Mouthzoff Jazz Edition (September)

PowerMouth Entertainment presents

Issue 6 September 2013

Gig Guide MouthZoff talks to Kate Ceberano Queensland Music Awards Broadbeach jazz fest

Retro Recycle Revive!

Music, Art, Theatre, Culture 6-8Th September 2013 @ Redlands Showground Tickets From Adults $12 Concession $8 Child $5

Toni Childs Daryl Braithwaite John Morrison & Jacki Cooper with George Golla The Hillbilly Goats . Light’n Up Lantern Parade

Fireworks Spectacular . RedFest Photography & Art World Famous Strawberry Eating Comp . Soul Fire The Company . Damian Howard . Sideshow alley Gate Opening Times Day

Date

Time

Friday

6th September

5pm - 9pm

Saturday

7th September

9am - 9pm

Sunday

8th September

9am - 4pm

**There are no pre-purchased ticket sales this year. All tickets must be purchased at the entry gate.

Day and Weekend Tickets Day Tickets

Adult

Children 6-13

Children Under 6

Concession ‥

3 day pass

$30.00

$10.00

Free

$24.00

Friday only ticket

$12.00

$5.00

Free

$8.00

Saturday only ticket

$15.00

$5.00

Free

$12.00

Sunday only ticket

$15.00

$5.00

Free

$12.00

**Day tickets are available each day, and can be purchased at the main Entry Gates on the day of entry.

A celebration of music, art, food & community on beautiful Moreton Bay

www.redfest.com.au

e d i s n I

Managing Editor Randy G

FROM THE EDITOR 3 MESSAGE Randy G CEBERANO 4 KATE Talks to MouthZoff AND THE ASTEROIDS 6 ASTRID Autopsy with astronomical flair ABBY 7 ASK Getting paid more for gigs JAZZ FESTIVAL 8 BROADBEACH In pictures superjesus 10 the Super concert, super cause 11 ASH Spirit of the nineties BOOM 12 SONIC How to automate your life LIVE 13 KATE Ceberano packs out Broadbeach OF THE MOUTH 14 OUT Jazz, more jazz – and a Kiss tribute band

BLUES DAY 17 INTERNATIONAL Inaugural Brissie version JAZZ CLUB 18 BRISBANE Four-page special HUGE 22 DR Beware online fixed service fees with the stars 24 jazz Kicking off with Morrison & Co MUSIC AWARDS 26 QUEENSLAND All the winners ADVICE 27 SOUND Getting set up 28 WHATZON Your comprehensive gig guide REVIEW 31 ALBUM Dave Galea

Art Direction & Layout Charcoal Mark Graphics Sub-Editors Peter Muldoon Mike Roberts Writers Hugh Brown Di Clark Sonic Edwards Randy G David Rowlands Abby Skye Matt Thrower Tjay Photographers Steve Barrett Hi Nrg Studios Benjamin Knight Brett Linsley Luke Monsour Geoff Norris General Manager Abby Skye Business Manager Wayne Ficnerski Web www.mouthzoff.com Advertising and general enquiries

team@mouthzoff.com On the cover Kate Ceberano and James Morrison.

Pictures by Hi Nrg Studios and Jupiters Casino

message from the Editor Hi all, What a great month of jazz it has been.

Starting out locally, at the Brisbane Jazz club and around the town, the variety of shows was fantastic. Then for those of us who migrated to the Gold Coast - we were spoilt with another brilliant festival in Broadbeach and it was really exciting to see the great talents on display there.On return to Brisbane it was like the party had only just begun.

I hope you enjoy reading this special

Jazz edition of MouthZoff and all I can say is “Brace yourselves for Spring!” As the weather is perfecting, we’re well and truly on our way into festival season and there’s some big ones to come!

But more than that, we have more album launches, touring acts and local discoveries yet to be made- so follow me and the team and lets get on out way.

Randy G

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talks to...

Kate Ceberano Pic by Brett Linsley

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MouthZoff SEPTEMBER 2013

Kate

Ceberano

by Randy G

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Astrid & The Asteroids I

Pic: Steve Barrett

t sounds like a theme at a Star Trek convention – but far from being alien, the music I’m hearing is fantastic. The night kicks off with ISABEL. I felt nervous for her, as it was only her second-ever public gig but she sang strong, displaying a wonderful vocal range, as she strummed away on her electric guitar.

Her duo partner BJ played bass whilst adding some good vocal harmonies. It wasn’t a totally polished act and there were a few pitchy moments, but all in all it was good and you can upgrade that to excellent when you take into consideration her live experience.

Second act is by no means a stranger to the local scene and I can only say great

things about this girls entire performance.

Hayley Calvert comes to the stage, with acoustic guitar in hand and she really was something special. Her guitar skills are well above average and within seconds of opening her mouth I feel a rush of excitement due to her totally awesome voice. Her similarity to soul sensation Joss Stone was uncanny.

Astrid and the Asteroids kicked off the night with Gnarls Barkley’s classic ‘Crazy,’ with an astronomical flare only Astrid and her ’Roids could give it. Not only do they sound impressive, I’m really stoked with the authentic hippy chick teleported straight from the 60s behind her synthesizer. Her honkytonk

sounds were a feature throughout the performance. Astrid’s funky skats give the Asteroids music a very groovy edge ... jazz-infused pop? soul or maybe funk?

I’m finding it hard to place her genre!

I loved the little twists she puts in her music, starting with a recognisable cover which after a few words changes completely into her own original track.

Or singing an original spliced with segments of other songs. It really did keep the audience riveted, and towards the end of the show the room was so packed I was firmly pressed against a wall. Her single ‘Autopsy’ is based on “whatever galaxy she was in when she wrote it,” and I loved every second. RG

y b b a ask

http://abbyskye.com.au/

with ABBY SKYE

How can I get paid more money for gigs?

