Save the Hopetoun Hotel

I discovered this last night. This is a real blow for Sydney - especially at a time when we are trying to promote new music, live venues and small bars.

For your information, I have cut and paste information from the Facebook group which you can join HERE.


THIS JUST IN:
Update from Sydney City

“The City understands that NSW Police, not Council, recently issued a $3000 penalty infringement notice to the Hopetoun for failure to provide adequate security personnel in accordance with their development consent. This is a requirement of the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing.

"The decision to close the Hopetoun appears to have been made by hotel management. The City has not issued any order for the premises to close.

“The City has been working cooperatively with the licensee of the Hopetoun for the past few months to allow them to keep trading while maintaining public safety , and will continue to work with the licensee to resolve safety issues concerning CCTV security and structural deficiencies."

So the Hopetoun Hotel has closed until further notice which is terrible for the Sydney and Australian independent music scene. Putting it simply, we need to save the Hopetoun Hotel

In the past it has played host to almost all great Australian bands including Dappled Cities, Youth Group, Pivot, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Decoder Ring, Bluejuice, Kes Band, Crayon Fields, Jack Ladder, Charge Group, Grey Daturas, Fabulous Diamonds, Spod, The Laurels, Tucker B's, Des Miller, Seekae, Ghosts of Television, Sui Zhen, Clue to Kalo, Ned Collette, The Lucksmiths, Darren Hanlon, The John Steel Singers, Beaches and so so many others.

In addition, great international musicians such as Beach House, Jens Lekman, Feist, Xiu Xiu, Jeremy Jay, Bachelorette, Malcolm Middleton, Jeffrey Lewis, The Tallest Man on Earth, Smog, David Kilgour, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, The Bats, Jason Molina, Spoon, Okkervil River, M. Ward and Robert Schneider have all played there.

Don't let Sydney lose a major cultural institution. Save The Hopetoun.

A nice facebook brainstorm for some realistic ways that people can save the Hopetoun would be awesome.
As this group is already showing, there is an immense amount of love for the Hopetoun from all over Sydney and beyond. Let's try to channel it into something practical and effective.

As far as we know, the reasons for closure are the follow:
- Money
- Years of having no security at a licensed venue
- Cost of repairs to the building
- Not being able to sell the building
- Money
- Money

Jack Shit sez:
- council requires 2 licensed security guards when the bands are playing (security guards were there for the first time on weekend)
- Ongoing issues with noise
- Facilitate disabled
- Sprinklers (fire)

TWITTER US: @savethehoey

--

An email courtesy of Tim Appleby:
Send to cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au and council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

It has been brought to our attention that the beloved Hopetoun Hotel on the corner of Bourke and Fitzroy Sts in Surry Hills has been closed until further notice. A terribly disappointing fact considering the Council's seemingly strong commitment to the arts and local music community. I ask that you provide the community at large with a detailed analysis of the situation including a list of what needs to be done to rectify any current problems. I understand the venue has been operating outside of normal venue restrictions however I know the community would be more than happy to assist in its compliance. In saying that, the venue has operated similarly for decades without any major problems.

Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. The City of Sydney's music scene would suffer a great loss without this legendary venue.
Kind Regards
xx

The Speech of Angels Ignored

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more." George Byron


This is a travesty of epic proportions and should be on the front page of every daily rag around the country. A Current Affair should be stalking Arts & Education Ministers from Perth to Sydney. My mate Alan Jones should be concerning himself with something important like this. In fact, we should be on the street protesting.

"A major national review of Australian school music in 2005 estimated that about 10% of Australian schools have no music program of any kind," Stephen Crittenden has reported in his latest broadcast for Radio National's Background Briefing.

Crittenden interviews Richard Letts, the executive director of the Music Council of Australia, who explains that seven years ago they did a national study and "found that, on average, people who are training to be primary classroom teachers got 23 hours of instruction in music and music pedagogy. With that 23 hours, they have to be ready to teach six years of music."

That's right. A child in this country can be taught music for six formative years at primary school by people who have learnt the art in just 23 hours.

No wonder Richard Tognetti calls music education in Australia 'neanderthal'.

But wait. It gets better.

35% of primary schools have absolutely no music in New South Wales. The data across the nation, according to Crittenden's report, is not much better.

Crittenden compares what's happening in Australia with what is happening in a country just across the Pacific - Venezuela.

