth said releasing the vinyl collection is something SFK fans have been asking for.
“It had been brought to our attention over the past 15 years that the vinyl has been on eBay for around $500 each and we always felt a bit funny about that. It’s nice it becomes a collector’s item but that’s not really in the spirit of what it was originally about,” she said.
“We wanted to make it available to people because of the sentimental value of being able to hold that vinyl again,” she said.
Choosing a set list from two decades of material to showcase to SFK’s notoriously passionate fan base has been no mean feat and Ashworth said the band have been particular about their selection.
“It’s been quite heated,” she laughed. “I guess we’re choosing our favourites but also being quite mindful of what people would like to hear, particularly in relation to the stuff we don’t play so much anymore. We really want to make sure we cover some older material. I’m learning songs I’ve never played before and I’ve been in the band for 16 years.”
The ’20 Year Anniversary Tour’ is the band’s most ambitious and biggest series of events they have staged; for the first time in their history, Something For Kate will play two sets each night, covering all facets of their decorated career.
Kicking off in July, Adelaide, which vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey has often affectionately referred to as ‘The Kingdom’ is the last destination on the tour.
“Paul thinks Adelaide is special,” Ashworth said. “I think he first called it The Kingdom in an interview in 2000 when we were doing a Big Day Out and it stuck. He has a great affection for The Kingdom and its people,” she said.
Tickets to 20 Year Anniversary Tour are available from somethingforkate.com
Limited edition vinyl and deluxe CD available July 4th are Elsewhere For Eight Minutes, Beautiful Sharks, Echolalia, The Official Fiction, Desert Lights and Leave Your Soul To Science
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