Issue
6 Volume 1
June
2005
June
2005|
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Issue
6 Volume 1
June
2005 |
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Who owns IP? The changing face of copyright
Jazz
- Shorter/Scofield 1
By Peter Kelleher The evening began with John Scofield, Bill Stewart and Steve Swallow filling Melbourne's Hamer Hall with presence. They didn't fill it with personnel (just the three of them carried a concert of an hour and a half); they didn't fill it with volume (the sound was comfortably loud); they just filled the great gaping hall with music that really couldn't be topped. With Bill Stewart (a young man already gone "bad") tripping
over the rhythm ala the late great Tony Williams, and amid the bachian
explorations and stretching and contracting funk growls of Steve Swallow's
synthy bass, John Scofield took an attentive audience on a voyage that
encompassed many shades of blues and jazz and funk and fusion, not to
mention soul and bluegrass, and even allowed a viewing of Miles Davis'
Solar in eclipse.
Jazz - Shorter/Scofield 2 Wayne's World John Scofield and Wayne Shorter By Michael Atkinson Of Course if The Great Man cannot move a microphone we really shouldn´t expect him to move an audience. He didn´t entirely lose me when instructing Brian Blade to move a microphone stand but it did hint that this may be a man who has grown to wallow in his own legend. Read his recent interviews and you will find many of the telltale signs of the wanker-as-eminence-gris phenomenon. You know the sort of thing - hints at profound integration of knowledge of Eastern mysticism with modern philosophy and possibly a few riffs on the Rosetta stone? Leave it out. Let´s just hear the music, shall we? Curiously audiences are supposed to listen. Not at the Hamer Hall. We don´t have to. We already know Wayne will be wonderful. We have been told by a Noo Yawk sycophant that we are to witness an intense conversation between equals. So all introductions to the personnel are greeted with whoops and yeah´s just like the live recordings of concerts from America. Just keeping it real down under Dude? That´s what I´m talking about. Pop Cake
cooks By Kristy Theissling My first visit to The Forum was unforgettable. One of those buildings that you know has some sort of historical value but you can't remember why, the Forum has been home to many establishments since the State Theatre in 1929, including The Old State Theatre Picture Palace where it would show the first "talkies". A marble staircase, reproductions of Greek and Italian sculptures, and a ceiling which appears to be a night sky, twinkling stars and all, make for an awesome venue. Cake's Vincent DiFiore
Piano/vocal Vocal Folds mellow Ben
Folds , The Forum By Kristy Theissling
The fifty-dollar-plus ticket price, and the Ben Folds style attracted a tailored crowd of long-time fans and serious gig-goers. As we weaved down the stairwell, already dotted with people spilling out of the seating area, I was again impressed by the room, especially the elaborate stage. The generous space of the Forum quickly filled with punters, complete with tense enthusiastic vibe, excited chatter and drinks all round. Sarah Jane (sans pigtails) and her fiancé sat in the same seats as last week's Cake gig. After we collected our seven-dollar beverage of something masculine, they cheerfully offered us the seats, which they had reserved for us yet again. Rock festival Pushover PushOver
festival, various artists By Kristy Theissling
Even though I was there a half hour before the gates opened, the line for the annual Push Over festival was already growing. In previous years, I had stood with thousands of other all-aged punters, anxiously awaiting the performances of favorite Aussie bands. This year, for me, was a little different. Revival of famous band Doors open to change The
Doors of the 21st Century, By Bryn Collins The Myer music bowl is filled tonight with expectation and curiosity. As The Doors of the 21st Century take the stage you can smell the anticipation in the air. There are a lot of different types of people here tonight. At least two generations of fans testify to the massive and enduring appeal and interest of The Doors and their inheritors. The Doors come on to raucous applause. Singer Ian Astbury, formerly of 80's goth rock band The Cult, could not have been a better fit for the dead Jim Morrison's shoes. He tackles Morrison's style with a lot of respect and tactfully shares the spotlight with founding Doors members Ray Manzarek, and Robbie Krieger. Although there are startling similarities in sound and style, Astbury has wisely chosen not to ape Morrison as a lesser tribute singer might.
Gothic metal Nightwish at the opera Nightwish
, Corner Hotel By Bryn Collins Just before Nightwish begin their set, huge volumes of stage smoke billow out to help create a gothic atmosphere. And it works very well. Although Nightwish are more metal than goth, they do also boast a large goth audience, successfully bridging that fraught and perilous divide between two fiercely passionate cultural niches.