"Established in 1975, El Sistema [Venezuela's national system of youth and children's orchestras and choirs] was originally conceived as a social program for young people in Venezuela's crime- and drug-ridden slums. It's an intensive after-school program that takes children from 2 years old to 20, with much of the tuition provided by young people who are graduates of the program.

"Because of El Sistema, Venezuela is now a country awash with music — in fact it now has more than 200 youth orchestras," he reports.

But its not just quantity Venezuela is producing - it's quality as well. Gustavo Dudamel, a 28-year-old Venezuelan has just been appointed chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

It's worth taking an hour out of your day to hear this report which is quite an astonishing snapshot into the current state of affairs in music education in this first world nation known as 'Australia'.

I'd be very interested to hear how you think this compares to other arts education programmes - particularly theatre and the visual arts.

Break New Ground

Preview as published in the Sun-Herald.

It’s not just the footy field where passions run high between rival states. In the world of Hip Hop the antagonism is just as in-yer-face as any testosterone fuelled game of Rugby League.

“I feel like I’m invading when I go to other states,” says Leah Tilney (aka B*Girl Flix) a Brisbane based breakdancer who will battle with groups from around the country during Platform 2, a two day Hip Hop festival hosted by CarriageWorks.

“Off stage we are all friends, but when we’re battling…” Tilney trails off, clearly looking forward to competing against the very best breakdancing crews for the second year in a row.

“Queenslanders are super friendly compared to the other states. We’re also known for big power moves and big acrobatic head spins,” she explains. “Sydney people are more about style.”

Break dancing is only one part of the hip-hop culture which first emerged in New York during the 1970s.

The term refers to the four key elements of MC-ing, DJ-ing, graffiti art and breaking (or b-boying or b-girling) - each to be showcased during the festival.

“Hip Hop has really found its own voice in Australia,” says the director and organiser of the festival Nick Power (aka B*boy Rely). “We’ve got a lot of talent and artistic ability.”

Exported here in the 80s, its popularity has skyrocketed in recent times particularly within western Sydney and among young indigenous communities. Big names synonymous with the local movement such as Good Buddha, Morganics, Killer Queenz and The Last Kinection will descend on the old railway yards site in Eveleigh (near Redfern) for the weekend.

“Turntables now outsell guitars,” Power says. “The hip hop scene has been rolling along for over 20 years but what’s great now is that a place like CarriageWorks and even the Opera House are opening their doors and saying: ‘We want to be a part of this.'”

For Power, who will be joined by over 70 artists over the weekend, hip-hop is a legitimate art form that young people identify with more than other mainstream activities.

“For young men, it’s a great thing,” Power explains. “For instance, in dance, high school teachers will ring me up and say ‘I can’t get any boys to dance’ and I come out and say 'I’m a b-boy' and they’ll have thirty boys line up straight away.”

“It’s got to the point that if you’re the best b-boy in the school you’re now on par with the football captain. It’s become a stature thing,” he says.

It seems the days when parents just dropped their kids off to footy or ballet training are disappearing. Tilney, who earns most of her living from teaching breakdancing at centres and schools throughout Brisbane, has classes with a starting age of just 6.

“I’m amazed at how quickly the art form has taken off in the last five years,” she says. “Parents and schools are ringing up all the time now trying to get their kids in. It’s better than footy.”


The Platform 2 Hip-Hop festival takes places at CarriageWorks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, on March 27, from 7.30pm and March 28, from 2pm. Phone 1300 723 038 or see carriageworks.com.au.

Count it. One Billion Dollars.

In today's paper;

"THE State Government has agreed to fund a $1 billion project to finally bring the Sydney Opera House in line with its designer's vision.

"Although a deal has yet to be signed with the Opera House board, Treasury officials indicated two weeks ago that the Government was willing to provide the money needed for the restoration."

One billion dollars. That's one expensive photo opportunity.

The saddest part of this is that only two months ago the State Government through their funding agency, Arts NSW, signed off on the death of four major regional music festivals - the Bellingen Jazz Festival, the Tyalgum Festival, the Bangalow Festival and the Camden Haven Music Festival.

To give this some perspective, the Bellingen Jazz Festival last year received $11,000. Similar amounts were cut from these other festivals.

At the time, director of the Camden Haven Music Festival Alvena Ferguson said, "while the Sydney Festival, which engages mainly overseas performers, received in excess of $4 million, many regional events such as ours, which contribute so much to the economic and cultural life of country communities, have not been supported".

