Industrial Strength: March 13
NEW AUSSIE MUSIC SHOW ‘ALLTOGETHER NOW’ FOR LATE 2018
Endemol Shine Australia has begun casting for a new Australian version of the UK format All Together Now.
It will launch on the Seven Network towards the end of the year in prime time, and offers a $100,000 prize.
The format is corny but effective: singers perform and are rated by “The 100” who are motivated to get up on their feet and yowl along depending on how good they are.
The UK version – screened on the BBC on Saturday nights and hosted by Geri “Ginger Spice” Horner and offering a £50,000 prize – has 100 “experts”.
These include cruise-ship entertainers, West End performers, pub singers, wedding crooners, session musicians and tribute artists.
Or as one critic put it, “the hopeful leading the hopeless.”
Casting for the Australian series ends on March 23 at https://go.mycastingnet.com/Apply/Show/AllTogetherNow.
It will be interesting to see if this “populist” approach works to keep Australians interesting in tuning into singing reality shows.
There’s not that much on the landscape, after Seven put a bullet through X Factor, and only Nine has The Voice on its slate.
The UK landscape is no less desolate, with Pitch Battle, Gary Barlow’s Let It Shine and Sing: Ultimate A Cappella were all discontinued after low ratings.
AN AUSTRALIAN VERSION OF TIME’S UP COMING
An Australian version of Times Up America is set to launch shortly, journalist Tracey Spicer revealed at a Women in Film and Television Victoria (WIFT VIC) at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Time’s Up, set up in January by Hollywood executives to fund legal cases of sexual harassment, had by last month raised $20 million and had 200 lawyers working pro bono.
The Australian version is a collaboration by Women in Media, Women in Film and Television and Women in Theatre and Screen.
According to Spicer, a long time women’s rights advocate and campaigner against the Australian entertainment industry’s “blokey” culture, the local initiative will be “broader”.
So hopefully it will not only cover more entertainment and media sectors, but use its legal pool to launch cases against companies which allow sexual harassment to continue.
Spicer indicated a campaign to change the statute of limitations – the period of time in which a victim must launch a civil case, and obviously a problem given the amount of testimonies from women as to why they took so long to come forward.
I HEAR YA KNOCKIN’ BUT YOU CAN’T COME IN: SXSW VISA ISSUES
No less than two Australian acts heading to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, have fallen foul of America’s strict visa issues.
One of the musicians in Melbourne-based singer songwriter Fatal’s band was stopped in LA for what was claimed was the wrong visa, interrogated for seven hours and then sent back to Australia.
Another was also questioned but eventually allowed in.
Fatal has toured America before.
Also falling foul of US Immigration was Sydney based Revilo Limeback.
A post at SXSW said it was “looking form a drummer for our first two SXSW shows.
“Unfortunately with visa issues, we’re without a band for the first 2 Lime Cordiale shows.”
NICK CAVE TRIES Q&A SHOWS
A week after teasing them, Nick Cave announced that he is doing four Question & Answer format shows in the United States.
There will be two in New York and two in the Boston area, in theatres, and entirely based on questions from the audience.
“I have always loved the Q&A format—not the formal onstage interviews that preceded them but the questions from the audience afterwards,” Cave stated.
“The audience…tends to ask more challenging, revealing, and ultimately playful questions….
“I thought that a direct conversation with the audience might be valuable.
“The audience can ask me anything and I’ll do my best to answer.”
And as for a plan B in case things go wrong?
“I do have some things to say. I can always play some songs at the piano if it all goes horribly wrong. But, I don’t know, I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”
There are no plans for Q&A shows in Australia yet. In the meantime, Aussies will just have to amble along to selected cinemas when the movie of a Bad Seeds Copenhagen show is screened on one night only in cinemas around the world on April 12.
TIM McGRAW COLLAPSES ON STAGE
US country singer Tim McGraw collapsed onstage in Dublin. His wife Faith Hill said, “He’s been super dehydrated. I apologize, but I made the decision that he cannot come back out on stage.” McGraw is said to be fine.
ROHAN LEPPERT TO RUN FOR LORD MAYOR
Rohan Leppert, one of the biggest supporters of live music in Melbourne City Council, has thrown in his beret to run for Lord Mayor.
The 33-year-old Greens councillor was elected to Council in 2012 and heads its arts, culture and heritage portfolio.
He is also deputy chair of Planning, and was among the most vocal in the campaign to stop the demolition of the three-storey Palace Theatre nightclub by its new developer owner.
FORTITUDE VALLEY NIGHTCLUB FOR SALE
Fortitude Valley nightclub Alfred & Constance has been put up for sale by the receivers of owner Damien Griffiths.
