Only Australian Music

This post will remain on top of the page until the competition is over and the winners announced. It will be updated as each event unfolds so please scroll down for fresh information.

Telstra sponsor one of the greatest talent searches in Australia called The Road To Tamworth.

For more information visit
Official site
Myspace
Facebook

There are 12 heats, held around the country, the winners of each heat get to attend a two day music mentoring workshop in Sydney, where they will get to spend time with local legends who will talk them through the industry.

Overall winners in each category will get a return trip to the global home of country music Nashville. The winning Songwriter will work with some of country music’s best songwriters. The winning Performer will perform at a leading country music event and receive a professional photographic session and music video.

This is a priceless opportunity for our talented young musicians to get out there and been seen, Telstra is to be applauded for sponsoring such an important event.

I urge all site readers to follow progress of the entrants and winners and support local musicians.

Currently the competition is up to heat 6, which is being held on Thursday the 2nd of September at the Toowoomba Show Grounds, Glenvale Road, Toowoomba, QLD.

The winners of the 5 heats so far are

Heat 1

Beau, 17, from Karama, NT, proved tenacity is the key to success in the music business. Beau re-entered the Telstra Road to Tamworth this year after receiving encouragement from country music legend James Blundell at last year’s heat to “keep at it!”

A self-taught musician, Beau picked up the guitar for the first time just over 12 months ago and is drawn to the real life stories the country genre centres around. He juggles his passion for music with school studies, currently completing Year 11 at Marrara Christian College where he is also a Prefect.

Heat 2

Kelsie Rimmer, 18, from Palmwoods has been named the winner of the Brisbane heat of the Telstra Road to Tamworth talent development program.

Kelsie, supported by her family, travelled down from the Sunshine Coast to perform at the Brisbane event and said she’s always been drawn to the country music genre as it brings people together and she feels part of the country music family whenever she’s on stage.

A self taught musician who grew up with country music around her, Kelsie performs regularly around the Sunshine Coast but was a little stunned when her name was called as the Brisbane heat winner.

Heat 3

Brett Clarke, 24, from Tamworth was recently crowned the winner of the Gunnedah heat for the Telstra Road to Tamworth.

A graduate of the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) College in 2007, Brett has lived and breathed country music since as young as he can remember. A Tamworth local, he has been a regular at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and one day hopes to make it up on stage to collect the coveted Golden Guitar.

Brett has previously entered the Telstra Road to Tamworth in 2007 where he qualified for the finals. He has gained valuable experience since 2007 and he can’t wait to perform in Sydney.

Heat 4

Codee-Lee Down, 15, from Bunbury is the latest Telstra Road to Tamworth heat winner, from the Dowerin Field Days.

As a year 10 student, Codee-Lee already has an impressive musical resume. She is a 2010 Academy of Country Music Graduate, 2010 WA junior songwriter and teenage artist of the year and has met and played with the likes of James Blundell, Felicity Urquhart, Kasey Chambers and The McClymonts.

Codee-Lee admitted to being a bundle of nerves throughout the competition. The crowd and the support from her family really helped and Codee-Lee credits them as being an amazing force behind her ability to follow her dreams of a career in the music industry.

Heat 5

Nikki Jensen, 24, from Edmonton is the winner of the 5th heat of the Telstra Road to Tamworth held in Cairns.

Originally from the Gold Coast, Nikki (or Nikki J as she’s known when performing) moved to Cairns a few years ago to take up a role as a sports journalist at a local television station. Whilst she combines her love of sport as her full-time job, Nikki’s other passion in life is centered around her music, having studied music throughout school on scholarship.

Nikki has grown up with music her whole life. She took a break after finishing school before getting back into writing and performing about nine months ago. Nikki saw the Telstra Road to Tamworth as a potential opportunity to grow as a musician and was stunned, but excited to have won the Cairns heat.

Heat 6


Alan Boyle
Originally from Ireland, Alan has called Brisbane home for the past five and a half years. He performs regularly around the city and has been previously recognised for his songwriting skills, receiving accolades in the QSong Awards and the Vanda and Young songwriting competition.

He performed two originals songs, ‘The Ground on which I’m standing’, written about his arrival in Australia and the long distance from his hometown and family, and ‘New York’. Both tracks feature on his EP, Oxygen, which he released independently earlier this year.

Boyle was inspired to enter the Telstra Road to Tamworth after attending the APRA Song Summit in Sydney earlier this year and meeting current TRTT songwriting winner, Luke Webb.

Heat 7 ????

There is a new album review up today and a couple of new Interviews in the works.

The slowness in getting such things posted is entirely my fault. The albums are there to be reviewed and the offers of interviews are there to be taken up.

Reviews and Interviews are not something I feel very comfortable doing. As the shrinks say…Baby Steps!

