Rocking in the pub

 

I don’t know much about Newcastle music culture unfortunately, but I just give it a try.

One of the most important Australian music cultures is, I believe, live music in the pub.

Most of the live music in the pub is Rock or folk songs, actually Rock is the most…

There are a lot of famous pub rock songs in Australia and they are also sold as omnibus CDs.

Any professional musicians start playing in the pub or small studio.

 

The world-famous Hard Rock band AC/DC which formed in Sydney is also started playing in the pub. Maybe no one knows but their rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young started playing in Newcastle!!

Also Cold Chisel, Yothu Yindi, or The Church, they all started in local pub.

What is the meaning of pub rock in Australia? What does it call to people?

 

Well, playing in local place is very meaningful because they can share the local topic or local sub-culture in the place.

‘Place’ means a lot; space is a physical room that let you do something however ‘place’ is the room that involves your mental action, background, or cultural features. Playing local pub involves their things from everyday life and it calls a lot of sympathy from the local audience.

 

Australia had involved in to Vietnam war in early 70s and after that there were many depressed people and they put the unforgettable experience, loss of humanity or whatever, on to their songs and got sympathy in the pub where they share any feelings. Khe Sanh? Well, that’s heaps experimental song. Who can disagree to that song?

 

Even these days, pub music has a lot of meanings.

Why don’t you try to find out musicians’ background or feelings shared in the place when you go to the pub!

Reflections

I have just read Kate’s last post and think she raised a number of good points. I agree with her in that after doing this assignment, I have come to see that the Newcastle music scene is not under-represented on a local level. Perhaps on a state or national level, yes, but does this matter? I guess it does but I certainly think it’s more important and beneficial for everyone involved that it appears that local media does have an interest in the local music scene. With organisations like the ABC and their Music Awards, music is discovered and acknowledged on a local level, and then these organisations help the music to broaden their audience. I think that is really important, at least in terms of the Newcastle scene anyway – as long as people are interested and care about the music on a local level, then hopefully the rest of it will fall into place.

Admittedly I’ve not been as involved in the Newcastle music scene as I would like to be (note to self: must make the effort to head to a gig every now and then) so I hope to address this in the future. Since the last Music & Culture assignment I have kind of been obsessed with trying to discover new music and ‘think outside the box’ in relation to what I listen to, so it would appear that this assignment has given me the perfect platform! I’m with Kate in saying that I am glad that the Newcastle music scene is so healthy, not to mention proud of all the forces that care enough to make it happen, from the venue owners to the consumers, from folk like those at ABC radio who work so hard to unearth new talent, to the musicians themselves, for their talent and hard work in honing it, and their dedication to their craft.

OK, I’m signing off as well.
Until next time – ciao!

Ellie.

The Co-Ordinator’s Blog

While looking around and reading about the ABC Music Awards for my last post, I came across The Co-Ordinator’s Blog, written by…yes, you guessed it, the co-ordinator (who’da thought?!) of the Music Awards, Natasha Schaad. It looks like it has only been started recently but is interesting in that it gives a bit of insight and ‘behind the scenes’ action into how the awards are progressing. Natasha’s latest entry indicates that the talent is certainly still alive and kicking in and around Newcastle. There is also an entry about Local Music Month, which again strongly demonstrates ABC’s committment to unearthing local talent, for which they should be applauded. As Schaad mentions, Local Music Month involves eacg 1233 program playing tracks daily from local artists, ones that have not been unearthed yet, or have previously been finalists or winners in the Music Awards.

Again, this is a site that I will come back and have a look at again, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested in finding out more about local musicians. There are heaps of resources out there, but the ABC are right up there in terms of passion, and encouragment of local artists. So check it out. Three cheers for the ABC, I say!

ABC Newcastle Music Awards

I was reminded today about the upcoming Newcastle ABC Music Awards. I have heard about these awards but never really knew much about them, so I looked into it and found yet another splendid way of acknowledging and ‘getting out there’ the huge range of music talent in Newcastle.

