News

VALE MIKE NOGA 0

Mike Noga (far right) with The Drones. Photo by Marty Williams

It was with much sadness that we heard news yesterday of the passing of singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and former Drones drummer Mike Noga. Mike will be forever remembered for the wonderful performances and recordings he made with The Drones such as Gala Mill, Havilah and I See Seaweed albums. He left the band in 2014 to pursue a solo career and released three albums, After Folk Songs (2005), The Balladeer Hunter (2012), and KING (2017).

Mike’s sister Ali revealed the news on Facebook: “We are absolutely devastated to inform you of the passing of our beloved brother, son, uncle and dearest friend Mike. “We know how much he and his music meant to so many of you and there’s nothing we can say to make this hurt any less. “We miss you and love you so much, Mike.”

The reaction from the local music community has been one of disbelief. Close friend, Something For Kate’s Paul Dempsey paid tribute to Mike on social media yesterday.
“Mike Noga was one of the funniest people I have ever known. He was also a ridiculously great all-rounder musician and songwriter and as well as watching him blow my mind with The Drones, I had the great pleasure of working with him both in my solo band, as a touring buddy and as producer on his ‘KING’ album. But whatever we were doing, mostly we were just laughing like idiots. By the time we finished recording KING in my spare room we could virtually hold entire conversations in a ‘private joke’ language that no one else would understand. I am going to miss those conversations.
Our love and thoughts go out to his family and friends. xo”

On his Double J radio show today, Tim Rogers farewelled Noga with the words, “See you on the Lost Highway, dear boy…”

Longtime friend Kim Salmon posted a Youtube clip on Facebook of one of Mike’s songs, ‘Long Summer Days’ with the following words:
“It’s seems any song is unbearably sad this week. I was looking for a song by my fellow Stomp warehouse worker Mike Noga. It was called Stolen Day – it was about taking a sickie from the endless days of clowning round, taking the piss and, oh yeah….. packing boxes. It was on Folk Songs. I couldn’t find it on youtube but this one is equally poignant. I don’t miss the box packing but I miss the clowning and piss taking, I miss all my fellow workers but right now.. most of all I miss YOU mate!”

Australian Musician got to know Mike back in 2008 when The Drones guest edited an issue of the magazine. One of our favourite articles of the issue was Mike’s collection of hotel bed photos and the stories that came with them. Mike photographed every hotel bed he slept in on tour, with a view to collating them one day into a book. Unfortunately that never happened but you can view the article and some of the photos HERE

Last time we spoke to Mike was for the promotion of his King album, which you can view HERE

Mike Noga’s fourth solo album Open Fire was made in the US late last year with Low founder Alan Sparhawk doing production. The album is scheduled for release in early 2021 through Part Time Records to which he signed in July.

We remember Mike as a friendly and extremely talented guy with a wicked sense of humour. Condolences to Mike’s family. RIP our friend

AMEX LAUNCHES MUSIC BACKERS STUDIO WEEK. WIN RECORDING TIME! 0

Applications open today for the American Express Music Backers Studio Week, which will give 50 Australian musicians sought after access to some of the best recording studios and industry experts in the country. This is the third initiative announced as part of the $1 Million American Express Music Backers Fund.

Music Backers Studio Week launches in response to fresh insights from American Express that found while four in five (79 per cent) Australian musicians said lockdown has allowed them to focus more on their music, almost seven in ten have been unable to access the expertise (68 per cent) or equipment (67 per cent) required to record music because of COVID-19 restrictions. On top of this more than a quarter (27 per cent) said that mentoring from industry experts would be valuable to them in order to continue making music during COVID-19.

Successful Music Backers Studio Week recipients will receive:

Studio access: Each artist, band or group will have a full day at one of 10 recording studios during week commencing 9 November, across the country to enable them to produce their latest demos with some of the nation’s most renowned producers such as Simon Cohen, Rohan Sforcina and Anna Laverty.

Virtual mentoring workshop: Ahead of Music Backers Studio Week, industry leaders in artist management, producing and music media will host a mentoring workshop.

The pandemic has created many new challenges for artists with 64 per cent of them releasing no or less music than originally planned since March. As a result, the industry is facing a gap in new music. Following the week in studio, the Music Backers Studio Week judging panel will review all recorded tracks and select one recipient artist, band or group to be awarded a $5,000 grant to go towards releasing and promoting their new track.

Nick Yates, Senior Artist Manager, Unified Music Group and Studio Week workshop host comments: “The pandemic has impacted artists hard; it has made creating and releasing music, and connecting with fans, more challenging than ever. This latest initiative from American Express will provide signed and un-signed artists the opportunity they need to keep doing what they do best, and in turn ensure the country is able to continue to listen to new music.”

