APRA traps widening market

Local composers benefit

Where some royalty collectors are fleecing Girl Guides, other are going for steady growth.
David James reveals how APRA are earning their merit badges.

Jazz/hip hop crossover

Digging the Roots

The Roots

with DJ P-Money
The Enmore, July 30th 2005

By Michael Haydon

The Roots are somewhat ghosts here in Australia. With little support behind their albums, they've toured only once prior to this year's visit, co-headlining with Jurassic 5 in 2003. Consequently, the fanbase here for hip hop's greatest live band is trimmed and dedicated, and upon hearing the band was touring the country mid-year I made sure I got my ticket the day it was out. Due to circumstances beyond my control I ended up going to the Sydney show as opposed to the show in my hometown, Melbourne. This resulted in around 27 hours of transit on uncomfortable buses. Keeping in mind I took the trip alone, you will understand how much I wanted to see this band, one of the finest live acts in the world today according to Rolling Stone.

Arriving in Sydney midway through the day of the show, I took in some fast food and had a dig through the record stores closest to Central Station (I wasn't keen on getting lost) before heading to
The Enmore to scope it out. After dining across the road from the theater, I checked my bag and took a place in the sparse crowd waiting outside. Hearing some noise pouring through the cracks in the doors, I pressed an ear and found myself eavesdropping on a soundcheck. It sounded fantastic. When the doors were opened I headed in, scoring a front-row position right in front of the bass rig.

...continued

Eclectic Australian

Little big man

Jimmy Little and Vic Simms
Stuzzi's, September 9th 2005

By Emma Waters

I'm at Stuzzi's, a Greek restaurant complete with tapas and a Frog wine. The glass-fronted venue boasts large white concertina air-conditioning pipes, reminiscent of some B-grade movie spacesuit, suspended below the ceiling. This echoey, ebullient venue on High Street Northcote is not exactly the kind of place you would expect to see our two indigenous answers to Johnny Cash play alongside one another. Jimmy Little and Vic Simms, after three sold-out shows together in Sydney and Melbourne in July this year, joined forces for an encore performance as part of the Darebin Music Feast program. When these two striking figures teamed up earlier this year, it was the first time they had played together in 32 years.

Both performers have a history thoroughly entrenched in the 50s music scene in Australia. Vic Simms even filled in for Johnny O'Keefe on the JO'K Show, singing the hits of the time. He's also done time for a robbery gone wrong and, during his stint in jail, wrote an album called The Loner that has now become such a rare collector's item that even the man himself doesn't own a copy. And gentle giant Jimmy Little has toured the breadth of Australia, crossing genres from R&B, rock'n'roll, blues, folk and country, not to mention his recent eclectic covers on the albums Messenger, Resonate and Passage.

He has also extended himself beyond simple performance, receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Sydney University adding to the Honorary Doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology. He's worked with kids too, as an ambassador promoting literacy and numeracy as part of an indigenous education program.

...continued

Jazz festival

Merimbula a jubilee for all players

25th Merimbula Jazz Festival
(modern jazz venues)
10th - 13th June 2005

By J. Neville Turner

Jazz Festivals in Australia are profuse. In essence they can be divided into categories

Firstly, some invite big names, including international artists, for a sizeable fee. Amateur and semi-professional players are not welcome. Wangaratta is a prime example of this approach.

Secondly, some, without necessarily limiting themselves to professional players, restrict general entry and welcome only those whom the organisers specifically invite. In some cases this limitation is governed by a desire to discourage catholicity of taste - only bands of a particular genre are invited. Mildura, over the Melbourne cup weekend, exemplifies this approach.

Lastly, some open their gates to all comers, whether they be professional, semi-professional or amateur. The danger of this approach is there is no guarantee of quality - the lack of any proficiency test opens the doors to mediocrity. The contrary argument is that such a democratization allows tyros an opportunity to test themselves out in public, and seasoned players a chance to demonstrate their talents. Such is the Merimbula Jazz Festival.

This year marked the silver jubilee of a festival that started tentatively. Initially conservative residents lamented that an influx jazz musicians would lead to riotous debauchery . After all, they argued, was not jazz was conceived in brothels, and might not such a festival attract substance abusers? This prejudice is consistent with the image of jazz portrayed by such films as Bird, Lady Sings The Blues and Round Midnight. Moreover some linguists maintain that the very term "jazz" was French/Creole slang for 'fornicator'.
Such fears did not prevail. Merimbula began in 1980. Gradually the town warmed to the influx of musical invaders every Queens Birthday weekend. Respectability was bolstered by an ecumenical Sunday jazz church service. This served to counter the widely-held view that jazz is an exclusively pagan pursuit. After all , Duke Ellington himself conceived a goodly number of masses, a requiem and numerous other works inspired by God. The disciples of Mammon also were ultimately persuaded to support the festival with the realization that the festival was a commercial godsend to carry the town over the long winter off-season.

...continued

MC Junior freestyles into jazz

Rocking the suburbs, MC Junior shops to listen.

By Michelle Le Cornu.