 

According to the Award’s website, the awards are held each year with the aim of encouraging and supporting local talent in the Newcastle and Central Coast area. Any artist can enter, as an individual or part of a band (or both), as long as the music piece they are submitting is an original work. Entries can be submitted across many different genres, including urban, heavy rock, soundtrack, instrumental, jazz, pop, blues & roots, country, contemporary, folk and alternative.

The judging panel, comprised of 1233 ABC Broadcasters, genre and music industry specialists and musicians (who have obviously not entered the competition themselves this year…that goes without saying!), looks at song entries in terms of composition (structure, arrangement, lyrics and melody), performance (instrumental and vocal skills) and overall appeal. It is noted that radio ‘playability’ is also considered but is not a factor that ‘breaks the camel’s back.’
The Top 10 songs from each category are selected by the judging panel and listed on the ABC website, as well as being put on to a CD which is sent off to the Finalist Judges.

Judges give each song a rating out of 10 and the 5 songs that amass the most points form the Top 5 in each category. The winners are then announced at the awards ceremony which will be held on November 6th.

In addition to a winner in each genre category, there will be 3 major prizes given out, for the ABC Music Artist/Band of the Year, APRA/ABC Music Publishing Songwriter of the Year, and the 1233 Tour Support Prize.
The prizes for each of these are quite substantial – the Songwriter of the Year will receive $1000, the Band of the Year receives a recording deal with ABC Music valued at $5000, and the 1233 Tour Support Prize awards $1233 worth of tour support including half a day with an established music publicist.

I was really glad I looked into these awards; as I said I have heard about them in previous years but never really paid too much attention to it. We have talked in this class before about the struggles up-and-coming artists face in getting their music ‘out there’ and heard by the people that matter. Simon Frith himself recognises this problem, stating, “Individual artists and performers are rarely in a position themselves to get their work to the public. They need to contract other people – agents, promoters, publishers, record companies – to organise and promote concert tours, to manufacture scores and records of CD’s” (2001, p.34).
I think these awards are brilliant. Not only does it give any original* artist – regardless of background or genre – the chance to enter the competition and get their music out there, but it is actually a competition that matters and makes a difference. Even just being named as a finalist means your music will go on a CD to be heard by people that matter (i.e the judging panel, comprised of industry players). Also, all entrants are being asked to send their MySpace address, so their entry can be linked to their page. This is a great example of the awards organisers adapting to technology and the needs of its consumers and has advantages for both sides – the artist is able to publicise themselves that little bit more, and respondents have the chance to easily find their MySpace page and listen to more of the artist’s music.
The winners of the major prizes are lucky enough to get more than a piece of paper and a bit of cash – they get put directly in contact with people who have the ability to turn their talent into real success - get the album recorded, publicised and out there, or record a video.

I also really like that there is a huge emphasis on keeping these awards local. The entry form stipulates that entrants must be residents of Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, the Upper or Lower Hunter or Port Stephens, and to have lived in the area for the last 6 months (at least) or for at least 7 of the past 15 years. This shows that obviously the organisers are concerned with helping Newcastle-raised or based artists get their music out there, which is fantastic, and it also shows that media organisations in Newcastle, the ABC in particular, have faith in the talent and quality of music coming out of this area, and are keen to help that music reach its full potential. That, my friends, is something pretty cool indeed, and I will be making sure to follow the progress of the awards this year!

 

* While entries into these categories must be original, there is actually an award that has been introduced this year to recognise the talent of cover bands. I’m still undecided as to whether I’m a fan of cover bands or not, but I think this award is a fantastic idea. I was about to go into the reasons why, until I looked again at the site and realised I couldn’t say it better than the organisers:

“Newcastle is, unashamedly, a real Cover Band town, and many talented musicians earn an honest crust by playing the Greats and Favourites in pubs and clubs around the region. It takes considerable musical skill and creative nous to make a good cover, and many musos play covers to pay the bills – thereby funding their own original musical endeavours and honing their own songwriting, musical and performance skills. It would therefore be fair to say that (albeit indirectly) the covers scene in Newcastle is supporting local original music!”