No doubt Mrs Ferguson will be breathless at today's announcement.

Just imagine for a second what you would do with $1 Billion. We all know there are major problems at the Opera House which need to be rectified. We all know of the importance of this cultural icon which is recognisable around the world. But at a time when household income is dropping and a recession is about to take hold, wouldn't this money be better spent on community, regional and grass roots arts and music programmes?

$1 Billion could go to Carriageworks to assist them in properly paying young artists for their festivals.

$1 Billion could go to every independent theatre production in the state to assist them in staging costs thereby increasing the share of box office revenue for co-operatives.

$1 Billion could reinstate the role of regional performing arts organisations such as the Northern Rivers Performing Arts to create and tell local stories.

$1 Billion could assist Councils across the state to implement programmes of creative renewal such as the one now happening with Renew Newcastle.

$1 Billion could be filtered to local community theatres like ShopFront to expand their youth contemporary arts programmes.

$1 Billion could finance the renovations and rebuilding of theatres such as Marian Street and the New Theatre.

$1 Billion could see visual and performing arts programmes implemented in every youth centre in the state.

$1 Billion could see more community access to major arts events and productions off-setting the ticket price for those on lower incomes.

$1 Billion could see the purchase and up keep of the diminishing amount of arts spaces and studios in the inner city.

$1 Billion could finance a state-wide Don Dunstan style of public art programme throughout the state.

$1 Billion could provide musical instruments for every kid in every primary school.

$1 Billion would totally revolutionise the way the arts and music are created and consumed within our state.

Where would you like the $1 Billion to go?

Dust off those tutus

This blog is now in its third year which also means we are turning another fresh page of performance as each of the companies launch into their programmes for 2009.

As our economy readies itself to take a huge punch in the guts, '09 has a different flavour to it than previous years. You won't have seen to much evidence of it just yet but you can be assured cultural organisations across the country will really start to feel the heat by the end of year. (Maybe Kookaburra was our canary in the mines with their collapse a few months ago.)


As Government support shrinks and corporate sponsors dry up, programs will inevitably alter, staffing will become limited and projects will be smaller. On a social level, this is going to be a devastating couple of years. Creatively, it's a god send.

In a recent post, Marcus Westbury makes an excellent case for the creative benefit of a recession as he reflects on what the 90s meant for Melbourne's artists and musicians.

Looking at a post boom Melbourne it is easy to forget how much of what i love about this city is the product of the last great recession of the early 90s. Its laneway bars, its smart graffiti, its living CBD, its distinctive inner suburbs of eclectic shops and retail strips, its creative community are not the product of arts agencies or central planning but of the fertile ground, cheap space, and hard working initiative of a decade ago. The city is a rich ecology not created through central planning but grown in economic detritus and forged in the harsh and searing furnace of hard times.

He is absolutely right. NSW has been in recession for around twelve months and already artists are answering the call by setting up cheap initiatives, breaking into illegal spaces and creating new forms of arts creativity. It has only just began and it's burgeoning - but thank the Lord - it has started after a drought of ten years.

This newest financial crisis will no doubt spur things on a bit more.

As the learned Mr Westbury points out;

Yet recessions can be great times for low budget cultural initiatives. Space - the almost impossible to find holy grail of artists in the boom times - becomes relatively cheap and available. Higher levels of unemployment means that talent has more time to experiment and innovate and less temptation (or opportunity) to chase big bucks elsewhere. Large scale cultural production - with it’s expensive overheads and high costs - becomes relatively more difficult. Small scale production - which works best when there is a very high ratio of initiative and labour to expenses and overheads - benefits immensely from the rapidly falling costs.

Just look at what is happening post-Lanfranchi's; warehouses around Surry Hills, Redfern and Newtown are opening up, the brilliant Imperial Panda Festival is growing and the POPE license is finally dead. Space and talent are opening up.

Hopefully Federal and State Governments will follow the lead and stop constantly throwing money at photo opportunity funding initiatives and start supporting local artists and projects to give the industry more sustainability and a creative ecology.

For those of you with a taste for the larger budget productions, enjoy 09 because it will be the last for a while.

Which brings me to the whip-round of the performance calendar across Sydney...

Fine - Keep it a secret

I received the below email yesterday;

This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by Asphalt Tango Records claiming that this material is infringing:

Fanfare Ciocarlia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmmWUnwXkLM

Please Note: Repeat incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your account and all videos uploaded to that account. In order to prevent this from happening, please delete any videos to which you do not own the rights, and refrain from uploading additional videos that infringe on the copyrights of others. For more information about YouTube's copyright policy, please read the Copyright Tips guide.