T

his question comes from several people, actually. It’s no new story that musicians are generally paid far less than they should be to perform, however there are numerous examples of people who have made a viable business from gigging. Typically, these people are quite cluey and business-savvy by nature and could run even several businesses standing on their head. That’s not your average muso, however (though that’s changing these days too) and that’s usually why we get agents and managers; they have an instinctive aptitude and inclination towards solving business matters and making things profitable.

Firstly, make sure you have someone with these natural skills handling your financial negotiations; whether it’s you, a manager/agent, a mentor or someone else that you trust. Some musos can be a bit too soft and squishy on the inside to be comfortable asking for money – if that’s not you, then appoint someone else to represent you, or your business will struggle to develop.

One of the most common reasons bands and musos struggle to make more money is because many of them end up appointing a representative/ agent who is already using these skills to grow their own business and not necessarily for furthering artists careers.

It’s true, that if they negotiated more money for you they would make more also, but it’s much easier for them to fill the books up with lots of small, low-effort bookings than it is to pay individual attention and try to develop a bunch of bands careers. Sadly, your achievable income for a performance can and in many cases does plateau here. Don’t blame them – just make sure they’re going to provide the service you actually want before you hire them.

You should also turn your attention to:

What sort of work you want to get and making sure your product is suitable. If you want regular pub gigs, your act needs to suit the needs of the venue/client and

into their presentation than you.

If you think you’re worth more, ask for it! Many people are surprised at how easy it to get more money, the moment they finally ask for it. If you are willing to work hard to become ultraemployable, perfect your skills, grow a brand, a fanbase and a consistent turnout at the venues you play in, then there is no reason why your pay should not increase accordingly, just like everyone else’s. Be well aware of your ‘worth’ (especially to your target market), keep your quotes realistic and fair (to both parties) and your negotiations effortless.

Be prepared for some negative reactions to your stance. This one still fascinates me to this day, but occasionally people will actually take offense at your gumtion to ask for so much more than ‘everyone else’ and may even insult your worthiness of such a price, or in other ways. Try to not blame them – they may just be witnessing a ‘rebel’ who is breaking convention and who actually, truly believes in themselves/their act and are just trying to understand how they feel about that. If you must, get your revenge by growing and enjoying a thriving music career, against all odds!

Pic: Brett Linsley

you might find that a solely original repertoire or an attitude of playing what you want, not ‘for the crowd’ is less desireable to the venue wanting to pay someone to entertain their guests.

Understand why someone is paying to be there. Be willing to cop the ‘can you please turn down’ with grace, be realiable and make sure your songlist has variety, broad appeal and is refreshed regularly. Understand that this may be your opportunity to essentially be paid to refine your skills, sell a few cds and gain extra work, not necessarily to shine.

That’s what cds and concerts are for.

How you present your act. Make sure you make the choice and process to hire you an easy one - provide good-quality demos and video links, awesome photographs, a short bio, songlist and links to your website/social media pages (that you’ve hopefully built into a frenzy by this stage). There’s lots of people looking for gigs, make sure you don’t get out-shon by someone who simply put more effort

Know that for any musical act to become profitable, both the music and business aspects need to be addressed seriously and consistently. I believe that the price you can command for a performance will be relative to not only the demand for and quality of your act, but also to the aptitude of the person negotiating on your behalf and their ultimate intentions. Regardless, all of these are things you can influence as much or as little as you choose to. At the end of the day, if you’re curious - give something new a try! There’s no better way to learn how to manage these types of affairs or to work out just how much people are happy to pay for you to play.

Abby

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Super Concert For a Super Cause

O

n Friday 2 August, Heart Kids Queensland held the Trading Places Charity Concert at Eatons Hill Hotel to raise money by those affected by heart disease. The event was organised by the fathers of Heart Kids, wishing that they could only trade places with their loved ones. Getting on board to support this cause was 90s band THE SUPERJESUS, with supporting acts THE FLOATING BRIDGES and CASEY FOGG.

Not to say they were lazy - these guys were incredibly tight! The powerful lead vocals of Cale Fisher became the icing on what was an a very tasty cake. The clever use of percussion kept the show interesting with percussionist

First to take the stage was CASEY FOGG. Usually appearing as a solo act, tonight she brought her band for a full rock set. Her diverse range of material included everything from fast, punchy rock songs to slower heart-felt ballads.

Her band rocked out the entire Sarah McLeod set with lead guitarist Peter Muldoon unintentionally stealing Rohan Nitschke throwing in many the show with his stage presence crowd-pleasing solos throughout the and elaborate guitar solos. Casey’s deep vocal tones captured everyone’s attention set. The only drawback to this act was that the later half of the set could have and the room quickly filled. This easily been confused for the first, as was the perfect start to a great night, each song began to sound the same. setting the bar for the following acts.

Next up was Sunshine Coast band THE FLOATING BRIDGES. By this stage everyone was a few drinks down and in the mood for what these guys had to offer. They did not disappoint, with some of the audience dancing from the very first note. Their style was one that can only be described as John Butler Trio taking a holiday on a tropical island.

Nonetheless, these two acts had fulfilled their duties and built anticipation for THE SUPERJESUS. Unknown to some, this was to be a full acoustic set with only guitarist/vocalist Sarah McLeod and bassist Stuart Rudd taking to the stage.

As soon as they walked out the crowd’s reaction showed that this is a band that has been well missed for the past decade.

A few kind words from Sarah quickly set the mood for the remainder of the night, making it as intimate as possible and throwing in as many light-hearted jokes as she could. Hit after hit the crowd sang along, leaving their best known for the second half of the set. After a little persistence from Stuart, they welcomed drummer Dan Taylor from THE FLOATING BRIDGES to join them on stage with a jembe. With little to no warning they exploded straight into Gravity and, as expected, the audience went wild with Sarah’s vocals getting lost amongst those singing in the crowd. They appeared to be taken back a little by the reaction with Sarah taking a few moments to thank the crowd before continuing on with the set, keeping Dan on stage for a few more songs.

