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Access all areas - contemporary music hits the road
By Nicole Henry
Bluehouse, george, Youth Group, Frenzal Rhomb and Prop are just some of the bands to tour successfully across the country-from Far North Queensland to regional areas of Western Australia-with the help of the Commonwealth Government's Contemporary Music Touring Program.
'Efforts by bands like ours to play successful gigs in regional areas have led other bands and booking agents to consider these areas part of a viable touring network,' says Youth Group band member Andy Cassell.
Cassell, who plays bass guitar for the band, and manages The Vines, Rocket Science and Jet in his spare time says, 'live music performances in regional areas tend to be dominated by cover bands-our performances in these areas helped provide audiences with the opportunity to hear original Australian music.'
Indeed, regional audiences are keen to experience the quality and variety of contemporary music available to audiences in metropolitan areas but, faced with the economics of travelling beyond major population centres, many bands simply do not embark on regional tours.
Now in its third year, the Contemporary Music Touring Program continues to develop touring opportunities for Australian musicians across the country, and to increase audience access to live Australian contemporary music, particularly in rural and regional venues.
Obviously one of the main objectives for bands is to get audiences to know and like their music and touring is integral to this. Over one third of Australians live outside a capital city, representing a large potential fan base that is often overlooked by bands due to the associated costs.
The Commonwealth Government is addressing this by meeting touring costs where they would otherwise be prohibitive. Through the program, the bands benefit from increased exposure and professional development and the audiences get to see some great emerging and established musicians.
Talking of their six-week Australian tour in 2000, Katie Noonan of george says their grant was an opportunity to tour not only the major cities but, more importantly, to play a lot of regional areas, which they say was very rewarding for them as a band.
'Combined with the amazing network of Triple J, the grant gave us the chance to play to heaps of different people in lots of different areas, which we wouldn't have been able to afford to do on our own at the time. It really made a very big difference and helped us have a fantastic tour!' Noonan said.
Cassell also remarks on the professional development achieved through touring. Youth Group's Urban and Eastern tour took in 37 venues-21 of them regional-in just 55 days.
'To play such a large number of shows within a relatively short space of time has meant an improvement in the band's live performance skills which has, in turn, enhanced Youth Group's reputation as a live band, resulting in some high-profile supports.'
Jordan Verzar, tour manager for the five-piece outfit Prop, points to the importance of making contact with presenters throughout Australia. Prop's Vibraphonic tour visited 34 mostly regional venues in six states and included CD launches in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
'This (tour) was the first opportunity the group had to make contact with venues and it is vital for the longevity of our future career to be known to these contacts.'
Verzar describes Prop's music as a unique form of new music combining minimalism, jazz, funk, techno and classical, and was surprised at just how well the tour was received.
'We expected the jazz/classical world to embrace the group, but were not prepared for the response from the hip club crowd,' he said. 'And, to top it off, there was outstanding media coverage of the tour. As well as securing interviews on radio and in street press, the group crossed over into glossy magazines and were even awarded a four-star album review in Rolling Stone.'
Asked how the tour benefited the band's professional development, Verzar cites the media coverage, which made the band focus on the importance of marketing their music properly-something they had previously been loathe to do.
'Marketing Prop's music as an image and product was anathema, but once the effects of radio, advertising and editorial were felt, the group came to understand its importance.'
The Contemporary Music Touring Program provides opportunities for a wide range of contemporary music to tour the country-from rock, pop and jazz to folk, new classical and Indigenous music.
All professional members of the Australian music industry-including performers, managers, agents, music networks, and music organisations-representing all contemporary music genres, are eligible to apply for assistance through the program.
Assistance is provided through two grant rounds each year. The process is competitive and applicants need to demonstrate the strongest claims against the assessment criteria.
Contact:
For further information on the program visit the website www.dcita.gov.au, call 1800 819 461 toll free (to leave a message), or email music.touring@dcita.gov.au.