If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.

Be aware that there may be adverse legal consequences in your country if you make a false or bad faith allegation of copyright infringement by using this process.
Sincerely,
YouTube, Inc.

© 2009 YouTube, LLC


Compare this attitude to the one employed by the far more successful band - Cinematic Orchestra - who encourage music videos and live performances placed on YouTube and you can see why they are more world renown. They, too, are at the Sydney Festival.

Bare in mind that the 30 second video I placed on YouTube was a public performance in the foyer of a theatre and not in a paid venue. Also consider the great light I put the band in, with most of the video capturing members of the public clapping and smiling, dancing and cheering and you will maybe start to understand my total disbelief.

The management of Asphalt Tango maybe need to consider entering the 21st Century by starting to understand the workings of the new media and how it can be successfully utilised as a vehicle for modern day marketing and publicity.

So, instead of Gypsy Kings and Queens, I have placed for your enjoyment a clip from the far more successful Goran Bregovic and his Weddings and Funeral Band who staged a much better concert last year in Sydney. .

Shut the gate!

It took a thirty-seven piece band, orchestra and choir to do it, but finally I have emerged from my jet-lag cloud landing with a thud back into Sydney-time.

Made up of two beautiful Bulgarian singers, a fifteen piece all male choir from Serbia, a string orchestra of twelve and a six-piece brass band - this was, of course, Goran Bregovic's Tales and Songs from Weddings and Funerals at the Sydney Opera House.

It is pretty hard to get lazy Sydney-siders off their seats and dancing in the aisles, but eventually as the Balkan beats increased it got too much for many and soon the Concert Hall was throbbing.

Goran Bregovic has a strange relationship with people from the countries of ex-Yugoslavia. (Ex-Yugoslavia being Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro). A Bosnian himself with a Serbian mother and Croatian father, his music is steeped in that idea of Yugoslavia - the united southern slavs - a world which was once united, a world of his youth, a world that has ruptured and turned in on itself, a world that doesn't exist anymore ... except maybe in the minds of those that left years ago.

For audiences around the world and for migrants from the Balkan region who now live in countries like Australia it taps into a huge sense of nostalgia. Tales and Songs from Weddings and Funerals is quite a good title for what the music of Goran Bregovic represents. These ancient songs, often with Gypsy roots, are like anthems for the families, villages and nations of Yugoslavia.

A Serbian friend of mine once told me that all the songs of Yugoslavia are either about love or drinking - or both. And where else better than a good Balkan wedding or funeral do you find a proliferation of love and drinking?

But Bregovic is not so popular back home. He is victim to what one may call the tall-poppy syndrome. You see, it's all because he left. He left his home and now lives in Paris.

To many I have spoken with, he stole music from the real genius of Balkan gypsy soul, Saban Bajramovic who died earlier this year. Or as The Independent obituary noted, Saban was "infamously distrustful of the entertainment business – which no doubt often ripped him off". But more importantly, Saban stayed in Serbia.

But all that argy bargy really doesn't matter when it comes down to a concert with Goran Bregovic at the Sydney Opera House. This is quite simply a delight for the ears, the body and the soul. If this type of music doesn't get you clapping, smiling and cheering then you must check your pulse urgently.

But it is not only the big tune favourites that delight the audience, it is the quieter and more spiritual hymn-like songs that unexpectedly floor you. With the ethereal sounds of the two Bulgarian singers (whose names don't seem to be printed anywhere) accompanying some stunning orchestral arrangements, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was absolutely beautiful.

Bregovic, despite what some in his home think of him, is a genius at arrangements. He shifts seamlessly from the big, bold and brash brass sounds to the angelic folk songs without the slightest hesitation. But gradually the sounds increase over the course of the concert like mercury - and like a good Balkan wedding without any denouement. The encore alone is simply the best I have ever experienced at a concert.

This is not to be missed. He plays again at the Opera House tomorrow night and again at the Melbourne Arts Festival on Monday.

Who needs journalists anyway?

Tom Waits sorting it out.

And here it is...!