Really friggin' loud experi-metal Sunns shine real loud Sunns, HiFi Bar By Bryn Collins Like most people in the Hi Fi Bar tonight, I am here out of curiosity to see what the phenomenon known as Sunns is all about. Named after Sunn amplifiers, and taking as their own the logo of the now-defunct Sunn brand,some might say this band is some kind of live retro advertisement. What I say is that this is without question the LOUDEST & HEAVIEST BAND ON THE PLANET!
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The Unconventional Wedding American-Australian
jazz singer Alison Wedding makes a marriage of styles and finds the best
of both worlds.
Her short cropped hair and elfin appearance convey an edge - that of the unconventionality of Melbourne's trendy restaurant and strip shop promenade. Seasoned people watchers would instantly pick Wedding for an artist. But they might need to deliberate, over a latte or two, before deciding whether she is an architect, designer or jeweller. Even then, they would be wrong. Since the age of two, Alison Wedding has been a singer. Experimental
electronica By Kristy Theissling Mesik, a three-piece "distorted electronica" group whose members are all from the Latrobe Valley, have re-formed after a two-year hiatus. Genaaron Diamante, guitar, John Di Sisto, drums, and Campbell Whyte, bass guitar, were previously known as sir.mesik. They began rehearsing and performing together in 2000, involving themselves in the diverse music scenes of their country towns. Now, after three years out of school, and in and out of tertiary music studies, they have revamped their old experimental style "using instruments to make something that sounds like it's from sequencers and samplers." Playing in bands in rural Victoria as teenagers provided the trio with unique gig environments, often relying on the local community to provide for them. "We would play gigs at parties, a lot of the time on people's properties," says Campbell. "Once we played a gig at a triple 18th in a paddock, in the sticks behind Warragul. Our mate's Dad lent us a truck to play on, another mate's Dad lent us the PA. At the party everyone was just sitting around the bonfire on eskies and hay barrels, tons of people were there… it was cool playing on the back of a truck..."
Send us your email, notes, memos, random thoughts, trenchant complaints. Tell us about your adventures, strugggles, disasters, disappointments and successes as a musician. Bersten gets spooky praise Hey Dues, The DJ Spooky/Golan Levin piece [Issue 5] was probably the best thing I've read yet in The Dues. Really, really good work. Please continue to provide such high quality material, it IS appreciated. Thanks again, Mike. via email The editor replies: Thanks Mike. If we all cheer really hard, we might get guest journalist Rosanne Bersten to write us another piece...
We give preference to letters of 200 words or less, but try your luck anyway. We may edit your letters for reasons of space, or possibly because we're just a bunch of interfering bastards. Despite that, we welcome your feedback, comments and observations. You can use a pseudonym if you wish, but please include your real name, suburb/town and, if you are writing from outside Victoria, your state/country. Email us at musosunion@aol.com. Got a problem or question
relating to the music biz? Ask Uncle Terry. Email Uncle Terry on musosunion@aol.com. Please provide your name and suburb (& state/country, if you're not a local yokel...) Superannuation Dear Uncle Terry, Are musicians working in pubs and clubs supposed to get superannuation or not? Anthony, Dear Anthony, Uncle Terry is neither a financial advisor nor a superannuation expert but here's what he understands. Musicians are entitled to superannuation under the Superannuation Guarantee just like all other workers in Australia, but there are some catches. If you are "employed" as a musician (check out Uncle Terry's column in Issue 3 of The Dues for information on "employees") and if you have been paid at least $450 in any calendar month by one employer, then that employer has to pay an amount equal to 9% of your gross earnings into an approved super fund. This is not 9% taken out of what you get, they have to pay it as well as what they pay you. If you have earned the $450 but from, say, several venues and if no individual venue paid you $450 then you get nothing. Does this sound familiar?
The other big catch is the contractor trick which I've talked about before (my dedicated regular readers will know what I'm talking about, you tiresome newcomers can check the archive). Generally since contractors are not viewed as employees they would seem to be ineligible. The regulators, in their wisdom however, have deemed that contractors whose work is "principally for labour" (and that includes "mental and artistic effort as well as physical work") are to be treated as employees for the purposes of superannuation. This means that you get your 9% as long as the $450 level from one venue in a given calendar month is reached. Well done regulators! You can get more info from the ATO website and particularly this page.
