Industrial Strength: October 20

New categories for Queensland Music Awards

Next year’s Queensland Music Awards expands with new categories. The set of new People’s Choice Awards are Most Promising Male Songwriter ($1000), Female Songwriter ($1000) and Songwriting Team ($2000). They provide encouragement and support to early career songwriters who show potential.

The 2016 QMAs will also recognise the commercial success of Queensland artists at home and abroad. A panel of music industry experts will choose Highest-selling album, Highest-selling single, and the Export Achievement award, which recognises international success across touring, publishing and sync.

“The Queensland Music Awards recognise the rich diversity of songwriting talent from across our state,” stated QMusic Executive Officer Joel Edmondson. “It’s the annual celebration of our industry, from our brightest emerging talent, right through to our best-known international successes.”

Q Music, with returning partners BOQ and Hutchinson Builders, hold the awards on Monday March 21 at Brisbane Powerhouse. Entries are open for songwriters across the state for the 24 categories at www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au.

Also open for applications is the Billy Thorpe Scholarship, funded by Arts Queensland. It provides $10,000 for an emerging artist to record with an established producer, and receive career-planning advice from a Chugg Entertainment representative. Applicants apply online through QMusic’s website. The winner is unveiled at the Queensland Music Awards.

More stations launched on iHeartRadio Australia

Australian Radio Network (ARN) has launched more new genre stations on iHeartRadio Australia. These are:

iHeartRadio Dance: features Pete Tong’s Evolution Beatport and shows initially hosted by EDM acts and DJs Stafford Brothers, Feenixpawl, Nervo, Steve Aoki and Tenzin.

iHeartRadio Old Skool: hip hop from the golden era to 2008 covering Run DMC, NWA, Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill. Also rare grooves, collaborations and remixes splashed with Reggae, RnB, Soul, and a dash of Aus/NZ throwbacks.

Asia Pop 40: Asia’s first home-grown radio chart show in the English language hosted by Dom Lau with tracks and artists from all over the region.

Melbourne’s Favourite 1000: Gold 104.3 counts down the city’s favourite 1000 hits including names as INXS and Queen through to Madonna and Split Enz.

Little Rockers Radio: for those up to six years old, it includes songs, nursery rhymes, lullabies, yoga for kids and smiling-mind meditation.

Lowie Live: Aussie comedian Craig “Lowie” Low from 3pm every Saturday with an irreverent look at celebrity news, pop culture questions and chats with celebs.

ARN says fans of hip hop, country and RNB will get their own stations.

Gurrumul documentary in development

A documentary on the life and music of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is in development for a 2016 cinematic release through Madman Entertainment. It is co-produced by his Skinnyfish Music label owner Mark Grose, the artist’s collaborator and manager Michael Hohnen, and Shannon Swan who produced and directed the 2013 feature documentary Lygon Street – Si Parla Italiano.

It is directed by Gurrumul’s close mate Paul Williams, in association with Skinnyfish, and photographed by award winning cinematographer Katie Milwright.

The producers revealed: “The documentary will submerge the audience in the music, patterns and rhythms of Yolngu life and explore the Yolngu belief system that has shaped Gurrumul as a man and a musician. It will explore the boundaries and challenges that exist for such an artist, and his incredible and unlikely journey from his home on Elcho Island in far north-east Arnhem Land, into the public eye.”

Festivals Update

* Americana festival Out On The Weekend, which had a successful debut in Melbourne last year, axed its Sydney debut this weekend due to low ticket sales.

* Also cancelled this weekend was Fun in the Sun in Queensland. Einstein Events blamed “unreasonable” conditions imposed by Cairns Regional Council. The event drew 10,000 to Fogarty Park last year. Restrictions were not provided until two weeks ago, and organisers said, included noise limitations and use of balloons and a petting zoo.

* Promoter Scott Mesiti was happy with the turnout for the inaugural under-18s Memory Lane in Port Macquarie, NSW. About 500 attended various laneways to see acts headlined by Perth’s San Cisco on the weekend. Mesiti was particularly happy with how local audiences supported local bands.

* Secret Garden, held outside Sydney, returns in 2016 with a two-day format. Held Friday February 26 and Saturday February 27, the lineup won’t drop until the event sells out.

