Music journalist Ed Nimmervoll recovering; Vale Martin Sharp; Phil Collins wants to reunite Genesis

Launching Pad #1: Moshtix’s mobile ticket scanning app

Ticketing provider Moshtix’s new mobile ticket scanning app, smartScan, uses the camera on smartphones to scan tickets. Multiple mobile devices can be used simultaneously across multiple entry points. The app allows event organisers to leave ticket sales open after the event begins and scale up to deal with surges in fans arriving. Moshtix recently launched moshMailer, a free email platform with audience targeting that includes demographics, geographics and customer purchase behaviour.

Launching Pad #2: the Peninsula Music Festival

Victoria’s newest festival. Peninsula Music is on Sun January 12 at Morning Star Estate in Mt Eliza. The 8-strong bill is headlined by Ross Wilson And The Peaceniks. A project of the Lions Club of Mt Eliza, it is organised by a sub-committee of volunteers with proceeds to Peninsula Health.

Launching Pad #3: Stormrider festival goes full metal racket

The Civic Hotel in Perth hosts a new all-day metal festival called Stormrider on Saturday May 24. Headed by Victoria’s Black Majesty, WA’s Silent Knight and Darker Half from NSW. A companion compilation CD of acts on the bill will be given out free.

Launching Pad #4: New Year’s Evie

The team behind Victoria’s Boogie festival is staging New Year’s Evie, a three day camping festival Dec 31 to Jan 2. It’s at Boogie’s site, at Bruzzy’s Farm, Tallarook, an hour out of Melbourne, headlined by Stax On Soul Revue.

Fremantle Council defers concert venue plan

Fremantle Council has deferred a decision on an application to set up a live music venue, artist studio, cafe and brewery at the historic Arthur Head Reserve. According to plans by Perth-based promoter Sunset Events (Southbound, West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots), the venue will hold up to 10 to 15 ticketed music events during the warmer months. Sunset Events had wanted a 21-year lease on the J Shed area. After protests from a resident group, the Council decided to allow more community consultation.

South Australians like their festivals … sort of

It seems 62% of those surveyed in a South Australian report on attitudes to arts festivals haven’t been to one in the last three years … but 61% still think such festivals are important for the state. The survey was commissioned by Festivals Adelaide, the umbrella of Adelaide’s10 major arts festivals. It is the first study to investigate the combined socio-cultural impact of these events. 66% agree festivals contribute positive to SA tourism, 60% that they improved the state’s image, and 55% felt it was appropriate that the Government support these festivals. Last year an economic survey found the ten festivals had a collective audience of 2.82 million sold 590,000 tickets, generated a total of 304,100 visitor nights and contributed $62.9 million to SA’s economy.

Nine Tasmanian music acts get grants

Of $383,000 worth of grants handed out by Arts Tasmania via its Individual Artist Program, nine went to music groups. The Embers received $14,300 to record an album with producer Nicky Bomba. East Coast punk band Luca Brasi got $13,500 to record an album at Hobart’s Red Planet Studios. Younger Dryas got $13,500 make an EP with producer Forrester Savell. Electronic/metal band Deligma have $10,000 to record their debut album with producer Sam Marshall. Guitarist Greg Souter successfully got $5,860 to study at the Guitar Dept of the University of Southern California. Jazz leader Tom Vincent has $5,100 to rehearse and perform new songs. Hobart’s Enola Fall got $5,000 to re-release and publicise their Suburban Lovers EP after it got US airplay and before their tour there in March. Scott Targett received $4779 to record an EP with Swedish producer Eskil Lovstorm. Harry Edwards was given $3,000 towards his travel to Paris next May to study gypsy jazz guitar and play with other musicians at the annual Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz Festival. Recently, Arts Tasmania gave association Music Tasmania $56, 423 promote Tasmanian music outside the island.

First Break’s final five

The five finalists for First Break – the new talent search by commercial radio and the Mushroom Group – are Melbourne pop songwriter Alexander Jae, Sydney band Castlecom, indie band Indigo from Mandurah, Newcastle’s siblings-fronted Nova & The Experience and Brisbane trio The Royales.

Certifications led by One Direction

One Direction’s Midnight Memories, their third consecutive No.1 album in Australia, picked up a Platinum on its first week (only Coldplay and Robbie Williams are the other British acts to score three or more chart toppers this century) … Dami Im’s album picked up Platinum a week after it went Gold … Fleetwood Mac’s 25 Years – The Chain also has gone Platinum… On the singles side, Katy Perry’s Roar is now 7 x Platinum while Unconditional is Gold … Lorde’s EP The Love Club (with Royals) is 5 x Platinum … Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty picked up its fourth Platinum … Birdy’s Wings, Little Mix’s Move and Calvin Harris’ Under Control went Gold. (The Gavin Ryan Report).

SWIPE

Who is the artist that Flume is collaborating with this week?

Will the ARIA board consider giving hip-hop its own division? All the nominees in the urban category – Bliss N Eso, Horrorshow, Illy, Seth Sentry and Urthboy, all hip-hop acts – complained it no longer applied to them. ARIA chief Dan Rosen said he’d consider it.

