On Thursday the 7th of September, officially the best night I've had in Sydney yet, four unassuming kids from the Blue Mountains (including one of my best friends) took out the Band Comp final held at Manning, leaving with $2500 in prize money and a legion of new fans (or "Cloud Converts" as they're becoming known). Following in the footsteps of Band Comp big names such as The Vines, Youth Group, Frenzal Rhomb and Tim Freedman (think the Whitlams), Cloud Control is making quite a name for themselves in the local indie/powerpop scene, racking up considerable airtime on FBI radio and lining up gigs like they're going out of fashion...
Cloud Control L-R: Heidi Lenffer on piano, Ulrich Lenffer on drums, Al Wright on guitar and Jeremy Kelshaw on bass.
It all started back in 2005 when Heidi "Hi-Diddy" Lenffer thought it'd be a good idea to enter the University of Sydney Union's Band Competition without actually having a band. Looking back, this was a minor obstacle in the success of Cloud Control, originally known as Cube Plantation. Within about a week and a half of signing up with no band, no songs, and what some would say was generally no idea, Heidi, the PR guru behind the band, had roped in her younger brother Ulrich and two other kids from a local Glenbrook musical in the Blue Mountains. And so the band was born...
As their website puts it: "When the mother of guitarist Alister Wright banned him from playing Counter Strike and signed him up for the local musical to make some friends, Mamma Wright claimed she only did what any mother would have done. It was, however, an act of exemplary parenting that would be applauded in child-rearing manuals for years to come.
From his back-row position in the chorus of Pirates of Penzance, Alister could see that the production team was having issues with the shaggy-haired lighting man Ulrich Lenffer, whose need to hit things rhythmically made him useless at following the director's cues. When Ulrich escaped back-stage for some time out, he befriended disillusioned bass player Jeremy Kelshaw, who was sulking in the green room because the conductor had confiscated his phuzz pedal. They were soon joined by Ulrich's sister Heidi Lenffer, who appeared concerned, not as much by the pirate costume she was wearing, as by the earnest faces of broken men.
She sat down to commiserate, and the three hunched figures swapped sorry tales beside the vending machine.
Jeremy was a frustrated creative visionary trying to channel his musical ambitions through his quad box; Ulrich's compulsion for making beats had plagued him like an involuntary twitch; and Heidi had forced herself to attempt acting in an effort to lose the piano-nerd stereotype. It did not take long for Alister- eavesdropping from the stalls- to join the forum, confessing that all he had ever really wanted to do was 'rock out'.
And so it was; the stars had aligned to make Cloud Control. Ten songs were written in the space of as many days, and the Blue Mountains have been slowly eroding from the stampede of merry punters ever since..."
With gigs this year all over Sydney including venues like The Cat & Fiddle, The Hopetoun, The Mandarin Club, O'Donoghues, The Ori , an interview and live performance on FBi Radio 94.5FM a rigorous set of octo, quater and semi finals in the band comp, and possible interest from Sony BMG, Cloud Control have come a long way from where they were in February this year, and following their win at Band Comp, it looks as though there's no stopping them!
What's next for Cloud Control? Firstly, they're gearing up for the State Band Comp Final, representing Sydney Uni here on the 12th of October, there's an EP or even a possible first album in the pipeline (the prize money will help with recording) and after that, I know it sounds cheesy, but in true Sydney Uni style, there really are no limits!
So Cloud Converts, pen in 7:00pm at Manning on the 12th of October, support your uni's band, and be sure to make it to their other upcoming gigs!