 

Reference:

Frith, S. (2001). ‘The Popular Music Industry’ in Frith, S., Straw, W., and Street, J. (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 

signing out…

 

As a conclusion to this blog, I have come to realize that Newcastle does have a very present and alive music culture no matter what genre. When thinking about what is underrepresented in the media, local Newcastle music isn’t on a national level, or even state level, however, there is a very strong representation in the local media circuit. Without actually looking for information about gigs, events and bands – this task has made me realize it that you stubble across this information readily all over the city. Little posters, magazines dedicated to local gigs and the presence of live music in general is everywhere. I truly think there is a strong connection between the community and the music world here in Newcastle and that makes me very happy to see!

I really love Newcastle’s music scene, I have been a massive consumer of the local music scene, and a happy one at that. Until my next blogging adventure…

ROCK ON NEWEY! XO

 

Angus Arley – solo artist

 

Lately, I caught up with a old friend that is one of Newcastle’s shiniest stars in the making. I asked him what he has been up to and what he thinks of Newcastle’s music scene… this is what Gus had to say…

1. How long have you been playing music for?
i’ve been singing since i started school way back in the kinda days and had vocal training throughout high school. i mostly did choral work and musicals until i decided to pick up the guitar in yr 10 and start writing songs (so that about 10 or so years now i guess). 

2. How would you describe your style?
passionate and freeform acoustic ballads, all very centred on my voice rather than my guitar. ive never learnt to read music or play the guitar so the song are derived from alot of experimentation of placing my fingers on the strings and i think the songs reflect that and go where they stumbled upon.

3. What influences your music?

id like to think that my music is a mix of all that i hear whether i like it or not. i take a lot of my concept of song structure (or lack there of) from artists like jeff buckley, radiohead and something for kate… but i also try and fuse this with everything else from old jazz and blues to folk or rock music. i think having a universal voice but grounded australian accent are essential to providing comfort and truth in songs, and ive based my level of australian-ness i guess from people like paul dempsey from something for kate.

4. Where is your favorite place to play in Newcastle and what do you love about it?

definitely the Lass O’Gowrie… its such a dark and seedy joint somewhat akin to a underground brick jazz den.. it is close, intimate and generally accepting of all genres with a house cat that drifts along the bar at times. 

5. What do you think Newcastle’s music culture?
i think it still suffers from a country town coverband hangover but there are still plenty of places for local music to be heard and there is so much diversity and support for it… its still an environment where bands can go about the task of working on their performance and songwriting craft with the support of friends and other bands, who are from different genres.

6. Do you have any favorite local acts?
ive got a few mates in bands who are doing well at the moment, Vaudville for one.. they’re sound is fat and monstrous(and i mean in a good way).

7. If you could give any advice to the young musicians in Newcastle, what would it be?
work on your songs as much as you can and go to as many gigs as possible because the more bands you know the easier it will be to get support slots to build your experience.

8. Would you change anything about the music scene in Newcastle?
id like to see some more mainstream bars start to develop original music nights on the off peak nights so music fans could do a crawl of sorts from night to night like some do with $10 pub schnitzy meals.

9. What is next for you?

well… i havent played a gig for a while due to being back full time at uni, so i think its time to polish up some new material and get something regular going, because once you start performing you miss it so much when youre not.

to hear more of Gus – head to his Myspace web page;

 http://www.myspace.com/angusarleycrowley

 

Just in case..

i already published this on the “music scenes” page. But when i looked at my number of posts on here this didnt appear probably because its a page and not a post. Just in case, I wanted to put it on the main page so it was accounted for for grading purposes.

