THE Newcastle music community is banding together to raise money for local musician Cody Brougham and his friends after they lost thousands of dollars worth of equipment in a house fire.
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Fire broke out in the Warabrook house owned by Brougham's parents Richard and Denise on April 5, completely gutting the Decora Crescent residence. The fire began in the garage.
"I was in my room at the other end of the house and then my parents basically started screaming saying get out," Brougham said.
"I immediately thought it was a small fire and grabbed my guitar and laptop and went out and saw the garage at the front of our house had completely gone up."
The Brougham family escaped unharmed, but their home and contents insurance policy does not cover the estimated $20,000 to $25,000 worth of musical equipment destroyed, much of which was owned by people outside the family.
Brougham's parents always had a open door policy when it came to their 22-year-old son's music friends.
The house was a regular hangout for several of Newcastle's emerging acts such as Fritz and Mall Santa and Brougham's own bands Oilbaron and Underlay, who used the garage as a rehearsal room and storage space for their equipment.
"They've been so great," Brougham said of his parents. "They'd come home from work sometimes and there would be someone they don't know hanging in the kitchen.
"Everyone knows you can just come in. Also the neighbours were incredible about it too.
"When the fire was happening, we had so many people come over and say they really enjoyed listening to us practicing. It was cool of them to not complain, as we definitely made some noise."
Fritz frontwoman Tilly Murphy, who has received Triple J airplay for her songs Jan 1 and Biggest Fool In The World, lost the majority of her music equipment in the blaze. Drummers Darren James and Daniel Simmons also lost instruments.
The music gear destroyed included six guitars, amplifiers, two synths, a drum kit and effects pedals.
The destruction of musical equipment has come at the worst possible time.
The COVID-19 lockdown has already wrecked havoc on the music industry, costing musicians thousands of dollars in lost performance revenue.
On Tuesday Brougham launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook with a target of $10,000.
After 24 hours the campaign had already attracted $6200 in donations.
The Brougham family have moved into a rental property at Maryville and plan to rebuild at Warabrook.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