* Gundaroo Music Festival, headlined by Mental As Anything, raised $50,000 for research into MND. Event Director Scott Harding said attendance surpassed expectations with 3500 turning up. It was set up in 2012 by Scott Windsor who suffered from the disease and passed away this April.

* Queensland’s retro-fest Cooly Rocks On’s Festival Manager Phil Villiers told a Tweed Business Chamber breakfast the event pumped $6.3 million into the Tweed economy each year. After this year setting a record attendance with 115,000, he said the 2016 event in June was looking good with 60% of Tweed-Coolangatta accommodation already booked.

Four Winds received an unexpected benefactor. The family of Canberra artist Andrew Sayers, who died last week aged 58, asked all donations sent to it.

Good Works #1: Musicians team for SOS BLAK AUSTRALIA.

Emma Donovan & The PutBacks brought in Archie Roach, Tim Rogers and Joelistics on a single to raise money for SOS BLAK AUSTRALIA to help fight the closure of Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. It is released through HopeStreet Recordings

Rogers and Joelistics contribute to the version of Warumpi Band’s 1985 anthem Blackfella Whitefella which asked long ago for Australians of all colours and backgrounds to “stand up and be counted,” for all of our rights. Roach does a deep soul rendition of his late partner Ruby Hunter’s heartbreaking statement of indigenous urban disadvantage Down City Streets.

Good Works #2: DJs For Refugees

Refugee charity Bloody Good Humans hosts a party to raise funds for United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR on October 23 at the Jam Galler in Bondi. Curated by the teams from Return To Rio and Rotarydisco, DJs For Refugees features Sydney DJs Nick Law, Alan Thomas, B__A, Monkey Tennis, Ricky Cooper, Andy Donaldson (co-founder of Bloody Good Humans), Matt Trousdale and Tony Garcia.

Open day for Grove Studios

Following the success of the inaugural Diploma of Sound Production, The Grove Studios will hold another Open Day on Saturday November 7 from 10am-2pm. It is for prospective 2016 students wanting a career in sound, who may consider undertaking the course or the brand new Advanced Diploma of Sound Production. Register at http://rmi.edu.au/.

Venues Update

* The Woollahra Hotel in Sydney, known for its jazz ambience, was sold to Public House Management. Previous owners John and Sally Ryan bought it in 2011 for $15 million.

* Byron Bay’s La La Land nightclub has closed after handing back its liquor licence to the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing. It was gutted by fire in January 2014.

* Wollongong got a new 300-capacity music venue, Encore, on Crown Street, on the weekend. Operator is Staci Talbot, and aside from showcasing local acts, will also host comedy nights and arts exhibition.

* Set to launch in Adelaide on November 21 is Fat Controller, on the site of the old Cavern. Among acts playing in the first few weeks are The Aston Shuffle and The Neon Indian.

* Stadiums Queensland has offered a role on its board for a rep from Townsville, much to the delight of the city’s civic leaders who are pushing for funding for a super-stadium. Its nine venues include Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Suncorp Stadium, Metricon Stadium Carrara and Townsville’s 1300SMILES Stadium.

* The Florida Beach Bar in Terrigal introduces a new indie-electronic club night Sounds Like on Friday December 4.

Adelaide’s City Makers grants open

Renewal SA’s City Makers grants program is calling entrepreneurs, community groups and artists with innovative ideas to continue rejuvenating the Adelaide CBD. It offers $5000 for place making activities and up to $10,000 for building compliance matters that contribute to quality programs, projects, events and business concepts aimed at enhancing the vibrancy of the Adelaide CBD. Deadline is Monday October 26, see https://renewalsa.sa.gov.au/projects/city-makers/.

Fretfest launches song contest

Queensland’s Fretfest, which claims kudos for unearthing Pete Murray, Kate Miller-Heidke and Tom Busby, has launched an Australia-wide song contest aimed at 12 to 25 year olds. They need to upload an original song on YouTube and send a link to www.fretfest.com/regional-song-contest.

“Recognising young talent is the first step towards helping them succeed and, from little things, big things grow,” points out Fretfest Director Al Buchan. Winners announced at the inaugural Best of Fretfest Concert on Sunday December 12.