We are examining the under represented music scene of Newcastle Australia. To do this, we must examine this subculture in order to fully understand the meaning and values of this music scene. I would say that subcultures are certain values, attitudes, beliefs, styles and ideas that belong to and are shared by a certain group or class. I also believe that whenever style and music intersect, is where you will find subcultures. In the Clarke, Stuart Hall, Jefferson and Roberts’s article titled, “Subcultures, Cultures and Class”, they made a point that subcultures take shape around distinctive activities and focal concerns of different groups—specifically concentrating on youth subcultures. This article concentrates on style and the different types of youth subcultures. I believe that this is a very necessary topic in relation to teh Newcastle music scene because in order to understand different music, it is essential to understand the groups that listen to it and how they act as a certain subculture. Music itself is essentially a subculture in the sense that it differentiates from the wider culture. In the “Subcultures, Cultures and Class” article, the authors make an interesting point that youth leisure and youth consumption go hand in hand. I agree with this completely. The more free time a person has, the more time they have to go shopping, discover new music, and feed into the new trends and styles of the time. Youth today I feel have more free time and have access to more money and have different financial responsibilities than any other previous generation. Therefore, I am expecting to learn about a really dynamic music scene in Newcastle. This scene IS a subculture with its own attitudes, values, beliefs, dress code, language and rules. We need to focus on the audiences AS WELL as the musicians. It is important to evaluate both in order to sufficiently critique and analyse this music scene.

Reference:

Clarke, John, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson, and Brian Roberts. 1975. “Subcultures, Cultures, and Class.” In The Subculture Reader. Ken Gelder and Sarah Thornton (eds.). New York: Routledge. p. 100-11.

This entry by user: jocelynn16

The Importance of Strikeback 06

Although this festival happened in 2006, I tried to find information on more recent years. I didnt come across any recent information but i feel as though the 2006 Strikeback was extremely relevant to our topic of Newcastle local music. Strikeback started out as a small town band competition and became one of the fastest growing festivals in the Hunter Valley region. In 2006, 55 bands were scheduled to perform. Some of these bands were national headliners but the festival stuck true to its roots and included many local bands as well. I think it is a good idea to mesh the two together because the major artists can mentor, help, and inspire the local artists as well as brigning a diverse sound to the festival. “Event organiser Laurie Mahon spoke to Fasterlouder, confirming his dedication to the Hunter’s culture and community, “I see amazing potential in the musicians of the area, and want to give them an opportunity to strut their stuff alongside Australia’s biggest names” (fasterlourder.com). By everything I have read and observed, Newcastle is really supportive for new and local artists. “This support of musicians seems to be an uplifting trend in Newcastle” (fasterlouder.com). Strike back 06 was a great way to represent all of the extreme talent living in Newcastle. It exposed the local bands at a national level type concert which is really unique. “If all regional cities and towns provided the same opportunities to local bands as Newcastle presently does, and with any luck will continue to do, Australian music would certainly see many more young regional musicians receiving the renown they deserve.” (fasterlouder.com).

Reference:

www.fasterlouder.com.au

LIVE

Another local publication that strives to keep the community up-to-date on the local music scene is LIVE, a supplement that appears every Thursday in The Herald. I forget how many pages it is (will have to report back on that one; I’ll guess around six or eight) and contains information, reviews, articles and news of upcoming attractions on the Newcastle theatre and music scene as well as the latest offerings at the cinema.

Each week in the supplement is a short section called “Straight Up” which is a short series of questions answered by an artist. Although only short, there are advantages for both the musician and the reader: the musician can plug his/her upcoming gig in Newcastle, and readers of LIVE either become aware of a new artist that they might like to go along and see; and for musicians who already have a bit of a profile, readers usually find out a quirky fact or insight into their personality (last Thursday’s (22 May) edition featured James Ash from the Rogue Traders; who knew he would be happy to eat nothing but curry for the rest of his life and has been in the ‘biz for 20 years? I didn’t…). And, as we have discussed previously in this course, gaining an insight into an artist’s personality, values and views of the world assist music consumers in expressing their own identity and forming their own views. As Buckingham notes,

“the ideologies expressed by the musicians in which many…students indulge is felt to reflect their own ideologies. Many students…felt that their emotions and personal politics were expressed by musicians and treated as subject matters in their music. This creates identification through consumption of music that allows young people to express their own world views through mere fandom of a particular artist or genre of music…” (in Bark, 1999, p.5).