Music Backers Studio Week recipients will gain access to the some of the most valued resources they need to help them continue making music during the pandemic. When asked where funding support would be most valued, artists listed recording studio time (43 per cent), marketing/ publicity (37 per cent) and access to producers (32 per cent) as their top three.

Simon Cohen, Studios 301 SYDNEY, Producer and Engineer says: “For an artist, time in a quality studio to create and collaborate is priceless, especially during these current times. Due to pandemic restrictions, many Australian musicians have been unable to access the expertise they need to create and finalise their music. The American Express Music Backers Studio Week will give artists a much-needed boost by providing them with full access to equipment, sound engineers and producers, like myself.”

The pandemic is not only impacting artists but music lovers too, as two in five (43 per cent) Australians are concerned the impact of COVID-19 will cause their favourite artists to release music less frequently, and three in ten (30 per cent) are concerned their favourite artists will stop creating music.

The $1 Million American Express Music Backers Fund, the next evolution of the 2018-19 American Express Music Backers Program, launched earlier this month with two initiatives; Nominate a Mate who has been doing something great for music to receive $1,500*, and Grants between $2,000 to $50,000designed to support music businesses and artists. Both initiatives are still open for applications.

Applications for Music Backers Studio Week are now also open and close on Sunday 13 Sept 2020, 11.59pm AEDT. To get involved and to learn more, visit: www.amex.com.au/MusicBackers.

Terms and conditions apply

WINTER NAMM 2021 CANCELLED. BELIEVE IN MUSIC WEEK ANNOUNCED 0

As many had feared, it was with much sadness that today we received official news of the cancellation of the physical 2021 Winter NAMM Show. However, in this morning’s video announcement NAMM CEO Joe Lamond asked the global music products industry to still come together in January for their virtual event Believe in Music Week.

“We’ve held off a long as we could but the reality is, there is no path forward at this time to bring our industry family together safely in Southern California at the NAMM Show,” said Joe Lamond.

“It’s hard to imagine isn’t it, it’s the first time not had a physical gathering in almost in 80 years and just like back then in times of trouble, the world has turned to music, the one thing everyone could believe in.”

“Today I would like to introduce Believe in Music Week, our global online gathering to unify and support the people that bring music to the world. This virtual event scheduled for our show dates in January will be fun, interactive and productive, using state of the art technology to connect us all… robust market place, to launch new products, share your brand story, ‘Believe in Music’ will also feature networking with AI facilitated match making for our buyers and our sellers… education for all our sectors of the industry and live music and concerts to raise awareness and financial support for our NAMM family, especially those in the live event and tour industry which has seen their world come to a halt with the global pandemic.”

“While in my opinion nothing can compare to the excitement of our global family reunion at the NAMM Show, this foray into the virtual world has been an exciting project and in some ways could bring new value to all involved .. pretty exciting and likely something we would not have jumped into had we not been forced to. We must all adapt and change I guess and why does that remind me of every NAMM U Session from the past decade?”

“While we are not out of the pandemic woods yet and we will likely see more news before it is over, Believe in Music will be a critical step for our industry to help us prepare for the new year and new opportunities.”

“We’ll have much more to share in the coming days but in the meantime let’s ll do our best to take care of each other. Many have thought of the NAMM community as a global family and being there for each other is just what family do right? Especially in times like this. In a world filled with uncertainty there is one thing that we can believe in and that’s music and we believe in the future of music and we believe in the future of our industry and we look forward to seeing you in January.”

Our association with our media, Australian Musician online, looks forward to participating in, supporting and covering Believe in Music Week and bringing you the latest product releases, performances and other news that comes out of this exciting week. Standby for more Believe in Music Week news as it comes to hand.

#BelieveInMusicWeek

WATCH: NATHAN CAVALERI ON HIS SINGLE 'BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT' 0

Interview Preview
WATCH: NATHAN CAVALERI ON HIS SINGLE 'BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT'
In this video snippet Nathan Cavaleri chats about the vintage guitar used on his new single Before You Check Out from his upcoming album Demons, released on August 6 (full interview closer to album release) #harmony #fenderguitars #gibsonguitars #fenderamps WATCH HERE

WATCH: PAUL KELLY & PAUL GRABOWSKY ‘PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LIGHT ON’ INTERVIEW 0

Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky today (July 31) release their collaborative album ‘Please Leave Your Light On’, which sees Kelly performing selections of his catalogue with new interpretations by Grabowsky on piano. Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips caught up with them both to discuss the making of the album

https://www.paulkellystore.com.au/

PAUL GRABOWSKY
Paul K and I first met in 1995 when I was making a series of television programs for the ABC about different aspect of music-making called ‘Access All Areas’. We filmed two different segments with him. One paired him with some throat singers from Tuva on a version of ‘Maralinga’, shot somewhere near Woomera on a train full of artists on their way to WOMAD. The other was a one-on-one interview which we shot in St Kilda; we talked about song writing. I was struck by the fact that Paul is driven by a similar impulse to my own, namely an ongoing fascination with music in its many forms. This deep curiosity has in recent years seen him explore different genres, introduce his love of poetry to his wide and receptive fan base, and record with me.

