Australian News 7/6

NSW liquor licenses, Edgley retires, metal detectors in nightclubs, Michal Jacobsen denies rift, Shorty Ranger and George Xanthos die, irate punter throws beer can at Axl Rose, …

 

NSW Liquor License Shakeup

Continued lobbying by the New South Wales live music sector is paying off.

The state government plans to introduce the Live Music Venue On Premises Liquor License by the end of the year.

A license to run a club is expected to cost between $1,000 to $2,000. The current cost for a nightclub license is $60,000.

 

Edgley Retires

Veteran showbiz promoter Michael Edgley is retiring at age 63 and shuttering his Gold Coast-based company, Edgley International.

He started in the business at age 17, and wants to spend time with his wife and baby daughter. In the meantime, his ex-wife Jenni and son Mark will continue to run his Melbourne-based ticketing firm Edgetix.

 

Top Cop Calls For Club Detectors

Western Australia’s Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan repeated his call for nightclubs to install metal detectors to screen for weapons.

His call comes after a brawl involving knives July 1 at 4:15 a.m. at the Red Sea nightclub in Subiaco.

Five men involved in the brawl ended up in hospital, while a bouncer was slashed on his arm.

O’Callaghan first called for metal detectors in January after a man discharged a gun inside a Subiaco nightclub.

 

Worldwide Agents For Children Collide

Rae Harvey of Crucial Music has stitched up overseas representation for Melbourne band Children Collide.

Brian Ahern of William Morris Agency is looking after North America, Dave Chumbley (Primary Talent) handles U.K./Europe/Asia and Evan Davis (The Harbour Agency) keeps the home fires burning.

 

Jacobsen Rift

Jacobsen Entertainment managing director Michael Jacobsen dismissed newspaper reports of a rift within the company as a "storm in a teacup."

Col Joye, one of the company’s directors, reportedly called a board meeting to criticize Jacobsen for removing Andrew Pain as GM of the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in April, when company founder Kevin Jacobsen (Michael’s father) was overseas.

Michael Jacobsen told Pollstar, "There are actually no allegations against me in any capacity. Third parties may be muckraking. However, there are no allegations of any kind that I or the board are aware of. I have acted with the highest regards to my fiduciary and ethical duties at all times."

 

 

Vale

Country music songwriter Shorty Ranger died aged 81 after a stroke.

He wrote or co-wrote 400 songs, including his best known "Winter Winds." Among those who recorded his material was Slim Dusty, with whom he attended junior high.

Steel guitarist George Xanthos died June 27 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was recently inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

 

Major Aussie Acts On The Road

Multiplatinum trio Something For Kate will celebrate the Sony BMG release of a 2-CD retro set, The Murmur Years, with eight dates September 7-22.

Grinspoon, who did a brief run in May, will follow up with 27 dates August 9 to October 6.

The Hot Lies leap out of the studio while their next album is being mixed for eight all-ages shows July 21 to August 11.

The Wiggles mark their 16th anniversary with 36 arena dates July 2 to August 26.

In the meantime, tours by Missy Higgins, Kate Ceberano and John Butler Trio have all been extended due to extraordinary demand.

 

Venue Changes

Jerry Pilarinos, former owner of the Palace nightclub, has bought the Metro in the city for $10 million, where he will transfer his nightclub operations.

Eighty parties had inquired about buying the Metro, including a U.S. entertainment group.

Cairns’ Johno’s Blues Bar closed its doors after 18 years due to declining patronage.

Ionic music venue The Station Hotel in Melbourne was sold for $4.54 million to a private buyer.

The Telstra Dome could be in for a name change, the Melbourne Age reported.

Despite denials, telecommunications giant Telstra decided its marketing money could be better spent elsewhere. It is quietly planning an early exit although it is contracted as a naming rights sponsor until 2010, the paper said.

 

Adams, Ash Returning

Frontier Touring confirmed five theatre dates for Ryan Adams & The Cardinals August 16-23 and booked two early August club dates Ash after the British band plays Splendour In The Grass.

KMW Productions locked in two tours. "The Black Crusade" has metal bands Machine Head, Trivium and Arch Enemy playing five dates October 28 to November 3 before they head for Europe together.

The company will also bring Welsh act Funeral For A Friend back after two years, teaming them up with NYC’s Bayside for their first visit, for six shows September 11-18.

Other tours announced include Paolo Mojo (Sweetchilli Events and Touring) in July, Editors (Michael Chugg Entertainment) in August, New Zealand roots band Kora (Niche Productions), which will stop late August on its way to Europe, and He Is Legend (Destroy All Lines) in September.

 

Short Notes

U.S. songwriter Jason Blume (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCartney, Oak Ridge Boys) is keynote speaker for the Australian Songwriters Conference in Sydney in June 2008.

Queensland’s tough anti-scalping laws introduced last December have kicked in. Elisabeth Jetnikoff was fined $150 for putting a pair of rugby tickets worth $43.40 on eBay for $260.40 each. By the time she was arrested in May, the price had reached $425.

A fund-raising ball at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre headlined by Kate Ceberano raised $200,000 for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

A planned rap duet by Michael Bublé and Xzibit on national TV "Rove Live" was canceled when Xzibit claimed he did not know about the team-up even though the show insists his business associates were aware.

The rapper wanted his own solo set, and walked out when he didn’t get it. Bublé, in the country for a promo tour, saw his double-platinum album Call Me Irresponsible jump back to No. 1 while his single "Everything" jumped from No. 40 to No. 19.

At Guns N’ Roses’ show in Brisbane, a punter irate at having to wait until midnight before the band came on threw a beer can at Axl Rose. The mercurial singer threatened to walk but finished the show.

After failing to get Snoop Dogg entry to the country to co-host April’s MTV Australia music awards, the network is now trying to get him citizenship downunder.

NSW country singer Clint Crighton has signed with U.S. talent management firm The Fitzgerald Hartley Co. He met them after he and a friend tried to gatecrash the dressing rooms after a New York show by Toto.