A still of Tyrone McCrystal taken from a video about the making of a gig put on at iTeC Academy. Photo: Stephanie Rodden.
Wollongong filmmaker Tyrone McCrystal is preserving the city’s live music legacy through his passion project, the Wollongong Music Archive — capturing Illawarra bands in high-quality multi-camera recordings that echo a similar project at the iconic Oxford pub era of the 1990s.
An iTeC Academy screen and media teacher, Tyrone has so far filmed more than 150 bands across most of Wollongong’s live music venues since starting in November last year.
It’s a project that follows on the legacy of a videographer named Terry who documented bands at Wollongong’s historic Oxford pub in the 1990s.
“Growing up, I had a fascination with The Oxford,” Tyrone said.
“The Oxford was an old pub down the bottom of Crown Street. It was before my time, so I never really got to go there.
“Most of the bands from Wollongong stemmed from that place.”
He said during the 90s, bands were playing nearly every night, with Terry also a fixture of the venue.
“Terry used to rock up with his old video camera and film every band,” he said.
“He’d film the band with his tape camera, take the tape out and then give it to the band.
“A lot of that footage is online. When I got into the music scene as a kid, I found that archival footage.
“That’s when I realised, you know what, I’ve been going to gigs around town since I was 17, and no-one’s doing that anymore.
“That’s when I decided to step up with my camera and do the same thing.”
With the advantage of access to professional, modern equipment as a film teacher, he records entire gigs and edits one or two songs to share on YouTube to help promote the bands and venues.
He said it meant they were able to take Terry’s work a step further, who at the time used a single camera positioned directly in front of the bands.
“We thought, let’s give the bands the best quality we can give them,” he said.
“We do a multi-track recording out of the desk, so I’m able to get a good mix.
“We also do a multi-camera shot, so we’ll have three or four cameras on the band from different angles. And even colour grading and effects.”
Entirely self-funded and helped by a team of volunteers who give up their time to help him, the project has been well received by musicians.
“We’re just trying to save, archive and preserve the local music scene,” he said.
“We’ll rock up to a venue and film the gigs and then give the footage to the bands.”
Among the highlights is working with well-known Wollongong names like ARIA chart topping Tarawanna rock group Tumbleweed and garage rock band The New Christs, led by Radio Birdman frontman Rob Younger.
Through this project, he’s getting to discover new talent and paving the way for future collaborations.
He’s also collected Wollongong music memorabilia, adding to a collection he started with his pocket money as a kid and with items that span back to the 60s.
He said they had become “residents” of most Wollongong venues now, with his favourites to record in being Society City, with long-time live music supporter Mark Lenzo often mixing the audio, and La La La’s whose staff are all now well familiar with the group of volunteers.
“Everybody likes and appreciates what we’re doing, because we’re helping not just the bands, but the venues too,” he said.
He described the Illawarra music scene right now as “non-stop” with a diverse range of music coming through.
“Every single night there’s a band or a musician playing somewhere in town, which is great,” he said.
“Just this week alone, I’ve already booked four gigs.”
Tyrone said some bands had asked to use the footage for music videos, while others asked to work with the team further.
He said with day-to-day life sometimes stressful, filming was his release.
“It’s my relaxation – to have a beer, pick up the camera and film the bands,” he said.
“It’s also good networking, because I’ve met a lot of people and made some great friends doing this.”
While he’s only sharing footage on YouTube for now, Tyrone is considering a potential documentary to showcase the city’s rich musical landscape.
“Hopefully we can work towards a documentary, because we have heaps of footage from every venue,” he said.
The Wollongong Music Archive is available to view via YouTube.
