Industrial Strength: A&R Department launches Pavement Records; Woodford Folk wins award; Rudd, Chunn, back to court in NZ

The A&R Department launching Pavement Records

The A&R Department set up Pavement Records with acts as Harts, The Occupants and Magic Bones. Pavement officially launches this Saturday at the Sly Fox in Enmore, Sydney, with The Ruminaters who’re touring the East Cast behind their debut record, Melbourne-based Harts whose new triple j-flogged single When A Man's A Fool is #3 on the US Alternate Charts, high energy King Colour, electronic duo Polarheart and alt-folk Em George.

Templeton’s Thomas Calder wins Grant McLennan Fellowship

The Trouble With Templeton's Thomas Calder won the 2014 Grant McLennan Fellowship, worth $25,000 and open to Queensland acts. He can travel to New York, London or Berlin for six months to develop his skills. “(I’m) extremely honoured that it's in the name of a songwriter so incredibly inspiring as Grant McLennan," he said. Last year Calder won the APRA PDA Songwriting Award and third place in the International Songwriting Competition. Arts Minister Ian Walker hailed Calder as part of a new wave of Brisbane talent finding global success and cementing its reputation as a breeding ground for exciting music.

Woodford Folk wins award

Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland took out the first tier gold in the Major Festivals and Events of the Queensland Tourism Awards. The event draws an aggregate audience of 120,000 and injects an estimated $18 million into the local economy. Bronze (third prize) in the category went to Cooly Rocks On.

Rudd, Chunn, back to court in New Zealand

AC/DC’s Phil Rudd faces court again in New Zealand on February 10 after his lawyer told a court yesterday that he is pleading not guilty to possessing cannabis and methamphetamine. The media scrum eagerly awaiting a repeat of the drummer’s antics at his last court appearance were disappointed: he was given permission not to attend.

Nicholas Jeremiah Chunn, 38-year old musician son of ex-Split Enz member Mike Chunn, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Auckland on charges of attacking his uncle in October. He returns to court in February, Chunn had revealed in Facebook physical problems that put pressure on neck and spinal nerves "affected my mood among other things over the last 11 weeks.”

Ten set for Telstra Road To Discovery grand final

Ten acts play off at the grand final of the Telstra Road To Discovery in Melbourne tonight (Dec 3). The quest began in July with 18 unsigned acts and eight heats. The final ten are Gordi /Sophie Payten (NSW), Reuben Koops (Tas), Loren Kate (SA), Asch-Rose Steadman (Qld), Joe Mungovan (NSW), Dylan Wright (NSW), Hannah Rosa (Qld), Teischa (WA), Riley Pearce (WA) and Larissa Tandy (Vic). The night is hosted by Ella Hooper.

Adelaide’s AAMI Stadium being sold

Adelaide’s sports and concert AAMI Stadium is being sold by owner SA Football Commission for $71 million to be turned into residential housing development over the next 10 to 15 years. Among recent acts treading its boards were Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and One Direction.

Heritage drama over Melbourne’s Palace Theatre

As Melbourne City Council met last evening to discuss heritage protection for Melbourne’s Palace Theatre building, it revealed that heritage consultant Graeme Butler had reversed his earlier recommendation. After site owner Jinshan Investments last week caused an uproar by ripping out the building’s interior some dating back to 1916 (for “safety reasons”), Butler figures it is now no longer worth saving the building. Melbourne Heritage Action president Tristan Davies fired back there are still items of value in the building which could be restored. "We are extremely disappointed that with this decision, Jinshan Investments will be effectively ‘rewarded’ for their vandalism of a well known historic building while it was being assessed for heritage listing.”

Capacity increase for Falls Byron

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has approved North Byron Parklands’s application to increase its capacity by an extra 2,500 patrons for Falls Festival Byron. Tickets went on sale yesterday to those who missed out when the original allocation sold out in three weeks.

Benjamin Huang wins Tropscore

Melbourne composer and sound designer Benjamin Huang won Tropfest’s film score competition Tropscore. He got $5000 from APRA AMCOS for his score for short film Capture by Jen Gerber, a finalist from Tropfest New York 2013. Huang, who has a Diploma in Sound Production and about to graduate in a Bachelor of Music Composition, gave himself five years to win Tropscore “so when I found out that I had won this year, I was in absolute awe!”

More venue woes

Cairns Regional Council rejected an application by inner city Lyquid Nightclub for a 5am licence for weekends, weeks after giving the thumbs-down to the Illumination dance party. In the meantime, Cairns’ Mayor Manning wants noise curfew slapped on the Esplanade after 10.30 pm following complaints about swearing by Bliss n Eso at a show at Fogarty Park.