A survivor nose An interview exclusive to The Dues Whatever became of Michael Jackson's nose? Well, now The Dues can tell you that for the past 17 years, since the widely-publicised split between itself and Jackson, it has been developing its own solo career. At last, the nose, who now performs under the name "The Artist Formerly Known as Michael Jackson's Nose", reveals its side of the story, exclusively to The Dues, and the world will finally know the details of the sad falling out that meant the end not only of the Jackson 5 but of the Jackson Remnant. Michael has refused to comment, except to have a spokeschild say through a megaphone that Michael's "ex-nose", as he contemptuously terms The Artist Formerly Known as Michael Jackson's Nose, has merely wrapped itself in a tissue of lies and is living in an illusory world of narcissistic self-absorption and circa-oedipal self-loathing.
Industrial blues The music industry is difficult, most of all for the only people who actually generate its products and services: the musicians. In this issue, David James takes another look at the vexed and changing issues of copyright and piracy and their consequences for musicians. The changes to Australia's industrial relations proposed by the Howard government, while possibly peripheral to most musicians, ceratinly don't look as if they'll be making things any better. But this is nothing new for musicians - it wasn't for nothing that slave musicians invented the blues! It's hardly surprising that, when Uncle Terry is challenged by a young letter-writer as to why he is so negative about the music industry, he replies in one word: "Experience." But despite all that, we outpour a flood of energy and creativity that would astound the Productivity Commission if they only gave us our due. The many reviews in this issue, all from concerts in Melbourne in the past few months, point to one thing: good, bad and mediocre, musical variety and performance is still thriving, despite the barriers thrown up by industry snakes, uncaring governments, and technological threats such as the iPod, which Steve Smith views with such suspicion in his article. Disclaimer:
No escaping DEP's talent Dillinger Escape Plan/Stockholm Syndrome/ By Michael Haydon Arriving at the Corner about an hour before the show had begun, I scoped out the shops nearby, at times sighting various members of Dillinger Escape Plan also having a browse. It's nice, given their status, that they don't play the exclusive rock star role, and actually give a damn about the place they're playing rather than sitting backstage until it's their "time to shine". Seeing them interact with fans at the Missing Link in-store appearance a few hours earlier was refreshing; they obligingly signed various vinyls and CD booklets, posed for photos whenever requested and engaged wholeheartedly in conversation with their nervous worshippers.
After a relatively painless entry to the Corner, I was greeted with a teeming mass of people anticipating an exciting night. The show was a sellout (to be expected if you'd read the "best ever" reviews DEP received on their last tour down under) and the crowd ranged from crusty metalheads to emo kids to people you wouldn't expect to be into music at all. Rock Revolvers don't go off like Guns Velvet Revolver, Vodafone Arena By Bryn Collins Excitement,curiosity, expectation - the crowd's feelings about this band are unfortunately darkened by a bad choice of venue. The Vodafone Arena, a huge concrete-and-tin shed devoid of atmosphere, is tonight only about two-thirds full. I would have preferred to see Velvet Revolver do two nights at the Forum - a much better venue for this kind of band. The first song reveals more about the weaknesses of the acoustics than the quality of the band. I'm sure this arena is just fine for sporting events. Guitar legend Satch shreds Joe Satriani, Melbourne By Bryn Collins Joe Satriani has been one of the undisputed masters of rock guitar for over twenty years. He taught Steve Vai, Kirk Hammet, Marty Friedman and other famous names too numerous to mention. Unsurprisingly the audience for this gig is full of guitarists; the only women present are the all-too-few who play guitar, or those have been dragged there protesting by their boyfriends. Thrash metal Shaddows somewhat dim Shaddows Fall, Corner Hotel By Bryn Collins A rather modest crowd here at the corner tonight mostly 15 to 25 years of age. Somewhat older, I feel a little out of place. After the fifth song I find myself rather bored. One song after another, they all sound much alike. Shaddows Fall play fast, heavy, intense music, but in my opinion they lack the panache, skillfullness and intricate musicianship displayed by the mid-to-late 80's San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal bands. |
Lehrer takes sting out of Seeger's brag By Paul Gray It is testimony to the powers of Western health care that Pete Seeger survived the 1960s. Especially after Tom Lehrer had finished with him. Lehrer's Folk Song Army left the musical legacy of folk song
protest - a movement definitively headed by Seeger - looking like a bloodied