After their set we were all reminded as to why we were there as a few touching speeches were given by Heart Kids’ dads. The night concluded with a raffle draw and the auctioning off of an acoustic guitar autographed by the performers of the night. The auction was slow at first, but once the ice had been broken by the first bidder the price rose with the guitar fetching $550 for the cause. The organisers were overwhelmed by the success of the event with all proceeds going to Heart Kids Queensland.

For more information on Heart Kids Queensland, please visist www.heartkidsqld.org.au

Ash P

Photo by Benjamin Knight

lenty of Gen X-er’s (many of whom are Irish and British) have descended on The HiFi in West End to relive their teenage memories leaping about the bedroom to the fuzz-drenched ditties of Ash, those Downpatrick boys who sang of love, lust and Jackie Chan against a backdrop of classic pop hooks and a stillimpressively enormous guitar sound.

Sydney’s Charlie Horse are the opening band tonight, fronted

by Crystal Rose, a Patti Smith/ Polly Harvey soundalike backed by dark rock & roll with more than a little Neil Young running through their veins. Nice!

Brisbane’s own Blonde On Blonde follow, their leather-jacketed rock making for a mighty nice warm-up to the headliners. Jack Bratt is a charismatic yet likeable frontman, reeling off guitar solos (I miss guitar solos!) and delivering vocals with an understated, slightly detached confidence. It’s no coincidence that

SPIRIT OF THE NINETIES

by MATT THROWER

he’s wearing a Lou Reed T-shirt, because there is definitely a touch of the Velvet Underground in their apparent inspirations (not to mention Dandy Warhols and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club). Their set is loud, swaggering and frequently engaging.

However, the real drawcard is Irish trio Ash, performing their classic album 1977 in its entirety. With his trusty Flying V, frontman Tim Wheeler is visibly enjoying going down ‘90s memory lane with the crowd. The real star on stage, though, is bassist Mark Hamilton who throws more acrobatic rockist shapes than I’ve seen in a long while. And the music, naturally, is brilliant. The songs from their first full-length album have aged remarkably well since the record was first released in 1996 – possibly because they drew from both punk-pop and Britpop without sounding too indebted to either thoroughly ‘90s genre. Live, the songs continue to be a revelation – Goldfinger and Girl From Mars are

simply anthems, Kung Fu and Angel Interceptor are fun and frenetic while Oh Yeah has the crowd bellowing along with the chorus. And that’s just the singles! 1977’s album tracks are just as full and satisfying – I’d Give You Anything manages to combine the group’s euphoric pop rush with a riff straight from Black Sabbath, Lost In You sounds like the most naïve lovelorn ‘60s ballad ever and the deceptively-titled Innocent Smile is a winning blend of sneering punk and guitar meltdowns.

After they’re done with the album, there’s a real treat in early single Jack Names The Planets and A Life Less Ordinary, though the latter is interrupted by security concerned about the moshing up the front (they probably need to get out and see a few more punk and metal shows – it looked quite harmless from where I was standing). Then, there’s a four-song encore including the superb Shining Light that your humble reviewer is still humming.

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SONIC BOOM

W

ouldn’t it be great if you did not have to deal with the minutia of everyday life and instead could delegate repetitive tasks to technology?

Well, you can! While there is not one all encompassing application or website that can take over your whole digital life, I have been using a number of services that may be useful for promoting your music and trying to make a name for yourself.

Here is a quick introduction to the essentials: www.ifttt.com is a web service that connects other web applications to each other. There are 68 different ‘channels’ (such as the weather, email, Facebook, Dropbox, YouTube etc.) that may be used in each ‘recipe’ as ‘triggers’ and ‘actions’.

While everyone is probably familiar with Google’s Calendar web application and its capabilities with reminders and scheduling of conflicting events, I find it an effective hub for all of my events and related information.

Google’s Gmail is another staple for completing tasks. Two of the most useful features are canned responses and filters. The best uses of these are in combination. For example, any email that contains (or does not contain) certain words can trigger a pre-written email in response. www.dropbox.com is a synchronising application in the form of a shared folder that you install on your computer. It automatically synchronises any chosen folder or file with the cloud and it very simple to use.

The Dropbox folder will appear on your computer and all you need to do it drag and drop files or folders into the Dropbox folder. Another user or computer that has Dropbox has the ability to view or share these files once access has been granted by the folder administrator. Any changes made to these shared files is then

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applied across everyone’s Dropbox.

If you have ever wanted to schedule an email for later or recurring multiple times, www.lettermelater.com is for you. In addition, you can use this service from your email account.

While www.mailchimp.com is commonly used, the advantage of www.campayn.com is that its free plan has autoresponders, allowing you to automatically send an email once a user has been added to your list.

Here is an example of how these services can be utilised together: As a gigging musician and teacher, I like to promote the gigs I am playing but often forget to post anything on Facebook. Enter www.ifttt.com as the connection between my event in Google Calendar and the Facebook page that I would post my event to. While we are on the subject of Facebook and Dropbox, I have another www.ifttt.com recipe that ‘automagically’ downloads any photos,that I am tagged in, straight to my Dropbox. When a new student is added to my roster, I add them to a list on my Campayn account. This then triggers an autoresponder that sends them an email with all of the information they will need. Presto!

What about reminding students about their upcoming lesson? While this is a little more complicated in that it uses four services and a bit more technical know-how, the time saved is completely worth it. I use a custom recipe on Yahoo pipes (this requires a little more knowledge of programming, file types and general technology) to filter and reorder the Google Calendar rss feed for only tomorrows lesson entries. www. ifttt.com then reads the vital information, such as the email address to send it to and start and finish times, as well as the payment details

MouthZoff SEPTEMBER 2013

and sends the prewritten email with this information inserted more than 24 hours before their lesson.

Setting Profiles for Android (and there are several similar applications for iOS) is a handy application that can control your phone’s settings such as wallpaper, wifi/data, bluetooth, sound and more that renders your so-called ‘smart phone’ actually smart. I use it to read my calendar events and set my phone to silent during travel, gigs and teaching. In addition, if I receive a call that miss during one of these times, the application will sms the caller to let them know that I will call them back as soon as possible.