MEDIA RELEASE
Sydney Opera House presents
GORAN BREGOVIC
Tales and Songs for Weddings and Funerals
Tuesday 14 October
Presented in association with Melbourne International Arts Festival

“[Balkan Gypsy] brass bands are party generators, and Mr. Bregovic’s compositions let them do their job.” NEW YORK TIMES

“Magnificent …one of the greatest marvels to be heard on stage today”
LA VANGUARDIA, Barcelona

“World avant-garde musical hybrid” THE GUARDIAN

The Balkan’s greatest exponent of modern gypsy music, GORAN BREGOVIC performs his world famous hits with a party-generating 37 piece ensemble for the first time ever in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on October 14.

A superstar in Europe, and hailed a genius by his contemporaries, GORAN BREGOVIC is lauded as much for his symphonic film scores (including Emir Kusturica’s “Time of the Gypsies”, “Arizona Dream” and “Underground”) as his pop and world music collaborations (from Iggy Pop to Cesaria Evora), traversing a tightrope between an unwavering passion for his classical homeland traditions and the edginess of a rebel punk-rocker.

His irreverent concerts delight audiences with sublime renditions of his film compositions to hot-wired revivals of traditional tunes and new fusions of flavours from rock to Balkan Gypsy party sounds that speak straight to the body and heart.

“His art stretches between classicism and Balkan square-dance, the contemporary and the popular, sacred music and the rowdy gypsy brass band - intense, vigorous, colourful, passionate, exotic, fascinating.” El Pais, Spain

A true musical master of our times, Goran Bregovic is set to cast his magic for the first time ever in the setting of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Audiences who loved his film scores can’t afford to miss the heady live experience of this exclusive Sydney concert.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:
Venue: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Date: Tuesday 14th October, 2008
Time: 8pm
Prices: $49 - $120
Bookings: 9250 7777 or sydneyoperahouse.com
Goran Bregovic is presented as part of the Hemispheres global music series at Sydney Opera House.

The forgotten renaissance

This is the very first time that I have admitted to something so publicly but last night I had the fortune to indulge in one of my secret passions that very few know about - choral music.

It's strange the things that makes one tick. Of all the art forms, of all the performance, of all of the ways to express our humanity, to my mind nothing beats the emotion of experiencing live choral music.

And last night was one of those enigmatic evenings that I have been thinking about all day today.

As part of a Symposium on Spanish liturgical music manuscripts held by the University of Sydney a concert was held at the beautiful Christ Church St Laurence in Railway Square.

Sponsored by Instituto Cervantes and the Consulate General of Spain, the Singers of St Laurence led by director Neil McEwan enveloped the church in the pure and simple beauty of the human voice in a concert entitled Solving the Salamanca Riddle. Battling the roar of trucks and cars motoring up George Street they soon had you meditating through the chants of some of the most revered composers of the Salamanca Cathedral; Vivanco, Mateo Flecha, Guerrero and Morales.

What was most astonishing about the evening was that the choir performed some chants that have not been heard for nearly 400 years. The very thought, the very concept, the very idea of this historical moment had this audience member entirely riveted.

Music is an oft forgotten aspect of the late Middle Ages and early renaissance period, with the collective human memory tending to only think about the advances in visual arts and sculpture. However, last night we experienced the commissions of Popes, Cardinals and Priests that were just as important, if not more so, than the decorations of their holy shrines.

What was quite beautiful about the programming of the event was that it delicately swept over the slight progressions that choral music had between the three ages of the medieval, the baroque and the renaissance. The way that harmonies became more complicated and the way that the chant, primarily for one voice, expanded to include the full range of vocals.

It was one of those rare evenings. Beautiful, soulful and utterly urbane.


Music from Spain for the Cathedral, Court, City and Cloister

PROGRAMME

1. Motet. Circumdederunt me (Morales)

2. Invitatory chant (St. Barbara) From Salamanca Cathedral Ms 10.

3. Gloria Laus (chant/polyphony) From Seville Cathedral Manuscript.

4. Chant: Alleluia (St. Barbara) From Salamanca Cathedral Ms 10.

5. Mensural Credo from Fisher Ms 327.

6. Offertory Motets:
i) O crux ave (Gabriel Mena)
ii) Dum complerentur

7. i) Salamanca Lamentations chant: Feria VI/Lectio 2 From Fisher Ms 335.
ii) Motet: Versa est in Luctum (Vivanco).

8. Communion Motet: O Domine Jesu (Guerrero).

9. Ensalada El Toro (Mateo Flecha).


Image: The so-called 'Turkey manuscript' was used in celebrations of the feast of Christmas. The pages are made of calf skin (vellum) and many of the illuminated illustrations are gold.