The nightspot has been closed since January when it went into receivership, along with another Griffiths property in the entertainment precinct, Limes Hotel.
His financial woes came from his Doughnut Time chain in Australia and the UK.
FLUME WANTS TO WORK WITH KANYE, GORILLAZ
Grammy winning Sydney producer, musician and DJ Flume wants to work with Kanye West, and Damon Albarn from Gorillaz.
He told Billboard Radio China in Hong Kong that one of the early reasons for his early global success was “I worked with a bunch of people who are really talented and great. They helped push the music to the world.”
These included initially Canadian singer Kai and Swedish singer Tove Lo, then Lorde, Vince Staples, Raekwon, George Maple and Beck.
“I feel like I’ve just been figuring it out as a producer in theold sense,” Flume told the station.
“It’s different every time. I think it works different for everyone.
“Sometimes, it all happens in the studio … (sometimes) I really like to do my own thing and then connect.”
AMY VEE WINS STUDIO 301 COMP
Newcastle singer-songwriter Amy Vee is wasting no time in using her win of Studio 301’s All Access competition.
She’s in the studio next month, wanting to make “a great” record, admitting she never thought she had an inside chance of winning the $15,000-valued prize.
Last September, director Thomas Hudson won the music video category at Canberra Short Film Festival for the clip he shot for her song, ‘Ten Years’.
AMAZON ‘AUSTRALIAN’ PLAYLIST
Amazon Music has released a Made In Australia playlist ofexclusive, newly-recorded covers of Australian songs, reworked by a new generation of Australian artists.
Gordi, talking about her version of Tina Arena’s ‘Sorrento Moon (I Remember)’ says, “Her Don’t Ask album was played time and time again in my house when I was growing up.
“A couple of years ago I went with my family to Sorrento (on the Victorian coastline) for the weekend and we played ‘Sorrento Moon’ until I was sure I’d never be able to listen to it again. Yet here we are.”
Betty Who on cutting a Kylie Minigue cut said, “I jumped at the chance to sing Kylie.
“It’s such a sexy and fun song. I wanted to try something a little more intimate.”
Alex Cameron – ‘Before Too Long’
Alex The Astronaut – ‘I Was Only 19’
Ali Barter – ‘I Touch Myself;
Amyl and the Sniffers – ‘Dirty Deeds’
Bad//Dreems – ‘My Pal’
Ball Park Music – ‘To Love Somebody’
Betty Who – ‘Come Into My World’
Gang of Youths – ‘Straight To You’
Gordi – ‘Sorrento Moon (I Remember)’
Hockey Dad – ‘Get Free’
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders – ‘Midnight Man’
Japanese Wallpaper – ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ feat. Georgia Smith
Julia Jacklin – ‘Kim’s Caravan’
Kasey Chambers – ‘Walking On A Dream’
Mansionair – ‘This Boy’s In Love’
Morgan Evans – ‘Truly Madly Deeply’
Sloan Peterson – ‘Friday On My Mind’
The Babe Rainbow – ‘The Real Thing’
The Brinks – ‘Love Goes On’
The Rubens – ‘That Word (L.O.V.E.)’
The Temper Trap – ‘Wide Open Road’
Washington – ‘Cry’
JUMANJI CONTINUES BAPTISM BY FIRE
Fresh from losing DJ Mustard and having Iggy Azalea coming out unscheduled to join Tyga at its Melbourne show, the inaugural Jumanji hip hop love-in went on to glisten in Sydney by drawing 6300 to Parramatta Park to see some scintillating sets from Lil’ Wayne, Tyga, Wade and Madeintyo.
Magic numbers from NSW cops were 71 (fence jumpers), 9 (ejected for bad attitude behaviour), 99 (treated for medical issues), 2 (hospitalised), 20 (arrested for drug offences) and 11 (arrested for being drunk)
SOUNDCLOUD OFFERING MORE TO SELECT ARTISTS
As a result of fast growth in its last two quarters, SoundCloud plans to share the love by expanding its monetization program for selected artists with new career development programs.
These are “new marketing and promotional opportunities to help SoundCloud Premier creators build their careers on and off the platform.”
They include potential placement in SoundCloud’s curated playlists, in-house produced promotions for rising artists, brand sponsorships, performances at pop-ups produced by SoundCloud, and technical support.
ED SHEERAN RESPONDS TO DUNEDIN MURAL FRACAS
So you’ve sold out three shows in Dunedin, selling 100,000 tickets which is almost equal to the population of the city, you’re about to inject NZ$34 million into the economy and the city’s marketing division gets a local artist to paint a mural of you on a one time nightclub wall for a bit of $8500.