Is it the end for Sunshine Coast’s Ettamogah Pub? The music venue is caught in a dispute with Leigh O’Brien of Southern Equity which owns the rights to the name, based on the Ken Maynard ‘Our Mob’ cartoons. O’Brien and pub owner Timevale have squabbled over royalties for years. The licensing deal ran out in September. O’Brien wants them to remove all signage related to Ettamogah Pub, the venue argues it has three more months to do it.

After less than a month, owners of the re-launched Railway Hotel in Brunswick, Melbourne, are having second thoughts about live music. Shows were canned last week. But bookers say some dates will continue this week, saying “After making a big investment in sound and lights and fixing the venue up the owners are working out the direction to take the whole hotel forward.”

AU Review launches own live music awards

The AU Review’s new live music awards are held in Sydney on December 9. Categories are divided into each state, covering live acts, voices, acts to watch, tours and festivals. Up for national live act of the year are Violent Soho, The Preatures, Bluejuice, The Smith Street Band and Kingswood.

Inaugural Granite Town festival almost breaks even

The inaugural Granite Town jazz, funk and reggae festival in Monuya on the NSW South Coast sold 1400 tickets but fell short of going into the black by 70 tickets. Organisers expected it as per their three-year growth plan and urged patrons for the October ‘15 event to start buying already. The event was previously the Moruya Jazz Festival.

AHA NSW to launch counteract campaign

In the wake of pubs copping the blame in the crackdown of drunken violence, the Australian Hotels Association NSW is launching a counteracting $10 million campaign in March. Over four years it will stress their contribution to the NSW economy, including 100,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in taxes.

WA’s Big Splash slippery when wet

WA live band competition, The Big Splash, returns for its third year between June and August 2015. The state’s unsigned acts are advised that applications are open until April 30, with a chance to win $10,000.

ACT school music program gets funding

The Music Viva in Schools program, run by the performing arts organisation to prepare primary school teachers to teach music is to get an annual grant of $15,000 from 2015 to 2017 from the ACT government.

Fly By Night winging to Mt. Lawley?

The 28 year old Fly By Night music venue may head to a new home at the live music showcasing Astor Theatre in Mt. Lawley. The club has until March 11 to quit its long time home at the Old Military Hall in Fremantle after the National Trust gave promoter Sunset Events a 21-year lease. Preliminary discussions have begun, both sides say, but these are a long way from any agreement.

Funding for artists with disabilities

Funding between $20,000 and $60,000 is available to arts and cultural organisations and disability organisations to deliver arts projects for people with disability in NSW. Applications close on Feb 9. Check the Arts NSW site.

Awards #1: Festivals at NSW Tourism

The Tamworth Country Music Festival took gold at the NSW Tourism Awards in the Major Festivals & Events. Bluesfest took silver, and Vivid Sydney bronze. Deni Ute Muster got bronze in Festivals & Events.

Awards #2: wins at AHA NSW, WA

The Ivy (Pacha) in the Sydney CBD and Bondi’s Eastern Hotel both took out Best Entertainment Venue at the 21st Australian Hotels Association NSW Awards for Excellence. The Ivy also won Best Social Media Activity with the Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel. The Ettamogah in Kellyville Ridge, which features live music, won Best Family Friendly Hotel.

At last month’s AHA WA awards, Perth Arena and Settlers Tavern tied for Live Entertainment Venue. Live music showcasing Greenwood Hotel took Sporting Entertainment Venue and Cottesloe Beach Hotel and Subiaco Hotel tied in the Redeveloped Venue category.

Beasts of Bourbon rockumentary premieres in Melbourne

Robert Brokenmouth and Jethro Heller’s Beasts Of Bourbon rockumentary, The Brass Ring, premieres in Melbourne Dec 3 at Thornbury Theatre. The two, who worked on it for eight years, will present the screening, with most of the band in attendance for a Q&A. The 44-minute Brass Ring goes to DVD shortly. An Adelaide screening is at The Gov on December 18.

Village Roadshow’s complaint against iiNet rejected

Village Roadshow’s complaint against iiNet of misleading and deceptive propaganda was rejected by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ZDNet reported. The ISP had blogged in June that Hollywood studios’ battle against illegal copyright infringement in Australia included “heavy-handed solutions, from a 'three strikes' proposal through to website filtering — none of which take consumers' interests into account.” Village Roadshow co-CEO Graham Burke asked the ACCC to investigate the claims legislation and industry initiatives don't work. He said, “This is akin to saying abandon policing drunken and high-speed driving on our freeways. Of course there will be people that will continue to infringe, but the problem can be addressed.” Under Freedom of Information, ZDNet obtained emails that confirmed the ACCC turned down the request a week later.