What's the worst kept secret of the Melbourne International Arts Festival?

Goran Bregovic is coming!

STC is getting down and dirty

I have received two really interesting press releases from the Sydney Theatre Company in as many weeks.

From their first release, the company is taking the bold step and putting on late night live music down at their Dickson Street home. It is billed as "a new regular series of free post-show gigs".

It's good that this sort of stuff is starting to happen in our performance spaces around the city and it is great that the STC is taking the lead. I just wish it was more regular and more widespread.

The first gig was last weekend and showcased Justine Clarke and The Kents who performed "a distilled blend of 60s jazz, pop and bossa".

There will be another gig in a month's time, so contact the STC if you want more info.

The second release which they sent out today really cheered my soul - and thank god finally, finally, finally someone is putting this film on!

I paste the release for you below.

STCinema
presents

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Saturday 28 June at 1.30pm
Sydney Theatre
All tickets $10

STCinema returns in June when Sydney Theatre and Bell Shakespeare co-present Poor Theatre’s acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Hamlet.

Filmed in the back streets of Melbourne, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark played to sell-out crowds at the 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival and earlier this year Malthouse Theatre hosted a season of encore screenings.

Directly following the screening at Sydney Theatre, there will be a panel discussion featuring Marion Potts (currently directing Bell Shakespeare’s interpretation of Hamlet), Oscar Redding, the director of Poor Theatre’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and actor/director Jeremy Sims, who took on both the title role and the role of director in Pork Chop Productions’ memorable theatre production.

STCinema’s screening of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark follows successful screenings last year of Riflemind-related films curated by Andrew Upton and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sydney Theatre’s Australian premiere screening of I’m Not There.


Venue Sydney Theatre, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Date Saturday 28 June 2008 at 1:30pm
Cost All tickets $10

Bookings (02) 9520 1999 or sydneytheatre.org.au


If you can recall Theatre Notes raved about this film which is a pretty good impetus.


Image: Beth Buckanan (Ophelia) & Richard Pyros (Hamlet)

Emir Kusturica now on sale

I may as well be on the payroll for the Sydney Opera House the way that I am plugging their Emir Kusturica and the No Smoking Orchestra concert - but my excitement for this one-off event is getting a little uncontrollable - and tickets are on sale now!

Recently I had some Slovenian friends come to Sydney for a holiday and all of a sudden I have been filled with a new found nostalgia for my adopted second home. Just hearing their unique accents and reflecting on this wonderful peninsula made me a little home-sick. Well - home sick for somewhere I used to live.

Kusturica, although not Slovenian, but part of the great Yugoslavian tradition in music and culture is an enormous figure not only in that corner of the world but throughout Europe and North America.

The concert is described by the Opera House marketing collateral as;

Riotous, raucous and infectiously compelling, this rambunctious Balkan 10-piece gypsy-punk-rock band ... will raise the roof of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

I understand that Kusturica, the director of Black Cat White Cat and Underground, hates flying with a passion and will do all that he can to avoid it. North America he reaches by boat if he can and throughout Europe it's trains.

So I can only imagine how he is feeling when the only way to get to Sydney is by plane - well, it's either that or some hideous Russian tanker that's about to rust away.

I wrote a piece about the No Smoking Orchestra not so long ago, so I am assuming that all of you will be organising your friends to now head down to House on 29 June. I would also encourage you to go to the Balkan restaurants on Oxford Street if you are thinking about dinner pre or post show. I can especially recommend the cevapcici, Balkan salad and the octupus if you need some advice.

This is sure to be the concert of the year. I'd get in, get early and get a bit of Balkan in your blood. Emir Kusturica is coming!

To get a taste, here are some lyrics with youtube song below - from the Balkan man;

Was Romeo really a Jerk

No greater love Romeo and Juliet
But Shakespeare died and years passed by
Juliet knows everything about Romeo
Except why he tells her no at night

You know that beggars should not be choosers
Romeo's job has no social term
Jerking off is made for the losers
Instead of wit he sells his sperm

And every day just a same
Romeo's shame in black suitcase
and every day...

I` m not Romeo
Maybe you are Juliet
but I` m not Romeo

Romeo is a poor refugee
he's just another one to bite the dust
Juliet measures time by diamonds on her watch
They come together by the force of lust

And every day just a same
Romeo's shame in black suitcase
And every day...