All the technical difficulties this site was experiencing have been cleared up. All the bugs have been squashed so to speak.

A huge thank you, with love and kisses to my brilliant wife, who fixes all such things.

We are currently doing a little site tweaking, there will be bizarre looking bits and pieces here are there. Please bear with us as we muddle through it.

The Australian Spectrum Show with Ross M Fear on 2CCRfm 90.5 and streaming to the world from http://2ccrfm.com/site/listen-live/ every Tuesday night from 9pm to 12mn features 100% Australian blues, roots, folk, indigenous, jazz and contemporary music.

Most of the artistes have independent releases and we feature maxi
EPs and albums tracks. Many artistes from all around Australia send in their independent releases for air play on the program. Some coming from the Facebook contact

Each week there is a studio guest featuring their recorded work and
latest releases. Some of the guests include:- Claude Hay, Mike
McClellan, Blakhatz, Bruce Mathiske, Michael Vidale, Ami Williamson, Stormcellar, Christina Crofts, Michael Peter, Alter Ego Blues Band, Rebecca Johnson Band, Michael Dolce, John Francis Kennedy, Nathan Eshman, Wheese & Suck Band, Stepps, Wheelers & Dealers, Furry & Wilde, Jarryd Scully, Damn Fine Gentlemen, Bill ‘Bilbo’ Tibben, Sally Street, Stephen Fogarty, Peter Freeman, Cellokate, Chris Brooks, Yokoinc, Martinez Trio, Toongabbie Folk Club, Damien Binder, Steve Edmonds Band, Cam MacKellar, Chickenstones, Yolanda & The Stolen Boys, Mark Cashin and more to come.

The show and the online streaming option is listed in newsletter
distributed around Australia, USA, Canada, UK and Ireland and many
ex-pat Australian musicians working overseas listen in and some have messaged from Nashville, Germany, Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Dublin, Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, etc.

There is a week-end Blues & Jazz Gig Guide.

The Australian Spectrum Show on 2CCRfm 90.5 is like a music festival with its mixed genres of Australian artistes.

Ross M Fear – Announcer/Producer

There is a new addition to the Only Australian Music site. It’s called “Tribute and Cover Bands“.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there can be no denying they are here and here to stay. And why not? People will always want to hear their old favorites, to relive a few old memories or recapture a fading youth…or some such whimsical clap trap.

Cover Bands are a fantastic recruiting ground for bands playing original material, they are also a wonderful way for a musician to get in some practice in front of a real live audience, to “cut their teeth” so to speak.

Tribute bands are always going to prosper. They may vary in comparison quality to the real deal, but when you think about it, they not only have to be as good as the originals, in a lot of cases they have to be better. Let me clarify that, you go to see an internationally renowned band, lets say for arguments sake The Rolling Stones. Old Mick does a bit of puffing and panting during songs these days…in fact he nearly always has, just a little more now. However, thats OK coz it’s Mick Jagger. You as a pretend Mick Jagger don’t get that luxury. You have to sound like the albums.

Anyway there you have it, Tribute and Cover Bands. Go check it out, but please bear in mind I am only one geezer and finding the time to keep both sites fresh is difficult, so there is only one band there at present (5th of July 2010).

More will follow very soon I assure you. Already have some drafts, so please check back often!

Powerhouse Australian independent music group Shock has closed three of its companies, including its music publishing arm.

From Billboard.biz
By Lars Brandle, Brisbane

Citing the global financial crisis, prolonged tough trading conditions and ever-changing consumer behavior, the Melbourne-based firm has placed its Shock Music Publishing arm into voluntary liquidation, with effect from June 7. Shock Publishing GM Clive Hodson is among the staff let go.

Also, Shock’s One Stop Entertainment and Shock Exports.com units have been placed into voluntary administration, with effect from June 8.

Petr Vrsecky and Stirling Horne of Lawler Draper Dillon have been appointed administrators of the three companies, which Shock describe as “non-core.” Its unclear how many jobs are affected by the development; Vrsecky and Horne could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, the multi-faceted music and entertainment company says, “It is business as usual for our core Shock Entertainment businesses, and we will continue in our endeavor to maintain and enhance Shock Entertainment’s position as the leading independent label and distributor of music and home video in Australia and New Zealand.”

Shock reaffirms that its existing core business is sound. In its statement, the company notes that its DVD licensing and distribution division has “performed exceptionally well in difficult market conditions, and this business is growing – bucking the industry trend.” Shock’s music division has apparently been “having a great run with recent top 10 debuts from the Black Keys and British India” and more hits are on the slate from the likes of Katie Melua and the
Rolling Stones.