If Frank Sinatra had been alive today would he be known as MC Blue Eyes? Would a dame be a 'sista'? Would Ella Fitzgerald be 'bootylicious'?

Jazz enthusiasts have always been open to a bit of experimentation. Give a jazz musician a rhythm and he'll find the melody. Give her a beat and she'll find the tune. As the music of rebels, jazz continues to reinvent itself and stay relevant to a contemporary audience by trying something new. It is music that reflects the lives of the people and the era and is more accessible to the ordinary Jo Schmo than 'high art'.

...continued

Indie rock

Stone alone

By Peter Haydon

Damon Stone joined the Perth band Body Motors in 1990, and emigrated with them to Melbourne two years later. They played the traps for years and got many major support gigs, opening for Hootie and the Blowfish, Bad Company, and every major Australian rock artist you can think of, as well as playing such iconic TV shows as Hey Hey Its Saturday.

During this time Damon, the main writer for the Body Motors, generated an excessive amount of material. "A lot of the songs I was writing were more Brian Ferry-esque, where the Body Motors material was more heavy," says Damon. "These songs were more personal, and better suited for a solo album."

Stone seems to take the concept of a solo album all too literally. On his solo album All this and more, to be released in October this year, Damon plays every instrument, mixes, produces and arranges. It is an extraordinary achievement, delivering a professional result in a very domestic environment. "I recorded and mixed it all on my laptop in my lounge," he says.

...continued

Send us your email, notes, memos, random thoughts, trenchant complaints. Tell us about your adventures, strugggles, disasters, disappointments and successes as a musician.

Review lame game, lift same

Dear editor,

I've enjoyed your magazine for a few issues (they seem a bit sporadic in coming out - is there a pattern?) and I appreciate the fresh outlook, but the reviews seem a bit limited in the genres they cover. Early on you had some classical music reviews, but last issue it seemed to be wall-to-wall indie pop and heavy metal. Oh yes, and two reviews of the same Wayne Shorter gig.

As a classical musician, I'm wondering if maybe you are missing out on some things. Not just classical reviews, but world music, and other genres. Melbourne is a very musical place, and a lot of stuff seems to go by unnoticed by any reviewer.

...continued

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.
(Uncle Terry is a grumpy old man who lives in a cave in one of the less fashionable corners of the Yarra Valley. He is not a qualified legal practitioner and he does not dispense formal legal advice. Neither he nor the publishers of "The Dues" accept any liability for the results of acting on the opinions, statements or recommendations expressed in his column)

Email Uncle Terry on musosunion@aol.com. Please provide your name and suburb (& state/country, if you're not a local yokel...)

The agent who loved us

Dear Uncle Terry,

We have a band with a commercial repertoire and we really want to be focused on getting work. How would you recommend we choose an agent?

Damien

Dear Damien,

To find out if your repertoire is sufficiently commercial to get you paid work, you could contact several agents and ask them to listen to your demo recording. I trust you have a demo, that it is in CD format and that it only consists of short "grabs" from each tune and that the performance is of high quality. If you don't I suggest that you consider making one of the type just described.

Contact several agents...

Listen to the feedback. Agents will only offer you work if the product suits their clients. There is a considerable number of agents but Uncle Terry is not in a position where he would be prepared to recommend one. The agents association website might be a good place to start looking.

Uncle Terry

...continued

Love for sale. Pre-loved. Lovely condition. Any offers? 014 222 322 (ask for Nigel)

Tattoo swap meet. Saturday, Calder abattoirs, 9am-5pm. Entry by donation to Red Cross mobile blood unit. See photo below:

Complete set of Platonic solids. Still in boxes. Never touched. Perfect cond. Ideal gift for Supreme Being or maiden aunt. 75 drachmas. Call 5443 3432 and leave a message with Beverly. See photo below:

...continued

Crisis, which crisis?

Crises long and short term still abound in this world. Paul Gray looks at the long fiasco in Iraq, pondering the voice given some musician soldiers by George Gittoes in his ground-breaking documentary The Soundtrack to War.

Meanwhile Peter Swinburne takes a look at the more recent hurricane crisis in New Orleans via a wide-ranging meditation on the origins of jazz

The Roots have their own profound way of meditating on jazz and hip-hip, as does MC Junior. Our feature profiler. Michelle Le Cornu looks into Junior's roots and comes up with some surprising discoveries.

Copyright and royalties remains a vexed question. Apple's iTunes is coming to Australia, but without Sony, who want a bigger slice of the pie. Kazaa have lost their battle in court (but will appeal, of course), and some overseas collection agencies are threatening Girl Guide singalongs. David James talks to APRA boss Brett Cottle about more sophisticated and broad-based royalties collection strategies.

...continued

Disclaimer:
Articles express the opinion of authors and not necessarily that of theMusicians Union of Australia. No responsibility is accepted for unsolicited material. The Dues makes every effort to use reliable, comprehensive information, but we make no representation that it is accurate or complete.