We first worked together on a project with the Australian Art Orchestra, called Meet Me in the Middle of the Air. That involved a ten-piece ensemble, small gospel choir, Vika and Linda Bull and Paul, singing my arrangements of songs of his which all had biblical references. It was great fun, and we toured it nationally in 2010.

Recently, I was asked to curate a series of concerts at the UKARIA Cultural Centre in Mt Barker, SA, in which I work in duo settings with various singers. I asked Paul and he agreed. It was apparent from the outset that the music was clicking, so Paul proposed that we record it.  The recording took place at Monash Uni Clayton Campus late in 2019 in a beautiful room that I had a hand in designing, called the David Li Sound Gallery. We were there for three days; it was all very relaxed.

All of the songs were already part of Paul’s extensive catalogue. I transcribed them, and adapted them for the piano/voice combination. In addition, I threw in a ballad by Cole Porter called ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’, which Paul delivers in an understated, sensitive way. The album has a classic ‘fireside’ feel, influenced by the Frank Sinatra/Nelson Riddle collaborations (particularly ‘In the Wee Small Hours’) and the Tony Bennett/ Bill Evans recordings (particular favourites of mine). The performances are intimate, and shine a light on lyrical moments from the Kelly oeuvre. Paul is a generous collaborator, always listening closely to what I am doing, and giving me the freedom to bring my own interpretation to the songs. I think people will hear, and hopefully enjoy, the deep communication that we are bringing to the performances.

PAUL KELLY
Paul G didn’t mention that we had worked together once before our Meet Me In the Middle of the Air collaboration. Sometime in the early nineties I was booked to perform my song Winter Coat on the Steve Vizard show. Paul was the musical director and had done a beautiful string arrangement which we ran through with the players – mostly young music students – at the sound check in the afternoon. It was all sounding really good. Come the performance, though, one of the violinists came in a bar early (or a bar late, I don’t remember which) and, doggedly fixed on the music in front of him, failed to adjust and so played the music one bar out all the way to the end of the song. I remember thinking ,“We can’t stop this, we’re live on national TV, so I’ll just keep singing. Surely, he’ll realize he’s out and stop and pick it up again in the right spot!” That didn’t happen, though, and a strange dissonance rang out all around the country. Weirdly, it kind of worked. The off-kilterness seemed to go with the lyrics. And, who knows, perhaps there are composers out there today who have been exploring experimental harmonic paths ever since.

So, of course, Winter Coat was the first song on my list when we started discussing titles for this record. We served it up straight this time but that first performance together, in a way, set a template for our collaborations since. The reason I love working with Paul is that he always surprises me. He’s endlessly fertile, turning my songs inside out and upside down (to quote Diana Ross) and finding things in them I didn’t know were there. And that makes me sing them differently. Singing with Paul is like walking a tightrope. It’s as if we are acrobats together. We have to pay serious attention to one another to pull the songs off. I like that.

As Paul mentioned, all the songs except one were written by me over many years. The most recent one, True To You, opens the album with a little nod to the Gershwin Brothers and it’s the only song that hasn’t appeared in another form on a previous record. We chose the other songs with a mind to their suitability for direct address, close, concentrated performance and room for silence to draw the listener in.
So, light the fire, make a hearty one-pot meal for the one you love, open a bottle of wine and get comfortable. Now drop the needle and turn up the stereo. There’s plenty of space here for all.  PK

VANESSA AMOROSI: ‘THE BLACKLISTED COLLECTION’ INTERVIEW 0

Vanessa Amorosi first came to our attention as the teenage pop sensation who blew us away in the year 2000 with her huge vocal performance on the hit single ‘Absolutely Everybody’, off her platinum selling debut album The Power. That album notched up six nominations at the ARIA awards and led to her singing “Heroes Live Forever” at the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics to great acclaim before a global TV viewing audience of billions.

Two decades and several acclaimed albums down the track, Vanessa remains one of Australia’s most exciting singers. Known for her dynamic vocal range, Vanessa has gone on to sell over two million records worldwide. After an extended recording hiatus, Vanessa returned in 2019 with the critically acclaimed album ‘Back to Love’, which was recorded in various studios around LA. Now in 2020, amid the global pandemic Vanessa is back again with a new album, The Blacklisted Collection, an assortment of songs from her archives which for one reason or another, didn’t previously fit any of the projects she had been working on. The lockdown finally gave her the opportunity to revisit these songs and give them the attention they deserved.

From her home studio in LA, Vanessa kindly agreed to answer some questions for us about the album, her creative process and her gear.

The Blacklisted Collection is out now https://www.vanessaamorosi.com/