BY JEAN-MARI UYS
It is time for another Klein Saterdag and Aandklas is making sure this one falls on the flip side of the normal town routine. On 26 February the “course” is welcoming three major local guest “lecturers” to the stage: Red Sheep, Lady and the Cage and Lez Cortez.
Red Sheep (@redsheepmusic)
Red Sheep is a two man band whose sound can best be described as acoustic, indie or folk. Richard Max Koenig is on piano, harmonica and vocals while Estian Daniël Maree is on loop pedal, guitar, harmonica and vocals. The band got its name from Estian’s (nicknamed “Dorper” after the type of sheep) curly hair and Max’s red hair. Hence, Red Sheep. The two met at Huis Visser men’s residence where they led the “Sailors” (the residence’s acapella group) to many category awards and a qualification for the National Final. On 18 July 2018 Red Sheep was born and has been setting the bar high ever since. They hope to not be just another student band from Stellenbosch but are aiming to reach high status in the music industry – think high profile gigs and songs made available on various music platforms. At selected gigs they add to the crowd’s experience by bringing the whole “herd” along, adding a set of drums (Robert “Rob” Cable) and a lead and electric guitar (Owald “Olly” van Schalkwyk). In studio, they also record with the full band. This is all made possible by their recording company, run by Van Schalkwyk, Ollyvans Studios. Be on the lookout for Wool-I-Am during their performance. This beaded sheep was gifted to Maree on his birthday, and it was decided that Wool-I-Am ought to be the band’s mascot and be present at every show.
Lady & The Cage (@lady_and_the_ cage)
Lady & The Cage is a surfy, indie alternative basement band of friends. Their music is filled with crooning blues-influences and soul-stirring lyrics that give serious song writing a playful twist. The band was founded on one of the “stoepe” of Eendrag Men’s Residence during a late-night jam session. The lead singer is Francois Van Zyl (Law), with Thomas Edwards (BEng (Industrial) III) on lead guitar and Kyle Mathews (BEng (Industrial) III) on rhythm guitar, and the collective is rounded off by their drummer Walter Travers (BSc (Human Life Sciences) and Anton Prinsloo (BEng (Industrial) III) on bass. They had their first gig a month after getting the band together at one of Eendrag’s residence events. After getting a real taste for the stage they slowly started to come back for more and seriously began building their setlist. Some of their greatest gigs to this day are their first Aandklas gig in September last year, Bergfest with My Brother Einstein and Jackal and the Wind in Paarl, and the outdoor party stage at Damestouch, where they also shared the lights with My Brother Einstein, The Southeasters and Jack Parow.
“Our setlist for 26 February is probably going to be the best setlist we’ve played thus far. We will be playing all of our originals (seven of those bad boys), and a collection of cool covers to get the crowd singing at the top of their lungs. The band has been working super hard to get our songs tight and we can guarantee that we will at least get some medium to intense head-bobbing going. We’re playing with two epic other bands as well, and we believe that the combination of great music will ensure that everyone attending is going to walk away grinning like a clown on a helium high,”said the band.
Furthermore, they are currently in the process of finishing up their first two singles to be released on all major music platforms as soon as possible. Most of the recording work for a whole new load of songs has been done already and will be released in the next few months.
Lez Cortez (@lezcortezband)
“Young, uncompromising and crazy… a band that wants to play unfiltered, unadulterated rock ‘n roll”, said Danie du Toit, Spoegwolf lead singer, about this four-man alt-rock band from Stellenbosch. Heads started to roll to their take on rock on 6 March 2019 as they opened for The Voodoo Cats and Venus and the Snake at Aandklas. Shortly after their first gig, they had another one lined up at the Bok Lounge and has been taking one booking after the other ever since. The group has Wessel Krige on vocals, Neil Botes on guitar, André ‘Fikkie’ Fick reforming rhythms on drums and Herman Redelinghuys on bass. In July 2019 Lez Cortez opened the stage for famous alternative Afrikaans band, Spoegwolf, at Die Boer in Durbanville. They also warmed up the scene for De Wallen at Mercury Live in the Mother City. The band was privileged enough to headline an event at the very venue where they performed their debut and will be returning to that very stage this Wednesday night. Who knows what they might have in store.