Cellist fine performer, teacher

Lorraine (Varney) Lordi

Lorraine Lordi died peacfully at her home in Wayland, Massachusetts on April 6th 2005 at the age of 50, after a two-year struggle with cancer.
A student of Henri Touzeau and later of the American teacher George Neikrug, Lorraine received her degree in Instrumental Performance (Cello) from the University of Melbourne. She performed in Australia, Spain and the US with Henry Mancini, Shirley Bassey and Neil Sedaka amongst others.
After marrying A. J. Lordi in 1977, she settled in the United States in the Boston area. She served as principle cellist of the Thayer Symphony Orchestra and the Worcester Orchestra, and played in several other ensembles.
An active teacher music in and around Boston, Lorraine taught cello at St Mark’s School , the Faye School, the Rivers School and in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (GBYSO) program.
She will be remembered for her devotion in spreading the joy of music to others.
Lorraine is survived by her children Nick (22) Nina (20) and Ray (17); by her mother MarieVarney; by her father Jack Varney; and by her brothers George, John and Paul and half-sister Jacqueline Davis.

"Taken too soon but now at peace in life everlasting"

Metal and gore in the desert

By Paul Gray

Bloody Bruce Springsteen! He got the Iraq war more right than anyone else. Of all the Lefties, softies and bleeding hearts all over the world who were up in arms against George W. Bush's insane plans to rain Star Wars-strength First World military power down upon Saddam Hussein's dusty outback fiefdom, none put their case half so well as ... the Boss.

"I just don't see the rationale for putting young American lives at risk," Springsteen mumbled during an interview just before the US Army's first over-powered rockets hit the burbs around Baghdad in '03.

. ...continued

Apple follows golden iPod road to Oz

By Theo Schulsospekz

THE long- awaited launch of Apple's iTunes network in Australia is said to be very close. However it may get under way without two of the Big Four record companies.

Sony/BMG and Warners are holding out. (And this ain't the first time - recently, Japanese iTunes launched without Sony.)
The sticking point is - surprise, surprise - money. Apple makes more money selling iPods than from downloads. Last quarter it made over a billion bucks from their ubiquitous little pastel gadgets. The record companies, on the other hand, got to share a measly $350 mill. from downloads in the same period, and they appear to want some more of Apple's action. See Asleep at the Wheel in The Dues issue 2 for more background.

Hemming way in earnest?

In a recent decision on the Kazaa case, six respondents, including Kazaa head Nicki Hemming, were found to have "…infringed the copyright…" in a number of sound recordings. The decision is the outcome of a lengthy case in the Federal Court dealing with an application led by the major record companies. The issue was whether Kazaa was responsible for the illegal downloading of recordings by its subscribers.

"Don't hem me in..."

A legal spokesperson for the Sharman/Kazaa side said that they would appeal and that: "…Sharman has always supported copyright owners…"

A spokesperson for the record co. side said: "… It was a small investment to protect artists getting ripped off…"

Both quotes caused "Intelligence" more than mild surprise.

...click here for more Intelligence

Puff not punk

Reviewer:
Luke Dennehy
Title:
Punk's the way to go
Published:
Herald-Sun23/5/2005

By Xavier Kaikaneetitu

We've looked at "puff pieces" before but this example is so egregious that it rates consideration. Dennehy has achieved the seemingly impossible in this short piece; he has drawn attention to the subject of his "review" by reference to a number of cultural icons but skillfully avoided the communication of any uncontradicted information about what it is that his subject actually does.

Dennehy starts by describing the role Natalie Bassingthwaighte plays on Neighbours (yes, yet another Neighbours "star" fulfilling her inalienable right to enter the music profession solely on the basis of her alleged acting prowess). Just a minute Luke, that's Bassingthwaighte's character, not her. He then tells us that she has "transformed herself for a second time" for her new film clip with band Rogue Traders. Second time? What was the first? Bassingthwaighte into her character? Her character into her music persona? Bassingthwaighte into her music persona? Who are we talking about here?

...continued

New Orleans drowns in jazz history

By Pete Swinburne

Katrina comes to town

Fats Domino has been sleeping on a friend’s couch. Harry Connick Jnr has come back to his home town to see what he can do to help. Katrina has blown in and blown out again, only staying for a day or so, but New Orleans will never be the same.

But New Orleans never was the same. Half below sea level, the city has flooded many times since its foundation. And it has repeatedly been flooded with the peoples, and the influences, of many different cultures. It was famously French for about five minutes once, but since the Louisiana Purchase it has been American. Nominally at least. In actual fact, it has never suffered from Northern sang-froid.

...continued

HARMONY
for the
Compleat Idiot

Part Seven in a series by
Holden Fairlane

Welcome back or, if this is your first visit welcome! First visitors are advised to check out previous "Harmony for the Compleat Idiot" columns (there is a harmony column in each of the six previous issues of "The Dues").

Your homework from last time was to work out the notes in all twelve of the Sus4 and all twelve of the Sus2 chords. Here they are:

...continued

How to get a properly-paid gig

Part IV in a series by
Bellaire Hillock

I suggest newcomers go back to the last three issues of "The Dues" so they can catch up, otherwise this might not make a lot of sense. Previous issues can be found by clicking the "Archives" link at the top of this page.

Last time we started looking at phase 2 of "The Plan": Prepare. Let's continue…

...continued