and battered corpse. Lehrer leers
Download but don't inhale By Theo Schulsospekz
Getting what you paid for And another Kazaa whisper - word has it that when the soundtrack of
...click here for more Intelligence Cave rave, nix licks Reviewer: Jo
Roberts By Kylie Carp
It is not just materialism. There really is a narrative to money in America that reflects its Calvinist roots; a seemingly endless eliding of wealth accumulation and preferment from above for the chosen ones. Spiritual hangover Reviewer: Jesse Shrok Review Title: By Maeve Prose Your Dues writer has often drawn the attention of readers to the unfortunate habit, indulged in by many reviewers, of resorting to the sickly, overblown and essentially meaningless purple prose. Recent examinations of reviews had been encouraging in this area. The stain of the dreaded purple seemed to be fading. Perhaps the efforts of Media Critique writers were having an effect? The price of podcasting The day the music died By Steve Smith
Now we are being treated to podcasting - where audio material is readily available 24/7 to listeners. HARMONY
Part Six in
a series by Welcome back or, if this is your first visit welcome! First visitors are advised to check out previous "Harmony for the Compleat Idiot" columns (go to the archives to find the harmony column in each of the five previous issues of The Dues). Your homework from last time was to work out the notes in all of the major and minor chords. How to get a properly-paid gig Part
III in a series by I suggest newcomers go back to the last two issues of The Dues so they can catch up; otherwise this might not make a lot of sense. Previous issues can be found here. Last time I suggested two approaches to choosing what sort of act you might create:
Let's look at these in a bit more detail. Imitate something that is already working In all the research you have done (see last issue) you may have come across a band that you know is doing very well. You could copy their approach. There are some considerations before choosing this path however.
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In the battle between
Kazaa and the representatives of the music industry, the goose that lays
the golden eggs is forgotten.
My
love for the post-modern, Californian geek-college-guitar-pop-rock of
Cake began with a hand-me-down copy of their 1996 release Fashion Nugget,
featuring their guitar-heavy cover of I Will Survive. Formed in
1992 by lead speak-singer John McCrea in Sacramento, Cake has recently
released their fifth album, Pressure Chief. Brass soloist Vince
DiFiore has been along for the entire 13-year ride to date. Drummer Todd
Roper, bassist Gabe Nelson, and guitarist Xan McCurdy jumped on board
a bit later.
An
early evening train ride and a brisk walk up Flinders Street brought my
gig buddy and me to the Forum. The ticket line was long - this gig was
sold out, unlike last week's adventure with Cake. 
If
the weather forecast is 31 degrees, and it's the last public holiday of
the warm season, and the gig you are going to is a day festival in one
of Melbourne's most popular beach suburbs, there won't be much parking
after 11 am. Good reason to rock up to Luna Park, St. Kilda, early enough
to park by the beach.
She may have been born in Ohio and raised in Texas, but Alison
Wedding is very Brunswick Street. 
As Lehrer
archly explained, Folk Song Army is best imagined performed upon
"an 88-string guitar." Folk Song Army left us with the
eternal question about protest music - who cares?
As
you breathlessly await the judgement in the Kazaa trial (which as The
Dues pointed out in Issue 2 (see archives) resembles a fight between slave
owners and pirates!) you might like to amuse yourself by checking out
"Kazaagate" in the online version of 
All of them looked like
the genuine article and had track lists but were actually empty files!
Kazaa'a much vaunted "peer to peer' technology ensured that the fake files
were spread throughout the network in nothing flat. One would have to
suspect that it was the record companies implementing a technique mentioned
recently at the Kazaa trial.
America's greatest,
or most pernicious, contribution to Western culture has been to create
a narrative for money. Forget whether a work of art is good or beautiful,
how much did it make? Don't worry if a piece of music is uplifting, transporting
or quietly enjoyable. What were the CD sales? Will the singer be able
to handle their new-found wealth, or is there a life of dissolution, inadequate
relationships, and punch-ups with publishers in the offing? 
Witness the
rise of the Internet, where information has become over-abundant, where
virtual communities take the place of what were (twenty years ago) real
communities, where music is free or can be copied readily, where free
software abounds, where public blogs take the place of personal diaries,
where information is of two kinds - the plagiarized and the largely misattributed.
This explosion of available data is both compelling and at times unnerving.
There is no mechanism to control the reliability of the information content
on the internet - it accretes with few quality or quantity controls.