But some of the local musicians who created the Dunedin Sound are not impressed about the honour to the English redhead and voice their impression on the Stuff website.
Martin Phillipps of The Chills calls the ideal of the mural “unusual.”
Otago University music lecturer and former lead singer of The Verlaines, Graeme Downes, predicted the art would be shortlived, and that in ten years people would look at the Eddie mural and ask who it was.
Roger Shepherd, founder of the Flying Nun label, assumed that Dunedin would also thank the bands who created the Dunedin Sound to also get murals of their own.
Sheeran’s response on NZ TV was: “You know what, it’s up to them. I think if it’s my hometown and there was someone I liked who was coming I might do something like that..
“But not everyone in New Zealand likes me (laughs), so of course some people are going to be…But if it makes someone happy, the more life goes on, the older I get, the less I care about people’s opinions. I’m just like ‘OK, you got your thing and I got my thing’.”
CHANGES FOR PERTH’S NUCLEUST, TIRED LION
Perth metal band Nucleust quickly replaced drummer Shay Smith after his departure.
The band say they got offers from around the country but went for 20-year-old Giuliano Macri from ambient black metal project, Staos.
They said, “We were absolutely blown away by Giuliani’s technical skills during his audition and have seen many similarities in his taste and approach towards music compare to what we like in Nucleust. “
An East Coast tour is set for mid-winter, and a second album due in 2019.
Tired Lion’s guitarist Matt Tanner announced he has parted ways with the band he helped set up after high school.
“This band has been a huge part of who I am so making this decision was very hard yet necessary for my own personal reasons,” he said in a Facebook post.
“The show will definitely go on and I know the guys are most likely already working on a bunch of new tunes plus will be continuing to tour a whole heap.”
GOOD CHARLOTTE ON [V] ISLAND
Good Charlotte perform at [V] Island for the final party of the season on Tuesday, March 27, against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour.
Fraser Stark, group channel manager of Foxtel Arts & Music channels, said: “Hugely popular, Good Charlotte is a long-term friend of [V] – the band is a staple of the playlist and, whilst Benji and Joel Madden are frequent visitors to Australia, it’s great to welcome them aboard the [V] Island for the only acoustic performance of their current tour.
“We can’t wait to hear stripped-back versions of the band’s rock/pop anthems and to party with the boys and their fans later this month.”
LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE SAVED
Classical music and arts magazine Limelight has been pulled back from oblivion (and liquidation).
It has new owners, Bruce Watson and specialist travel agent Robert Veel, who will publish the magazine as Limelight Arts Media.
Jo Litson remains editor, while previous owner Andrew Batt-Rawden is retained on contract.
Veel’s business, Academy Travel, was a regular advertiser with Limelight.
SYDNEY SUMMIT ON ARTS INVESTMENT
About 500 delegates are expected to land on Carrageworks in Sydney, on March 23, to be updated on the NSW Government’s future investment in the arts through to 2025.
NSW minister for the arts, Don Harwin said, “This is the first time in NSW that the arts, screen and cultural communities have come together on this scale.
“This will be a day of inspiration and ideas. It will have an emphasis on identifying opportunities to support excellence, participation and growth.”
The Summit will look at topics as making NSW a creative destination, diversifying income, funding models and engagement with Western Sydney and regional NSW.
NEVER JUDGE A HOOK BY ITS COVER
Seven books have made it to the shortlist of the 2018 Penderyn Music Book Prize in the UK. The prize was set up by festival promoter Richard Thomas to put the spotlight on music writing.
They are:
Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World by Billy Bragg (Faber)
First Time Ever: A Memoir by Peggy Seeger (Faber)
Art Sex Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti (Faber)
Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan (Canongate)
Some Fantastic Place: My Life In and Out of Squeeze by Chris Difford (Weidenfeld & Nicholson)
Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul by Stuart Cosgrove (Polygon)
Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955 – 1994 by David Hepworth (Transworld)
APPLICATIONS FOR NSW DOCO FUND
Following success with The Go-Betweens: Right Here and ahead of the upcoming 2018 film Double Happiness: China Love, Create NSW and ABC Arts have opened a call for applications for the 2019 Documentary Feature Fund, the joint initiative now in its third year.
Each feature length arts documentary funded through the initiative receives a world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival prior to screening on ABC, with Create NSW contributing $100,000 to each production and the ABC allocating a $150,000 license fee.
Both finished films have also received additional major production funding from Screen Australia.
Applications close midnight Sunday April 15. To apply, read the full eligibility guidelines and criteria online at: http://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/funding/production-support/documentary-feature-fund-initiative.