Pity the (three hour) delayed ARIA tele-broadcast didn’t include blues and roots album winner Russell Morris’ thank you speech; it was terrific. “Good God, now I know how Moses felt coming out of the wilderness after 40 years,” he began. When the pop release category was announced, the second one of the event, winner Guy Sebastian was still outside on the black carpet after arriving late. His record label head Denis Handlin accepted on his behalf. Sebastian was being interviewed on camera (in fact, wryly admitting he wouldn’t bet on his scoring anything!) when someone signalled he’d had a win, so he hightailed it inside. The speech was reshot so TV audiences could see him joyfully accept his first ever ARIA: “I’ve been nominated twenty times (22 actually), I finally got one.”

Rumours are that journalist Joe Hildebrand and radio presenter Matt Tilley will be announced for Triple M’s new national drive show. Media strategist Adam Ferrier was another who tested for a part.

A band driving through the countryside spied a lovely settler-type homestead and asked if they could shoot a video. Yes, said the owner, but only if you use my daughter in the clip. They kept driving…

Two British newspapers claimed that when Justin Bieber hit Auckland, the Langham Hotel forced him to sign a contract that he would behave himself or get thrown out/fined. A Langham spokesperson sighed gently to the NZ Herald that it couldn’t be so as he didn’t stay there but at the SkyCity Grand.

E! Online blubbered apologies to British pop band Steps’ Ian H Watkins after using his pic in a tweet to six million people in a story on Lostprophets paedophile Ian Watkins.

Former Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug will join The Church for their next album and round of touring after Marty Willson-Piper “was/is unavailable,” leader Steve Kilbey posted.

Two songs from the end of Black Flag’s final Australian show, in Perth, singer Ron Reyes was sacked onstage and replaced by Mike V(allely).

After six years and two albums, Brisbane’s Hungry Kids of Hungary have split after band member Kane decided he didn’t want to tour any more.

Cries from two owners of Café del Mar Ibiza that the new Sydney venue of the same name was unauthorised, toned down when the Aussie operator John Zappia explained that the licence was granted by Ramon Guiral Broto, one of the founders of Café del Mar Ibiza and who is the registered owner of the Café Del Mar trademark in Australia.

Phil Collins wants to reunite Genesis, saying: “We could tour in Australia and South America. We haven’t been there yet.”

LIFELINES

Recovering: veteran music scribe and author Ed Nimmervoll, 66, reports he’s on the mend after passing out for four minutes during the ARIA awards. He got medical treatment. Nimmervoll, the one time Go Set editor who founded long running weekly Juke, is about to launch a new project shortly.

In Court: High Voltage Productions, the company making an unauthorised US$5 million movie of Bon Scott say they received a cease and desist from the band and its business partners. High Voltage claims it’s close to stitching up a TV deal, and had contacted Alberts Sydney to tell them of the project and to ask if they would licence AC/DC music for it.

In Court: Timothy Alan Everett of NSW North Coast-based The Mojo Bluesmen had an appointment at the Proserpine Magistrate’s Court after being charged with busking without a licence on the main road before the Airlie Beach Music Festival at which his band was performing at. A businessman complained he was making a racket outside his shop. A cooperative Everett stopped when the cops turned up. Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist dismissed the charge as being trivial.

Vale: influential Sydney (pop) artist Martin Sharp, 71, from emphysema. Emerging in the 1960s as co-founder the controversial and radical Oz magazine, he moved to Swinging London and shared a house in Chelsea with Eric Clapton. His psychedelic posters of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Donovan captured the era of the time. Sharp created the covers for Cream’s Disraeli Gears and Wheels Of Fire, and wrote the lyrics to one of their best-known songs, Tales of Brave Ulysses. He returned to Sydney in the ‘70s and, say colleagues, remained as intense and pure about his work until the end. Full of hippie ideals and revolutionary fervor, Sharp was outspoken about indigenous rights and human equality.

INSIDE TRACK

Classical Gas: The Presets performing with orchestra

Electronic duo The Presets, who studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, are going back to their classical roots. They team up with the Richard Tognetti-conducted Australian Chamber Orchestra for a series of audio-visual shows titled Timeline. They will perform works by Hildegard von Bingen, Gesualdo, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bartók, Schoenberg, Reich, Jelly Roll Morton, Stravinsky, Ligeti, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Nirvana and Mariah Carey. Famed Sydney and international events director Ignatius Jones will create the visuals. Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes said, “While we have enjoyed recognition in the contemporary music sector, our influences and our musical background have always been very broad, and have informed the music we create to this day,” Hamilton and Moyles said in a statement. “We were honoured to be asked to be contribute to Timeline – it’s a privilege to select so many meaningful works for the piece, and to work with the ACO.” The dates take in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Wollongong from May 20 – June 4.

Studio project Demolition Crew releases records, going live

Demolition Crew started out some years ago as a Friday afternoon brainstorming between Melbourne songwriters and producers David Briggs, one time guitarist of Little River Band and Chris Doheny of Geisha along with DJ and music programmer Steve Strange. As songs took shape, the idea developed to release a series of records with guest vocalists. But the first single, The Real Deal, sees Doheny take vocals. Briggs explains, “It was a no-brainer to have Chris singing The Real Deal. He is such a great vocalist and was obvious to sing that tune. It developed from our Friday sessions. Steve and myself had much of the music up and going before the lyrical direction. Chris came in and gave the song his unique vocal angle and also some feedback and creative input to the bridge.” The track’s already picking up regional radio adds, and Demolition Crew makes their live debut in Melbourne at The Cape Lounge in Brunswick on December 7.