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THERE’S NO STOPPING THESE FOLKS
‘There's no stopping these folks enjoying themselves' Contemporary Music Touring Program—getting musicians on the road
In coming months Australian audiences in regional and remote towns across Australia will experience a series of tours by bands performing their own original music.
Contemporary country band, the Red Hot Poker Dots, are taking their Country Stars and Dusty Bars Tour to the Northern Territory and South Australia in September and October.
Band member, Lil O'Dette, says playing for regional audiences is ‘always a treat'.
‘One of the most enjoyable things about playing for regional audiences is that they are incredibly intimate, friendly and hands on performances,' O'Dette said.
‘Some areas are lucky to get live entertainment once every three months, so there's no stopping these folks enjoying themselves.
‘You end up jamming all night long after the show, get absolutely no sleep, make a whole bunch of new friends who adopt you as family, then move onto the next town to do it again. It simply doesn't get any better than that,' she said.
Although Red Hot Poker Dots are a veteran Australian touring band, they rely on Australian Government Contemporary Music Touring Program (CMTP) funding to tour to really remote venues.
The band's Ray Dee Ator said recently that ‘after only four weeks off, we found ourselves back on tour, due mostly to interest and bookings generated from an earlier tour supported by the Contemporary Music Touring Program'.
In September and October the Red Hot Poker Dots tour South Australia–– Semaphore, Adelaide and Whyalla, and the Northern Territory––Alice Springs, MacDonnell Ranges, Tennant Creek, Renner Springs, Daly Waters, Mataranka, Katherine and Darwin.
They'll be promoting their newly released album Jetlagged and Jittery .
Top End Indigenous band, Nabarlek, is also about to hit the road with Artback NT Arts Touring and Contemporary Music Touring Program support.
The band blends traditional stories and music with rock, reggae, country and gospel, in a style known as Indigenous Roots Music.
‘For the last five years Nabarlek has been working hard to develop their music and performance with the aim of entering the broader Australian music industry,' Michael Hohnen, the creative director of Skinnyfish Music (the band's distributor) said.
Recognition came in 2002 when the band was nominated for an Australian Record Industry Association ‘Best World Music Album' award.
The nomination confirmed Nabarlek's belief that they had something to offer the broader music industry and that their songs, which are mostly in their Kunwin'ku language, could connect with a broader audience.
Despite the growing recognition, Skinnyfish Music says Nabarlek would be unable to tour to the locations it does without CMTP assistance.
‘It is extremely difficult for a band of nine members from Central Arnhem Land to tour. The logistics of bringing the band members to Darwin , and then to another part of the NT or to another state, are enormous and very costly,' Hohnen said.
‘This 2005 tour will help the band win new audiences and will hopefully open up similar opportunities to the ones generated by their 2004 Western Australia tour, when Nabarlek presented their show to 20 communities across 14 000 kilometres.'
In September Nabarlek will tour to the Northern Territory to Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and to Queensland to Cairns, Kuranda, Townsville, Palm Island and Gunbalanya to promote their album Bininj Manborlh (Black Fella Road).
The Contemporary Music Touring Program funds Australian musicians who write and perform their own music to tour Australia.
For more information on how to apply for a grant under this program go to www.dcita.gov.au/arts/arts/touring_program