Meanwhile, the firm’s digital content distribution is reportedly “growing strongly” at a rate of 50% year-on-year. “We are well positioned to face the challenges that lie ahead,” the company notes.

Shock had an inauspicious beginning, opening for business in 1988 as an import enterprise run out of a spare room in a Melbourne terrace house. In the 22 years that have passed, the company has grown to count 190 staff and annual revenue upwards of $100 million Australian.

In that time, Shock has shifted more than 100 million CDs and DVDs.

MEDIA RELEASE

Brisbane’s proud DIY music scene is being supported and celebrated through a unique initiative that promotes the city’s booming independent record labels – soundslikebrisbane.

Believed to be a world first, soundslikebrisbane (SLB) is bringing together the city’s indie labels under the one banner – already 13 local independent labels are represented with more to join the fold soon.

That first batch includes prominent local labels: Plus One Records, Mere Noise, Dew Process, Turkeyneck, Room 40, Someone Good, Pinnacles Music, SUGARRUSH, Lofly, El Nino El Nino, Red Tape Entertainment, Starving Kids, and Valve Records.

Covering every genre from hip-hop and jazz, to garage rock, country and pop – the labels define the creative melting pot that Brisbane has become. Together these labels work with dozens of artists, promoting close to 100 releases each year. Among them are some of the country’s most exciting new artists including Last Dinosaurs, The Gin Club, The Optimen, The Medics and Jackie Marshall; alongside veritable music legends like Blowhard and Regurgitator.

Project coordinator Craig Spann said Brisbane’s indie labels were also opening up global networks by representing Brisbane artists overseas, and releasing some of the world’s most exciting new music in Australia.

“There’s no doubting that right now Brisbane’s indie labels are the engine room of the local music scene and the contribution they make should be celebrated and supported,” he explains. “Despite the fact these labels are often a one or two-person operation, they are ensuring the Brisbane builds on its reputation as one of the world’s most exciting music cities.”

More than a collective marketing initiative, the long term initiative will develop and deliver a range of projects aimed at not just supporting current indie labels, but ensuring a new wave of labels emerges to continue supporting the city’s music scene and artists.The focal point of the new project is the soundslikebrisbane.com website which features label and artist profiles and a range of exclusive content to be rolled out over the coming months. The site will be promoted to music fans and the music industry – both in Australia and abroad – as a one-stop location for those looking for Brisbane’s most exciting artists and labels.

Celebrating Brisbane’s Music Heritage
The SLB project also aims to celebrate Brisbane’s proud indie music history with some of the city’s finest writers looking back at why the city has emerged as such an indie music stronghold.

The site goes live this week with a special contribution from Brisbane music historian and Pig City author Andrew Stafford who looks back at the independent path blazed by iconic local artists The Saints and The Go-Betweens. He writes:
“The making of (I’m) Stranded was seminal to the development of music in Brisbane for a number of reasons other than its sheer magnificence. (Playing it right now, the 7” single still roars from the speakers in a way the LP cut doesn’t quite.) It was the fact that it existed AT ALL, and that the band had made it themselves. They owed no one. This, combined with the bone simplicity of punk, represented a democratisation of music-making that horrified the majority of radio programmers and record labels but emboldened anyone with sufficient drive to emulate the Saints’ move. As the Go-Betweens’ Robert Forster told me, “I think we all felt brushed by the Saints’ wings.”

Find out more online now at www.soundslikebrisbane.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT STEPHEN GREEN AT stephen(at)stephengreen.com

Vote for Aussie rockers Bedford in the Toyota Music “Rock The Space II“.

Listen to the song here and when the time comes vote away!

Only a week to go until the massive Rock for Relief show at the Espy and the set times have been finalized. As usual Sefton Jane Entertainment have done a magnificent job in organizing the whole thing. The set times are as follows…and Don’t forget Mojo Rising will be broadcasting their show live on line for the whole world to watch!

Front Bar

01.50 Polo Club
12.55 Black & White
12.15 Illy
11.20 The Melodics
10.40 MojoRising
10.00 Bewilderbeast
09.20 Dead Actors Club
08.40 The Moon Kids
08.00 Dusted Orange

Gershwin Room

12.30 Hell City Glamours
11.50 The Casanovas
11.00 Rushcutter
10.20 My Dynamite
09.40 Electrik Dynamite
09.00 Midnight Rambler (one night only performance!)
08.20 The Deep End
07.40 Rocket Queen

Basement

01:00 Twenty Two Hundred
12.00 Forgiven Rival
11.15 Elm Street
10.25 Violet Flame
09.35 Aricochet
08.50 Inebriator
08.00 Sleepwalker

Start Time: Friday, June 4, 2010 at 7:00pm
End Time: Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 3:00am
Location: The Esplanade Hotel
Street: 11 The Esplanade