The Wanted Gems Discovered
Madison and Micaela Hull are The Wanted Gems, a twin-sister band from Mparntwe/Alice Springs. You could say they’ve had a massive start to the year.
They've launched original songs, were unearthed on triple j (twice!), and have been hand-picked to support The Dreggs in Darwin this month. Jenna Hoare caught up with them for a chat.
Last time you sat down with Off The Leash you mentioned some big pauses due to COVID, tell us where your music journey has taken you since then.
Madison: We were on a high at the end of 2020. We’d just won the NT Music School Battle of the Bands and were preparing to play at BASSINTHEGRASS but COVID cancelled us, then we were lined up to play at Territory Day but it was cancelled for the same reasons. At that time our band disbanded, and we thought, well … we’ve just got to keep going and that’s how The Wanted Gems started.
You’ve certainly come a long way, which leads us to the exciting news of your original release, ‘Trusted You’. Care to tell us about it?
Madison: We recorded four original songs last year and ‘Trusted You’ was the first song we ever wrote. We were really excited for it to be heard by people, be played on Spotify, things like that.
A few days before the song officially launched, triple j Unearthed confirmed they would play it, and on the same day, we were contacted by Home and Hosed with Ash McGregor to say that it would be playing on triple j. They gave us a shout-out. It was insane!
That’s triple the love! How have you found local support as your music grows?
Micaela: The local support has been amazing. We get sent videos on Instagram of people enjoying and listening to our songs. We walked into the local store and heard ‘Trusted You’ playing. It makes us feel so happy.
Madison: When we first started playing, we performed at Jump Inn Jam Sessions in Alice Springs, and that’s where it all started. We gained our confidence to play, and everyone has been so supportive towards us. It’s amazing.
Can you tell me about how you scored the support gig for The Dreggs in Darwin?
Micaela: They posted a video on Instagram giving bands the opportunity to support their shows while on tour and we thought, we have to apply!
We submitted a video of us singing one of their songs as an acoustic cover. We asked our followers to tag The Dreggs in the post, and we had so many people commenting, especially from Alice Springs, and supporting us. And then we got added to a chat and it said ‘Welcome to Tour’ from The Dreggs. We can’t wait to play. We love their music.
That’s awesome. Anything else we should keep an eye out for?
Micaela: We do have a new song coming out called ‘Scarf’ on the day we play with The Dreggs, and we think it’s our best release yet. It’s a whole story. The video was shot in Alice Springs so it shows off Central Australia. We’re excited!
INFO facebook.com/thewantedgemss
The Dreggs supported by The Wanted Gems
WHEN SAT 2 MAR | 7.30PM
AT MAYBERRY
COST $45-$65
