Australian News 5/24

Wolfmother & Gudinski Paint It Jack

Wolfmother was voted best live act at the Jack Awards in Sydney, while Frontier Touring head Michael Gudinski was presented with the Gentleman Jack award for services to Australia’s live music scene.

The Jack Awards, honoring Australian live music, are sponsored by Jack Daniel’s whisky.

Performances included You Am I paying tribute to the late Billy Thorpe; Beasts of Bourbon; Howling Bells; Mercy Arms; Airbourne and a star-studded supergroup led by Rose Tattoo’s diminutive frontman Angry Anderson with members of The Divinyls, You Am I, Grinspoon, and The Sleepy Jackson.

Katy Steele of Little Birdy went home with awards for best female and best dressed. Other winners were Silverchair singer/guitarist Daniel Johns (male performer), Foo Fighters (international touring act), The Living End’s Chris Cheney (guitarist), Silverchair’s Ben Gillies (drummer), You Am I’s Andy Kent (bassist) and Red Riders (live newcomers).

James Bellisini’s poster for the Big Day Out festival 2006 took out the best tour art category, while the Gaelic Club in Sydney was voted best live venue. Celebrations ended at 6 a.m.

Aussie Gov Eyes The World

The Australian Government provided $20.4 million over four years to boost Australian culture to the world.

It intends to paint a better image of contemporary Australia, targeting countries like the United States, China and Indonesia, and promote tourism, education and indigenous art.

Its programs will try to make it easier for musicians and performers to travel abroad, get on radio and TV overseas, and improve online marketing.

Perth Stadium Site Announced

John Langoulant, chairman of the task force investigating alternatives to Subiaco Oval in Perth, is expected to tell Sport Minister John Kobelke that the East Perth power station site is the best location for the city’s proposed $800 million 60,000-seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium.

East Perth has been selected because of its its proximity to the city centre, major roads and train stations.

Jam Agency Airs Dirty Laundry

Sydney-based The Jam Agency signed electro-funksters Dirty Laundry to its roster of DJs, producers and live acts.

The agency works alongside parent company Jam Music’s clubs and external promoter partners on national tours, festivals, corporate events, fashion shows and product launches.

Recently, it focused on developing urban acts Sneaky Sound System, Ajax, and the Bang Gang DJs.

These acts have parted amicably from The Jam Agency to focus on global touring with their individual management.

Tamworth’s Big Guitar Unstrung

The Big Guitar, a tourist landmark at country music capital Tamworth, and the building it’s attached to are for sale for $1.5 million.

The 12-meter-tall guitar was built 20 years ago based on the Golden Guitar trophy awarded at the annual country music awards each January.

Owners Wendy and Noel Bennett want to retire and travel. The complex includes a country wax museum with 20 exhibits of local stars, and an entertainment area where major acts perform.

Splendour Grassed

The 20,000 tickets for Splendour in the Grass sold out in a record five hours, with a system put in place on the ticketing site to stop scalpers and ensure an orderly queue online of ticket buyers to avoid a power overload.

But an owner of the festival’s ticket distributor OzTix, who gave his name only as "Smash," admitted on national radio that technical problems caused some to be bumped off the queue.

"Personally I feel really bad for those people who missed out, especially for the people who did miss out because they got bumped out of the queue," he told ABC Radio.

E-Type Jazz’s Ritsuko Dies

Ritsuko Dalton, composer and keyboard player with Adelaide swing band E-Type Jazz, died after a two-year battle with cancer.

She studied jazz piano in Adelaide and London, and periodically performed her own works with a quintet.

She was nominated for Best Pianist at the 2004 South Australian Music Industry Awards.

Short Notes

New Darwin marketing and event management / consultancy Agentur was appointed by Northern Territory association Music NT to manage the 2007 NT Indigenous Music Awards on August 25.

Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins and Kev Carmody will team up for a song at this year’s publishers and songwriters APRA awards night.

Also performing at the June 5 night at the Melbourne Town Hall are Eskimo Joe, Augie March, Katie Noonan of the band George, dance producer TV Rock and former Men At Work leader Colin Hay.

Adelaide’s Come Out festival drew 120,000 between May 7 and 19, announced artistic director Sally Chance.

The $10 million estate of Milan Votrubec, who ran Sydney jazz club Soup Plus for 27 years, is embroiled in Supreme Court action. Five of his nine children are seeking a larger share, while a Swiss woman claiming to be from his first marriage was ordered to take a blood test to prove Milan Votrubec was her father.Josh Groban tours for Dainty Consolidated Entertainment with his six-piece band, full orchestra and choir. The four theatre dates are between September 28 and October 12.

Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death will head downunder after 11 years, doing five clubs September 4-8 for Soundworks Touring.

Just Say Rock firmed up six club shows for Swedish black metal band Marduk August 13-24.

In the two years that the Melbourne Council set up ACDC Lane, the road sign has been stolen six times by pilfering fans, the Sunday Age reported. It costs the council $120 to replace each one.

Adelaide-based entertainment, speaking and events agency Onya Soapbox opened a second office, in Melbourne, May 24.

Promoter and raconteur de rock Brian deCourcy revived his successful guided tours through Melbourne’s St. Kilda, pointing out locations of past venues, radio stations, celebrity homes, studios and video shoots.

A $200 video made by Melbourne roots band Blue King Brown featuring traditional indigenous communities in Australia’s red desert created a buzz on YouTube.

The video accompanies their track "Water," a land rights song about how the traditional land owners are kept from their watering holes and sacred sites.

A group of nightclub operators in the Queensland city of Townsville are trying to close down the newly opened Consortium nightclub. They are appealing the decision made by authorities to give the club’s owner Amigos Leisure & Hospitality a 5 a.m. license, and want the club to stop operating until the appeal is heard.