Ice TV in voluntary administration

Ice TV has gone into voluntary administration and looking for a new buyer to stave off closing its doors permanently. It’s sparked off questions if Australia’s Personal Video Recorders (PVR) sector is in danger through SVOD and catch-up services. But Ice TV’s rivals say it was aimed at a niche audience.

Number Crunching

48% of expected ticket sales gained is why Soulfest cancelled out for 2015.

1 billion YouTube views for Wiz Khalifa’s See You Again, the first hip hop video to reach that figure.

21 hour rap about 600 Australian cities by Reggie Watts, wildly Afro’d band leader on James Corden’s Late Late Show.

66% of US broadband households use a streaming audio service, according to a new report.

Vale

Drummer John Murphy was born in Melbourne in 1959, the son of jazz drummer Russ Murphy. He emerged in the punk era with NEWS (as “John Smith From The Suburbs”) and in the new wave era collaborated with Ollie Olsen in Whirlywirld, Hugo Klang, Orchestra of Skin and Bone, NO and Max Q. In the UK he played in SPK, The Associates and Death In June and recorded with The The, Gene Loves Jezebel and Nico. In recent times he recorded solo as Shining Vril, as part of industrial electronic trio Knifeladder, and in folk-noise group Foresta Di Ferro. He passed at 56 after a battle with cancer.

Goulburn musician and sound engineer Ray Beaton started out as a guitarist, touring the US with Reg Lindsay and through Australia with Eric Bogle, Sara Storer, The Wolverines, No Fences: the Garth Brooks Show, Kevin Borich and Col Elliott. A lover of sounds and technology, he ran WB Speaker Systems, developing a reputation for kind and immediate attention when a musician or club needed help. He passed at 60 from oesophagus cancer.

And A Few Other Things…

Singer songwriter Lanie Lane, who announced her retirement in February, is back on the road in December. She got her inspiration and enthusiasm back after an outback trip with her dog Dingo. It lead to her “reassessing my approach to life and music. I’ve filled myself up again and have lots of love, stories and even some new songs to share.”

The 2016 ACRAs and National Radio Conference will be again held in Melbourne from October 7.

Brett Blundy, who founded the Sanity music retail chain, has just bought two Northern Territory cattle stations for an estimated $100 million. The two, Walhallow and Creswell, cover 1 million hectares in the Barkly Tablelands.

In New York for CMJ, Melbourne duo Friendships decided to round off a night clubbing by going onto a rooftop in Brooklyn to welcome the sunrise. Unfortunately Misha Grace fell five meters landing on her shoulder and ended up in hospital with a grace.

Gold Coast nightclub operator Ivan Tesic is to face committal in mid-December over his alleged involvement in a nightclub drug syndicate.

Darwin rapper Ezra Austral faces court on November 3 on a number of charges including car theft.

Sydney band The Lazys have their second Top 10 entry in the Canadian charts, with single Black Rebel hitting #19 on the Active Rock listings.

If Lorde’s music ambitions hadn’t been materialised, she could have been a lawyer or a comedian, she revealed during a Q&A on Tumblr.

Singer songwriter Conrad Sewell was named InStyle and Audi Face Of The Future in the magazine’s Man of Style edition at a cocktail function in Sydney at which he performed his hits Start Again and Firestone. A bit of a difference from his show before, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, with Kygo, John Legend and Parson James.

Melbourne DJ and producer Will Sparks made his entry into the 2015 DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs poll at #78. While he earlier said music was not about competition, he could hardly contain his excitement when he announced the news on Facebook and thanked “the people I’ve partied with, and those who have supported me over the past four years to now.”

Cottesloe Council is insisting that Canadian clothing firm Lululemon Athletica pay the commercial rate of $3000, instead of the community rate of $550, for its November 7 silent disco-yoga class on the beach, saying it would be a branded event.

The video for Stafford Bros’ new track When You Feel This (featuring Jay Sean and Rick Ross) was written and directed by comic Chris Lilley, who plays all the characters in the fantasy dream of a dental hygienist. The Staffords revealed, “We’ve been huge fans of Chris Lilley for as far back as we can remember. To see him play us was absolutely classic.”

The two Q & A sessions in Sydney and Melbourne around YouTube stars Joe And Caspar Hit The Road sold out in 20 minutes. A third Q&A also sold out.