Scheduling emails is easy with www. lettermelater.com. After you have set up an account, just send your email (with in your usual email program) to me@lettermelater.com with the subject and body of your email as you would normally, but with the addition of “to:”, the email address of the person you are sending it to and on the next line “when:” with the day and time. Press send and it will arrive at your intended recipient at the right time. Awesome!

s d r a w d E Sonic

Kate... on drums! Pictures by Brett Linsley

Kate Ceberano packs out Broadbeach by RANDY G

E

ight o’clock, Saturday night of the Broadbeach Jazz Festival and I am privileged to be among this plastic poncho-wearing sea of fans filling Surfers Parade, waiting for Kate Ceberano to come to the stage. We are all braving the weather which has found us deserving of a shower, but after two brilliantly sunny days of festival no one is complaining... much!

Kate and her band take to the stage and she has a lovely demeanor and strong confidence as would be expected from any artist of her caliber. At first glance, based Phil Ceberano on appearance and wardrobe choices, I would have placed her genre as being folk - then again were at a Jazz festival. Nevertheless, this performance is primarily a debut of Kate’s latest album, the first ‘all original’ album she has released in twenty years. This might get you pondering the magnitude of this artist’s career, so let me tell you she has released a massive 25 albums to date - no small feat!

Now with her latest release “Kensal Road” I definitely can’t see Kate showing any signs of slowing down.

I am particularly drawn into her performance when she sings “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”, a folk song from 1957 which was popularised thereafter by the likes

of Roberta Flack, Celine Dion and a plethora of well-known artists. She dedicates the next song “A Song For You” as a thank you to the fans present. Though I personally am not familiar with the song, it was apparently written by Joe Cocker’s pianist, Leon Russell and also covered by the likes of Karen Carpenter. Everyone here accepts this with gratitude, though at this stage I am quite convinced anything Kate chooses to sing tonight will be received with open arms.

Taking us through some well-known favourites and introducing her latest album, she has everyone mesmerized. A lot of warmth can be felt on stage and overall this could be a predominantly relaxed show. It even has some sentimental value with her brother also playing guitar for her. Impressive and unexpectedly, Kate also takes to the drums for a song, emphasising how multitalented she is.

The final songs are mostly by way of promotion of her new album as well as everyone singing along to some of her past pop hits such as “Bedroom Eyes” and “Pash”, which sees an energetic and tambourinewielding Ceberano rock out and revive this popular hit from 1998. What a great performance this has been and now you will excuse me I am going to race and join the hoards lining up for album signings.

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WE WANT

TO TO LISTEN

Y U If you are interested in having your newly-released albums/EPs reviewed then please send your cd (please include a cover letter with your contact details) to:

MouthZoff Magazine, Po Box 2156, North Redcliffe 4020

s e u l B e h t n o ’ n i t t u P International Blues Music Day By special guest writer, convenor DAVID ROWLANDS

IBMD was created to celebrate, promote and preserve the rich legacy, tradition and future of the great American art form and international language known as Blues Music.

“The essence of the blues cannot be written as a score. It must come spontaneously from within.”

– Sam Phillips of Sun Records.

My interest in blues music started in 1964. I was a founding member of a blues band and in 1967 we enjoyed a hit record with the first blues song in Australia. In July of 2012 a group named “Petition to declare an International Blues Music Day” caught my attention and I contacted the director.

I decided to purchase an IBMD T-shirt before the announced date of the first IBMD with the intention of promoting the organization here in Brisbane.

So I proceeded to promote the 2013 event by being photographed wearing the T-shirt at various locations.

When the director announced the inaugural 2013 IBMD for 3 August 2013, earlier in the year, I registered a blues jam as soon as I could.

I did not have a venue then and gave a TBA on the submission.

I searched for a suitable venue for a few months and found one that deserved an inspection with time left to prepare for it. A friend was running a weekly acoustic jam and he gained approval for the IBMD Blues Jam to be conducted at the Squealing Pig in Ipswich. I had previous experience both as a participant and organizer of blues jams. In conjunction with another musician friend we put together the required equipment of a drumkit, bass-rig and PA system to establish the standard back-line for a blues jam. All of the pieces were falling into place. Promotion consisted

of a facebook Event Announcement.

Local print and radio media was notified and the Ipswich Mayor, Cr Paul Pisasale was invited to open the event. We were pleased to see a good turnout of musicians and blues supporters on the day. Mayor Paul Pisasale was enthusiastic about having such an auspicious international music event in his town. He was open to the town hosting further live blues music events in the future.

In my opening address, I emphasised to the audience and participants what makes up a blues jam. Blues jams provide an opportunity for amateur and professional musicians to mix and mingle. It goes back to the days when performing musos would get together after their shows in big venues. To unwind they would gather in clubs and bars and play improvised and unrehearsed music for their own pleasure. Many new bands have formed because of the connections made at jams. Blues jams are not competitions and the

musicians are not there to be rated or reviewed. There may be bum notes and awkward beginnings and endings. If the onlookers wanted a show then they should have gone elsewhere. The bonus for onlookers is this: most of the musicians have never played together before. There can be magic music moments in jams and you never know who may turn up at your jam and join in. That is the spirit of blues jams.

The singers and musicians who participated were a mix of those who only ever jammed at local events and private parties up to musicians who had played to huge audiences at events such as Byron Bluesfest.

The musicianship was surprisingly good and with a little coaxing, some were encouraged to get up for the first time in their lives. The outcome was one of joy in making music with like-minded friends. The spirit of the blues jam was well and truly alive at the Squealing Pig on 3 August 2013.

Many new connections were made and many mentioned that they were keen to do it again.

The venue was very pleased with the crowd and is keen to host regular jams in the future.

The inaugural 2013 International Blues Music Day was a huge success.