SONGTRADR EYES ENTRY INTO AUSSIE MARKET
Global music licensing platform Songtradr is looking at entering the Australian market.
It is advertising for a managing editor, to be based either in Sydney or Melbourne.
NZ’S TAITE PRIZE FINALISTS
The eight finalists for the New Zealand’s 9th Taite Music Prize, to find the most creative album from that country from last year have been announced.
Aldous Harding – Party (Flying Nun Records)
Fazerdaze – Morningside (Flying Nun Records)
Grayson Gilmour – Otherness (Flying Nun Records)
Kane Strang – Two Hearts and No Brain (Dead Oceans)
Mermaidens – Perfect Body (Flying Nun Records)
Nadia Reid – Preservation (SPUNK!)
TEEKS – The Grapefruit Skies (TEEKS)
The Bads – Losing Heroes (The Bads)
There were 92 nominations from independent and major labels.
Named after the late music journalist Dylan Taite, the prize consists of $10,000 cash from Prize founding partner Recorded Music NZ; recording time at Red Bull Studios Auckland; and a year’s supply of Red Bull product
This Prize will be announced at a presentation at The Civic’s Wintergarden in Auckland on Tuesday April 17.
Alongside the main prize, two additional awards will again be presented at the ceremony: the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award and the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, celebrating the freshest talent of Aotearoa.
The winner receives a $2,000 cash prize and a live performance slot programmed at Auckland Live.
AND A FEW OTHER THINGS…
The finalists of the April 10 APRA Music Awards’ ten categories are being announced this Thursday.
Rita Ora, Liam Payne and Jason Derulo will play the ECHO Awards (Gerrnany’s Grammys) on April 12, it was announced overnight. E* Sh*er*n led the nominations with four, trailed by German rapper Bausa and ‘Despacito’ hitmaker Fonsi with three each.
It wasn’t just Aussie screen folk making their presence at the recent Oscars. Expatriate R&B singer songwriter Alston Koch, now based in Los Angeles, was entertaining at the America-China sponsored $1500-a-ticket after party at the Sofitel Beverly Hills. He sang his climate change anthem ‘Make A Change’.
So much of TV entertainment footage in the past has been wiped out, including ABC-TV’s Countdown and GTK. However the National Film & Sound Archive has started to put online footage from the daytime The Mike Walsh Show which ran in the 1970s and 1980s to a weekly audience of 5 million. Footage included Johnny Cash, Bette Midler, Village People and Queensland singing nun Sister Stansilaus Zgrajewski, whose debut appearance caused such a storm (a good one) that she was invited back the next day.
Dear Aunt Agony: Usher has split with his wife while Mary J. Blige settles her divorce outside of court.
This year’s BRIT Awards raised £1 million (A$1.76 million) for the BRIT Trust, whose benefactors include music therapy, wellness and a performing art and tech college in the UK, an environmental charity and clean water projects across Africa and India. The BRITs have raised a total of £20 million ($35.3 million) over the years.
One of Adelaide’s councils plans to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a spend of $150,000 (and a set from Rogue Traders which cost $36,000) also had its detractors. “Excessive!” bellowed one councillor.
Former Skyhooks guitarist turned ex-ABC radio broadcaster Red Symons could be reaching another milestone (sort of). The North Fitzroy, Melbourne, house now belonging to his ex-wife Elly, will set a new benchmark for house prices in the area if it reaches its $4.5-$4.8 million price guide when it goes under the hammer on March 25.
Engineers are currently checking out Central Park to see if it is an OK-dokey site for Townsville’s mooted concert hall.
Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst is drawing upon his experiences with the band’s nuttier fans on his latest project. He’s co-written a film script called Moose about a fan called Moose who stalks her fave movie star, with John Travolta playing the stalkee.
One of the films making a splash at South By Southwest is Kiwi comedy The Breaker Upperers. Its makers, Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek, shared an Instagram photo of the huge queue outside the cinema of the sold-out screening.
UK anti-harassment group Girls Against have pulled out of working with the Truck Festival because it has refused to dump the band Moose Blood from the bill and “We feel it would be potentially compromising for our values.” The band’s singer is accused of stealing nude photos froma woman’s phone, allegations that he denies.
During an entertaining Q&A with INXS’ Kirk Pengilly at a function at the Ballina RSL, he touched on the death of Michael Hutchence. He said (as per Byron Shire News) that the singer had been in a great place when he died. “I don’t think he took his life, I think it was an accident, but no one will ever know,” he said. Pengilly admitted he’d even considered one of the conspiracy theories of the time, which involved the IRA.