Hometown Heroes x King Street Carnival - Caitlin Harnett and The Pony Boys

Introducing Hometown Heroes X King Street Carnival - a 4 part series. These episodes are the eloped marriage of our favourite Thrills series and our old favourite (and now) supercharged festival The King Street Crawl. Join Caitlin Harnett and the Pony Boys, Andy Golledge, Johnny Hunter and The Buoys as they take us around King Street. Get in an insight into what makes the Inner West suburbs of Sydney so special as we explore the homes, hovels, venues, bars and dives that have helped cultivate such a diverse, inclusive and talented music community.

“I just got a hot tub! Lets kick it off in the hot tub” was the first suggestion from Caitlin about where to meet up for this piece. Initially we planned to start shooting around 4PM so her suggestion of margarita’s in the tub made plenty of sense, when we switched to 11am I assumed the margaritas might not make an appearance and I assumed wrong. So 11am on a Thursday morning in Petersham I arrive to find Caitlin and one of her Pony Boys (Drummer Josh/Piltzy) sipping away on margaritas in the yard. to be completely fair they were margarita seltzers but I’m not about to let that ruin the story.

After a few more drinks and pleasantries our next stop is Piltzys warehouse in Marrickville where the band wrote and recorded their debut album “Late night essentials”. Caitlin explains how they took over the entire loft space and indicates to the loungeroom as she details how they scattered equipment everywhere for the recording. The two are both now regulars in fellow inner west(erner) Andy Golledges band and are laughing at the logistics that this is now where both bands rehearse. Listening to them reminisce on how the band got together after Caitlin (arguably) bullied her way into Andy’s band, is a nice insight in to just how much fun those earlier days must of been as Caitlin treats us to a run of stories that we all opt not to re-tell. After hearing about her being “dragged around on the floor on mushrooms” it’s plain to see that those good times are well and truly still running and I forget for a minute that this isn’t a studio for hire but serves what seems to be a secondary purpose as Piltzys house - one that he shares with his assumingly very tolerant girlfriend and pooch Tex.

If you’ve ever been to a Caitlin Harnett and the Pony Boys live show you’ve no doubt found yourself getting caught up in the same way I was, the energy on stage is encapsulating, the laughter, the fun and friendship that weaves it’s way in to their sets is completely immersive  and I’m beginning to see that every part of it is 100% genuine – they all just have fun together. I’m not surprised to learn that Caitlin and Piltzy work together, a fact that can often turn friendships burry but not here. When we start to discuss the ideal day in the inner west Caitlin decides it’s always better to show then tell. So we’re off to her workplace at the Enmore road staple PNV Wines to say hey to the team who were kind enough to give them both the day off.  From here there’s an essential retail stop at Route 66, after a joke she can’t ever leave without buying something, Caitlin walks out 5 minutes later in her new favourite vest. A quick stop at the Enmore hotel for a game of pool and a few beers and then it’s off to a “Boujee” brunch at Continental Deli. Caitlin talks us through the sardines, cheeses and Aperol she can’t wait to get her hands on and when we arrive is caught humbly of guard, it turns out the staff are as big a fan of hers as she is of their drinks list.

At this point we’ve (they’ve) been drinking for a good few hours on reasonably empty stomachs but if they’re even the slightest bit tipsy they’re hiding it pretty well,  it’s not clear at this point if the brunch is going to fix this or add to it but after hearing them talk for the past few hours I’ve got a feeling they’re pretty experienced and there’s no shortage of friends or venues in Newtown that will happily take them in.