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e g u H r D

http://www.huge.id.au/

Beware the trap of fixed ongoing service fees

by HUGH BROWN

L

ast edition I wrote about technologies that can help artists build and manage their music business. There are plenty of these, and I highlighted several that are fundamental to building a music business: social media, email management, a gig guide, and an online shop.

$49 per album release ($12.95 per single) to set up the shop page, plus $4 per copy (CD or Vinyl) sent to a customer and 9% of digital distribution income. Both companies ofer various options and extras, but that’s the basic package for their distribution services. All figures are in $US.

There are too many organisations offering these services for me to catalogue and discuss them here. But they broadly fall into three categories: ones that are free or open source, ones that charge a fee to help you out, and ones that offer a limited version for free but then charge when your needs get beyond a certain size.

The most important difference in this the percentage charge CDBaby takes

Similarly, when it comes to paying for these services there are almost as many variations in fees structures as there are service providers. Some are great and cheap, some are great and expensive, some are not worth paying and some are downright shonky. It’s up to the artist or band to do their homework and choose carefully.

However, in independent music land, there’s one important ethical consideration to bear in mind when it comes to choosing which services to hire: some of them are geared to share your risk and grow with you while others insist on taking up-front fees and leaving you to sink or swim. This is most obviously seen in the digital distribution fee structures of Tunecore and CDBaby.

As at the time of writing, Tunecore is a digital-only distributor and charges a flat $29.99 per album for the first year and $49.99 each year thereafter ($9.99 per single). Their main sales pitch is that they do not charge a commission on digital income – the artist gets to keep 100% of the income they generate.

CDBaby charges a flat, once-off

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from digital sales vs the flat annual fee Tunecore takes. Essentially, this means that, after initial setup costs have been recovered from either service, CDBaby will pay the artist something for every sale, while Tunecore will pay 100% of every sale over a fixed amount every year. In other words, CDBaby will share in a muso’s sales outcomes – good or bad – while Tunecore will only help them if they exceed a certain size. Then they give the artist all the proceeds.

The Tunecore approach sounds appealing to the ambitious-but-inexperienced muso right up until they realize that most releases will NEVER exceed

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Tunecore’s threshold amount and thus the artist will make nothing from them. (http://www.digitalmusicnews. com/stories/042511tunecore). On the other hand, those using the CDBaby approach will at least make something.

Tunecore are not the only ones who use this flat annual fee. In fact, as far as I know, CDBaby are the only digital distributors who take a percentage. Although other companies are willing to take a percentage – and thus share in the artist’s risk –for other services, it is a constant disappointment that this structure is not used more widely and the independent music community are worse off because of it.

The other important aspect of this equation is that musical releases do not sell a consistent amount every year. They sell very few at first, then grow for a while and then tail away to sell very few for the rest of their time. This is called the “product lifecycle” and this means that even a release that sells very well for a while will spend most of its lifecycle selling below the annual fee threshold. The artist will lose money every year that release is available but selling below the fixed amount.

More important than the math is the ethical position: CDBaby has adopted the view (as I discussed with Derek in 2005) that they will share independent musos’ risk and make more or less money as their artists do. Tunecore and other companies do not.

The lesson? musos should seek out services that will share their risk and their rewards wherever possible. The flat-fee approach works well for a finite service like a marketing campaign for a release but should be avoided where it requires a commitment to ongoing fees.

www.charcoalmark.com

To advertise IN MOUTHZOFF email team@mouthzoff.com

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d n a l s n Quee s d r a w Music A

FULL LIST OF WINNERS Schools Award: Kimberley Terrace – “I Cannot Lie” Indigenous Award: Thelma Plum – “Rosie” Regional Award: Jayson Watkin – “Jacky Kneebone” Childrens Award: Nadia Sunde – “Shake It Down” Blues/Roots Award: Kingfisha – “Fallen Empire” Country Award: Harmony James – “Emmylou’s Guitar”

Folk/Singer-Songwriter Award: Ange Takats – “Minnesota” Urban Award: BlaqCarrie – “Let There Be Hope” Electronic/Dance Award: MKO – “Snarly” Jazz Award: Andrew Butt Trio – “The Alligator Escalator” World Award: The Saruzu Quartet – “Pollito” Rock Award: The Trouble With Templeton – “Six Months In A Cast” Heavy Award: The Amity Affliction – “Chasing Ghosts”

Violent Soho

Pop Award: Ball Park Music – “Surrender” Export Achievement Award: Emma Louise Video Award: Georgia Potter – “XO” G.W. McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award: Mick Hadley Most Popular Male Award: Jeremy Neale Most Popular Female Award: Emma Louise Most Popular Group Award: The Jungle Giants Song Of The Year Award: Ball Park Music – “Surrender” Album Of The Year Award: Emma Louise – “vs Head vs Heart”

Jungle Giants & Patience

Hannah and Steel All pics by Geoff Norris

The Trouble with Templeton

B

risbane’s Tivoli Theatre was the venue for the presentation to the 22 category winners of the 2013 Queensland Music Awards on 13th August.

Emma Louise was the big winner on the night taking out three prestigious awards for Album of the Year (“vs Head vs Heart”), Most Popular Female and Export Achievement award, and ironically she happened to be in Europe exporting her talent at the time, and we were treated to a video of her reaction to receiving this honour; so we don’t have any photos of Emma from the Tivoli.

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Ball Park Music picked up a double with the Pop Award and Song of the Year with “Surrender” written by Sam Cromack. A full list of all category winners follows, but special mention should be made of Mick Hadley who was posthumously awarded the G.W. McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Queensland music throughout the six decades since the formation of “The Purple Hearts” in the early 1960’s.

The night was pleasantly hosted by Sarah Howells and Matt Conners and the presentations were made by about

MouthZoff SEPTEMBER 2013

twenty different well selected music industry leaders, media personalities and musicians, including James Morrison, Katie Noonan and Patience Hodgson.

The proceedings were interspersed with showcase performances every 25 minutes from 9 of Queensland’s best artists and bands who were nominated for awards, and included many category winners; and we have included photos of as many as could comfortably fit on these pages.

geoff norris

e c i v d a Sound

Music Hardware & Setups by TJAY There are a lot of different kinds of studios.

We have the professional facilities that most of us can only dream of… but we couldn’t afford the water machine, let alone the millions of dollars worth of equipment used for recording.

Then there’s the project studios, which is often a hobby ‘project of the owner- more about their own enthusiasm for making music rather than any business that’s seriously for hire. Project studios can be really well equipped with excellent and expensive gear and can be brilliant spaces to work in, because the owner doesn’t have to compromise their passion and therefore has only the best of everything.

Next down the line is what the rest of us can relate to: Yes! The home studio.

Home studios are totally focused on the needs of the owner… and normally crammed in a spare room or garage. People with home studios are successfully making their own released quality CDs or just making demos- whatever their thing might be.

But the point is that it doesn’t matter whether you’re recording music in SAE Byron or in the corner of your bedroom, you are making use of some kind of studio.

There are some necessities you’ll need for the studio, like microphones and a small mixer ( if you want to use this as a control surface ) or pre-amp ( if you want to record vocals or guitar, for example) and maybe a few cool devices or toys that help your studio operate easily and more efficiently. But firstly lets look at the all-importantly soundcard or audio interface, as some people might know it as.

Soundcard basics This is the device that gets your sound from the outside world into your computer (and vice versa), comes

in many shapes and sizes. These are called soundcards because they facilitate the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.

The term soundcard is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware inside the computer.. These days more and more soundcards plug into your computer via its USB or Firewire ports.

A good decent soundcard is something like Roland’s Edirol UA25 which has 24 bit 96kHz USB driven 2 simultaneously analogue inputs, midi in and out and a digital connection- quite simple. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the quality is not good, just because they don’t have lots of connections. Quite the opposite: the quality can be very good, and can be very affordable.

Why Pre-amps?

You can talk about audio interfaces without g about pre-amps (more so microphone pre amplifiers). But what’s a pre-amp and why do we need them?

Different instruments, keyboards and microphones all put out different signal strengths. For example, a DI’ed acoustic guitar will have a relatively low output that needs boosting, while an electric bass guitar with active pickups is a bit different- if you were to plug it in the same input as the acoustic- well it would probably blow your speakers off the shelf. A straightforward pre-amp is a device between your source sound and the PC’s soundcard converters, used to adjust the signal strength.

The number of pre-amps normally is a good indicator of how expensive the audio interface will be. But you have to rely on your audio interface to supply the pre-amps. You can plug your mics and DI’s etc into an external pre-amp or mixing desk too.

Speakers & Headphones I can’t say how important it is to have high quality speakers and headphones.

You don’t have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but your standard computer speakers won’t cut it. The idea is to hear your recordings accurately and not excessively coloured by whatever you’re using. Think of it this way: you’re using crappy, tinny speakers to mix down a song and it sounds like there’s not enough bass, so you crank up the bottom end, burn it to a cd, listen to it in your car and the extra bass cracks your wind screen and even upsets a whale beyond reach in the distance. Why? Because the bass was always there in the first place, but you just couldn’t hear it and made adjustments to suit the speakers, not the recording. The whole process of recording music and turning it into a track for others to enjoy is a tough statement, and if you can’t hear what you’re doing, it’s quite frustrating.

Microphones If you have any intention of recording an acoustic instrument or voice, you’ll need to get at least one high quality microphone, but of course be selective with choice for example many microphones are designed for specific jobs like miking up drums, amps etc…

There are hundreds of entry-level studio microphones available now.

The best advice is to set a budget and talk to your local professional audio professional or music shop. Not all microphones sound the same and it’s not just the difference between cheap verses-expensive. Some are deliberately designed to add character and presence to recordings. Respected microphone manufactures such as Rode, AKG or Sennheiser release budget-priced dynamic, ribbon, and condenser mics (to name a few) that can be very impressive, so sticking with a known brand name you cant really go wrong.

https://www.facebook.com/tjay.recordings?fref=ts

MouthZoff SEPTEMBER 2013

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September 2013 DATE ARTIST

VENUE

TIME

01/09

GUTTERMOUTH

AIRPORT TAVERN

12.00PM

01/09

JACK CARTY

BLACK BEAR LODGE

7.00PM

01/09

BRACHIO RADICALS

CLUB GREENSLOPES

2.00PM

01/09

GOLD COAST SPRING FESTIVAL

CURRUMBIN RSL

9.30AM

01/09 TRICIA EVY and DAN BARNETT RIVERDECK RESTAURANT 01/09 TAMARA O’CALLAGAHAN THE GREEK CLUB

1.00PM 12.30PM

01/09

JAPANDROIDS THE ZOO

7.30PM

01/09

IN2NATION RIC’S BAR

9.30PM

03/09

ALEXANDER ABREU and HAVANA D’PRIMERA

8.00PM

04/09 NEW MUSIC CHAMBER ENSEMBLE 04/09

BRISBANE COLOSSUS LOUNGE

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 1.00PM

ANBERLIN THE HI-FI

8.00PM

04/09 DRIVEN BY INSTINCT THE ZOO

8.00PM

05/09 THE GROWL

BLACK BEAR LODGE

7.00PM

05/09 SEWERCIDE

CONISTON LANE

8.00PM

05/09

JAZZ CAFÉ

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 5.00PM

05/09

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: BRASS ENSEMBLE

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 1.00PM

05/09

ANBERLIN

COOLANGATTA HOTEL

8.00PM

05/09 ZIGGYMORTARS SOLBAR

9.00PM

05/09 THE PAPER KITES SOUNDLOUNGE

7.30PM

05/09 TIN THE HI-FI

7.00PM

05/09 THE GRATES THE SPOTTED COW

8.00PM

05/09

8.00PM

LITTLE BLUE DOGS THE ZOO

06/09 THE SNOWDROPPERS

ALHAMBRA LOUNGE

8.00PM

06/09

BREEZERS BAR, TWIN TOWNS

6.00PM

ABBY SKYE

06/09 STATE OF MIND with MC WOODY

CONISTON LANE

06/09 ROMANTIC STRINGS & PIANO

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 6.30PM

06/09 RECOIL V.O.R.

CROWBAR

8.00PM

06/09 THE GRATES

ELSEWHERE

8.00PM

06/09 DARYL BRAITHWAITE

KEDRON WAVELL SERVICES CLUB

8.30PM

06/09 THE GO SET and THE REAL McKENZIES

MIAMI TAVERN SHARK BAR

8.00PM

06/09

MAT McHUGH SOUNDLOUNGE

06/09 SPOONER STREET SQUEALING PIG TAVERN

10.00PM

7.30PM 10.00PM

06/09 TWELVE FOOT NINJA THE TEMPO HOTEL

7.30PM

06/09 THE GAME THE VENUE

7.00PM

06/09

8.00PM

FOXSMITH THE ZOO

The WhatZon gig guide is TOTALLY FREE! – list your shows for nothing!

Just head to www.mouthzoff.com/whatzon for details

DATE ARTIST

VENUE

TIME

07/09 OPEN DAY CONCERT - BRISBANE FESTIVAL

CULTURAL FORECOURT

9.00AM

07/09 THE COMMITMENTS

EATONS HILL HOTEL

6.30PM

07/09 THE DEAD LOVE

GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL

8.00PM

07/09 RECOIL V.O.R.

MIAMI TAVERN SHARK BAR

8.00PM

07/09 SPOONER STREET

PACIFIC PINES TAVERN

8.00PM

07/09 TWELVE FOOT NINJA

PARKWOOD TAVERN

8.00PM

07/09

CONVERSATIONS WITH GHOSTS

QPAC CONCERT HALL

9.00AM

07/09

EMMA WHITE SOUTHSIDE TEA ROOM

8.00PM

7-14/09

WUNDER BAR

8.00PM

07/09

FUNK FIDELITY SYC STUDIOS

07/09

MACHINE GUN KELLY THE HI-FI

12.00AM

07/09 TONIGHT ALIVE THE ZOO

1.00PM

08/09

PINK

BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

8.00PM

10/09

KIERAN RYAN

ALHAMBRA LOUNGE

8.00PM

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00PM

10/09 RUSSELL MORRIS

QPAC CONCERT HALL

7.30PM

10/09 THE STRUMS THE HIDEAWAY

7.00PM

11/09

CROWBAR

9.00PM

11/09 RUSSELL MORRIS

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00PM

11/09 SHE REX

JUDITH WRIGHT CENTRE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS 8.00PM

11/09

CYNDI LAUPER

QPAC CONCERT HALL

8.00PM

11/09

JINJA SAFARI

WOOMBYE PUB

7.30PM

12/09 THE BASICS

CULTURAL FORECOURT

8.00PM

12/09

ELECTRIC PLAYGROUND

9.00PM

CORY BRANAN

MT WARNING

12/09 SHE REX

JUDITH WRIGHT CENTRE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS 8.00PM

12/09 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS

KINGS BEACH TAVERN

12/09

8.00PM

BORN LION RIC’S BAR

8.00PM

12/09 SARA-ROSE MILLAR ROOM 60

7.00PM

12/09 RAPTOR THE HI-FI

10.00PM

12/09

CORY BRANAN THE LOFT

8.00PM

12/09

JINJA SAFARI THE SPOTTED COW

8.00PM

12/09

AMANDA PALMER AND THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA THE TIVOLI THEATRE

8.00PM

13/09 DOKU DAI BAND

CULTURAL FORECOURT

13/09

ELSEWHERE

8.00PM

FLINDERS SOCIAL

7.00PM

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB

13/09 SPIT SYNDICATE

11.45PM

13/09

ABBY SKYE (EP Launch) NORMAN PARK BOWLS CLUB

7.00pm

13/09

ILLY OH HELLO!

8.00PM

13/09 UTE LEMPER

QPAC CONCERT HALL

9.00AM

13/09 KINGSWOOD SOLBAR

8.30PM

13/09

BOB EVANS SOUNDLOUNGE

7.30PM

13/09

JINJA SAFARI THE HI-FI

7.30PM

13/09 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS THE SPOTTED COW

8.00PM

13/09 TUMBLEWEED THE ZOO

8.00PM

14/09

JINJA SAFARI

COOLANGATTA HOTEL

8.00PM

14/09

BLACK HOLE

CROWBAR

3.00PM

14/09 PALM

CROWBAR

8.00PM

14/09 DICK DIVER

CULTURAL FORECOURT

14/09

GLASS TOWERS SOLBAR

11.45PM 8.00PM

DATE ARTIST

VENUE

TIME

14/09 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS THE HI-FI

8.00PM

14/09 THE AFRICAN CARAVAN THE J

9.00AM

14/09

BLOODS THE LOFT

8.00PM

14/09

KVELERTAK THE REV

8.00PM

14/09 SPIT SYNDICATE THE UNION JACK

8.00PM

14/09

FOX & FOWL THE ZOO

8.00PM

15/09

MARK WILKINSON

BLACK BEAR LODGE

7.00PM

15/09

GHOSTPOET

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00PM

17/09

CALEXICO

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00PM

18/09 TINY RUINS

BLACK BEAR LODGE

7.00PM

18/09 NEW ZEALAND STRING QUARTET

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 7.00PM

18/09

CALEXICO

CULTURAL FORECOURT

18/09

MURPHY’S LAW THE ZOO

8.00PM

19/09

PIGEON

COOLANGATTA HOTEL

8.00PM

19/09

BEACH FOSSILS

CULTURAL FORECOURT

11.45PM

19/09

GOOD OAK SOLBAR

7.00PM

8.00PM

19/09 NORTHLANE SURFERS PARADISE BEERGARDEN

8.00PM

19/09

PEACE THE ZOO

7.30PM

20/09

LANIE LANE

BLACK BEAR LODGE

7.00PM

20/09 NEELIX

CONISTON LANE

9.00PM

20/09

INTERACTIVE iPADS

CONSERVATORIUM THEATRE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 7.30PM

20/09

PANTHA DU PRINCE

CULTURAL FORECOURT

20/09 RUDIMENTAL

EATONS HILL HOTEL

11.45pm 7.00PM

20/09

CORNERSTONE ROOTS SOLBAR

8.30PM

20/09

BOBBY ALU SOUNDLOUNGE

7.30PM

20/09 SNAKADAKTAL THE HI-FI

8.00PM

20/09

LAMB OF GOD with MESHUGGAH THE TIVOLI THEATRE

8.00PM

20/09

INDIE ROCK PARTY THE ZOO

7.30PM

21/09

BIG SCARY

CULTURAL FORECOURT

21/09

ALISON WONDERLAND

ELSEWHERE

21/09

GOLD COAST ACOUSTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL NERANG COUNTRY PARADISE

2.00PM

21/09

BRISBANE SINGS

9.00AM

QPAC CONCERT HALL

11.45PM 8.00PM

21/09 NORTHLANE RACEHORSE HOTEL

8.00PM

21/09 OPERA ON THE RIVERSTAGE RIVERSTAGE

9.00AM

21/09 PIGEON SOLBAR

8.00PM

21/09

EMERGENZA SEMI-FINAL THE HI-FI

7.00PM

21/09

HUSHKA THE ZOO

8.00PM

21/09 ROCK N RODZ NOSTALGIA FESTIVAL TOWNSVILLE TURF CLUB

9.00AM

22/09 OLAFUR ARNALDS

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00PM

22/09

AMBER LAWRENCE and JASON OWEN

KEDRON WAVELL SERVICES CLUB

7.00PM

22/09

GOOD OAK THE LOFT

4.00PM

24/09

HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY

7.00PM

CULTURAL FORECOURT

24/09 TALLIS SCHOLARS

QPAC CONCERT HALL

2.00PM and 8.00PM

25/09 SURES

BLACK BEAR LODGE

8.00PM

25/09

EMMA LOUISE

CULTURAL FORECOURT

7.00pm

25/09

JIMMY BARNES

PILBEAM THEATRE

8.00PM

26/09

JIMMY BARNES

MACKAY ENTERTAINMENT & CONVENTION CENTRE 8.00PM

DATE ARTIST

VENUE

TIME

26/09

WOLF MAIL

THE JOYNT

9.00PM

26/09

SWERVEDRIVER

THE ZOO

7.30PM

27/09

THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS

ALHAMBRA LOUNGE

8.00PM

27/09

THE PREATURES

BLACK BEAR LODGE

8.00PM

27/09

ALAN JACKSON

BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

7.00PM

27/09

KUPKAS PIANO

JUDITH WRIGHT CENTRE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS 7.30PM

27/09

HARRISON CRAIG

QPAC CONCERT HALL

8.00PM

27/09

THE DRONES

THE HI-FI

8.00PM

27/09

DEEP SEA ARCADE

THE ZOO

8.00PM

27/09

THE SEABELLIES

X&Y BAR

8.00PM

28/09

ASTA

ALHAMBRA LOUNGE

8.00PM

28/09

RIHANNA

BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

8.00PM

28/09

JIMMY BARNES

EATONS HILL HOTEL

8.00PM

28/09

WOLF MAIL

JOE’S WATERHOLE

8.30PM

28/09

KUPKAS PIANO

JUDITH WRIGHT CENTRE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS 7.30PM

28/09

HARRISON CRAIG

JUPITERS CASINO

8.00PM

28/09

SPIT SYNDICATE

SOLBAR

8.00PM

28/09

SILENT FEATURE ERA

SOUTHSIDE TEA ROOM

8.00PM

28/09

ASHLEIGH MANNIX

THE LOFT

8.00PM

28/09

MY FICTION

THE ZOO

8.00PM

29/09

THE CAT EMPIRE

COOLANGATTA HOTEL

8.00PM

29/09

JIMMY BARNES

LAKE KAWANA COMMUNITY CENTRE

8.00PM

29/09

WOLF MAIL

ROYAL MAIL HOTEL

2.00PM

20-22/09

MITCHELL CREEK ROCK N BLUES FEST

MITCHELL CREEK - SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND 9.00AM

w e i v e r m Albu

W

dave galea wood and Wire

ood and Wire- Live in the Nickson Room is the latest album to come from Dave Galea. Dave, who is well known to the local scene, launched his album at Brisbane Jazz Club last month. It was a modern contemporary fusion of jazz and funk that was readily accepted by a near full house and I found it very unique and enjoyable. No lyrics and no vocals meant the lead was coming from ‘somewhere’ the role was aptly filled by Galea who is not only the creative mind behind the compositions but also an incredible six string bass player. Coupled with a Pianist, Drummer, Saxophonist and a Vibra-

phonist you could correctly say it was a night full of ‘great vibes!’ The musical arrangements were really amazing –a standout was Daves unique ability to play complex rhythmic bass lines and you could feel how lonely the compositions would be without his bass parts.

Pianist, Cleon Barraclough, was brilliant (as always) and tonight I marveled at the way both he and Dave would stick to each others melody, riffs and runs, that were hugged ever so tightly throughout the entire performance.

The drums were lively, precise and always tasteful, emphasizing the true beauty of each piece and causing a

little fast paced excitement within the compositions.

The vibraphone and saxophone provided the most unique moments and overall promoted the tones of ‘Chill out’ that quality Jazz is supposed to give.

The album has smooth and relaxing aspects but predominantly I would have to say it is incredibly lively and intriguing and the quality of musicianship is clearly evident.

Overall an album that you won’t want to stop and that itself keeps moving at rapid rate.

RG

MouthZoff SEPTEMBER 2013

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