As I said, although it is only a short section, it can still be effective. A reader could pick it up and see that Ash has been in the business for 20 years and has been involved in many different styles and genres. Who’s to say that someone wouldn’t pick this tiny interview up and think to themselves, “Well, I’m interested to see and hear more about his music and where he is after 20 years”?

LIVE also contains short articles about little-known (or well-known, for that matter) artists about to release a CD or who are doing a gig in Newcastle; again, this is also useful to learn the story of the artist, how they got to where they are, influences on their music, views and opinions etc.
There is also a little box on one page called the “Music Box” which is another guide to new music, offering reviews, descriptions of music and gig details of an unknown artist or band.

Finally, there is a comprehensive (as in, 2-3 page) gig guide of all upcoming live music in Newcastle which is obviously an extremely handy ‘one stop shop’ of all the happenings in and around Newcastle.

LIVE is only a short publication but is definitely worth a look if you are interested in further immersing yourself in the Newcastle music scene and want to discover some new music. Something that I think would improve the quality and usefulness of the guide is to perhaps include more reviews, particularly of live performances.

Reference:

Bark, B. (1999) “Them” vs “Us” – Music, Youth and the Struggle for Identity [Online], Available http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/contributions/bethann1.html

27 March 2008

The Loft Youth Venue Music Program definitely rocks!

I am studying abroad here in Newcastle and the very first night I moved here I was walking around with some friends from my study abroad program around the beach downtown area where I live. I came across this little venue called The Loft. There seemed to be a lot of high school aged kids all surrounding the outsides and it sounded like a band was playing inside. Intrigued but not planning on doing anything that night, I have always wondered what The Loft was all about. While researching on the web for this assignment I found a website dedicated to a project that The Loft is corroborating with the Newcastle City Council to provide a safe local music scene for the youth of Newcastle. It is called The Loft Youth Venue Music Program. This program is generated through the New South Wales local government cultural awards. Here is a summary of the program on their website:

The Loft Youth Venue Music program is a multi-faceted program to foster and develop local music in Newcastle in a fully supported drug and alcohol-free environment. The program ranges across a number of activities including:

* Organised after school and holiday workshop music programs
* EMERGENCY band nights for new and emerging bands
* LOADED, the annual major gig which features nationally recognised bands across three stages with up to 24 local support acts
* Managing the DAVE ARKLESS MEMORIAL Fund which offers opportunities for local bands to undertake a musical project
which they would not normally be able to afford.
* Supporting and mentoring local youth entrepreneurs in the process of organising gigs including use of the Venue’s small gig
space
* Supporting and promoting local Aboriginal and African musicians.
* The GARAGE and BEATFIX, the Loft’s weekly radio podcasts

I think that this is a great project and it really is the key and solution to representing Newcastle’s music scene along with providing a safe and friendly environment. I am impressed with the Dave Arkless memorial fun that provides opportunities to local artists. That is just the thing local underrepresented artists need to get them on their feet. This award was recently won by a band titled Men Who Drip with Germs and the award provided the band with funding and mentoring in order for them to record and produce their first cd.

The Newcastle City Council is funding this project to provide workshops such as a hip-hop recording workshop live sound production classes, along with contests through radio stations and live podcasts on the internet. I love the idea of the Emergency band nights where they feature new and emerging bands. The use of the word emergency is definitely fitting since there it is such a difficult scene to break into and to get noticed. The program also helps these bands organise other gigs and is a huge support network for all Newcastle local music. Visit the website at: http://culturalawards2008.lgsa.org.au/projects/13-the-loft-youth-venue-music-program

Also, the home website of the New South Wales government cultural awards page is:

http://culturalawards2008.lgsa.org.au/

The website has much more info and I highly suggest you check it out! theres also a blog featuring media press releases and others blogging about the value of culture and supporting the local scene.

Some Photos from the website: