Gangs of Ballet to rock fans in Bay

FIVE-times Sama-nominated Durban band Gangs of Ballet will perform live in Port Elizabeth tomorrow night. The band, which incorporates genres from alternative to dance in their eclectic mix of music, will be at Pool City in Walmer.

Their debut single,  Breaking the Silence, which was released in 2011, fared well on the national charts and was also chosen as the soundtrack for Cell C's Be campaign.

The band's third single, Hello Sweet World, reached the No1 spot on the 5FM top 40 and received a Sama – South African Music Awards – nomination for best music video last year.

This hit single music video was also play listed on the VH1 channel.

Gangs of Ballet vocalist and guitarist Brad Klynsmith said the inspiration for their songwriting was the connection that music created between band and audience.

"In many ways we write the crowd their own part which they play at the show," Klynsmith said.

On their album, titled yes/no/grey, the band, whose members also enjoy surfing in their down time, worked with Grammy award-winning producer Darryl Torr and engineer Michael Brauer, who have collaborated with artists like John Mayer and Coldplay. Yes/no/grey received five Sama nominations: for best newcomer, best rock album, best duo/group, best producer and best engineer. In June, Gangs of Ballet also won an MTV award in the Best Alternative category for yes/no/grey.

The band members had been in the music industry at different levels and they recruited everyone quite casually and then started to jam together, Klynsmith added.

Asked about the catchy contrast in the band's name, Klynsmith replied their name was "as random as it gets".

"We were teasing a friend of ours who is a professional ballerina as she told us how cut-throat the industry was.

"She made it sound like they were in gangs: 'Watch out for the gangs of ballet'. We thought then it would be a cool name but only used it two years later when we started the band."

Klynsmith said the band had performed in Port Elizabeth before and found it a "fun" crowd.

The performance starts at 8pm and entrance is R50.

For more information contact Pool City on (041) 581-0980. - Deon van der Walt