I'm not Romeo
Maybe you are Juliet
but I'm not Romeo

Why do you wake up in sweat dear Romeo
Why does you face turn away from me
What is the pain that you are going trough
What is the secret that I cannot see

Oh I was dreaming I jumped by parashout
And I went down down since my birth
But at the moment I was ready for lending
Oh my God I missed planet Earth

And every day......

2020 Breakaway Group Itching to Fight Garrett

As first published in Crikey.

So incensed are the delegates that attended the Creative Australia strand of the 2020 summit, they are now forming an advocacy group from within to keep a check on the Federal Government.

What's angered the delegates to this point? The censorship of ideas within the Initial Summit Report, which have been replaced by other ideas that were never discussed.

"We got hints this was going to happen when the statement which came out bore no relation to what came from us," one delegate tells Crikey, "It is clear that it came from a pre-existing agenda."

Many of the delegates are still holding their tongues until the final report, which is due out in a few weeks. But that hasn’t stopped the delegates exchanging contact details and setting cyberspace alight with emails, proposals and furious debate about what to do if their real recommendations continue to be ignored.

Some of the ideas put forward by the delegates that have so far been gone missing include:

- The formation of an organisation to work with planners, developers and architects to ensure that good design is a core requirement for every building and public space

- To help develop a design-literate nation by including aesthetics/design as part of the school curriculum and by forming closer links between industry professionals and schools

- To promote creative organisations overseas as soft diplomacy and to assist in advocating with exports like education and business

- Remove barriers and bureaucratic red tape to make funding models and reporting requirements easier

- Increased support for new digital media technologies

- Mandate 80% quota for Australian content by broadcasters in digital delivery with a five-fold increase in support of public broadcasting as a brand for quality with distinctive Australian content

- Develop a whole of industry national screen strategy with government taking culture out of the US Free Trade Agreement

What has amazed the delegates is that the initial report somehow changed ideas like develop "closer links between industry professionals and schools" into "Creativity Summer Schools".

"No-one ever mentioned summer schools," Crikey has been told by another delegate. "And the first time I heard about the Indigenous proposals was when the report was released on the Sunday."

This is not to mention the contentious idea (also published in the initial report) which proposed that creative endeavours be funded "through a 1% creative dividend from all Government Departments for expenditure".

"Everyone in that room knew that Queensland had tried that idea and that it had failed. I don’t know how that got put forward either," the delegate explained.

"I went to the summit with an open mind," another stated. "But every now and again Peter Garrett would come up to each of the groups saying he didn't need to listen to us because he had total faith in us. My scepticism rose each time he said it."

Another delegate added that, "I don't believe that he [Garrett] is bearing ill will and I do think he genuinely wants to listen. But this is compromised by political ambition and his essential powerlessness within the ALP. I wish we had a smarter arts minister."

If 2020 was just a publicity exercise as some commentators have suggested, then the Federal Government may get a lot more than it bargained for.

"The summit has created a motivated group of diverse people who realised that we all have a lot in common," another attendee has told Crikey. "Everyone realised that other people outside the stream were saying they needed the arts."

If the make-up of the advocacy group is anything like the chosen delegates then there should be concern within the arts community at the real lack of practising artists. Almost all of the attendees were from funded institutions and the corporate sector, with gaping holes around music and new media.

Either way, 2020 provided a rare opportunity for the often fragmented Australian arts community to unite and share ideas. Let's just hope that Garrett’s short-staffed and over-worked arts advisers are on their toes because after eleven years of suffocation, the industry is more than determined to get some real results through Government policy.

Disharmony at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music

As first published in Crikey.

You can almost hear the strains of violins coming from the University of Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music. It could even be a major performance of the Ride of the Valkyries, because somebody down at "The Con" is feeling very annoyed.

The big point of contention is Professor Kim Walker who has been Dean of the institution for the last four years. Walker is apparently pushing all the wrong keys because now the Governor of NSW and Chancellor of Sydney University, Marie Bashir has been dragged into the tussle.

Last week, an anonymous letter was forwarded to major media outlets including Crikey, "written on behalf of University of Sydney senior academics and senior management for responsible governance." It contains veiled threats to the popular Governor if she doesn’t withdraw her support for the contentious Dean of the Conservatorium.

What the letter highlights is that the stakes of a simmering problem are getting higher and shows the well-heeled conservatorium community exactly how bad the situation is. Of course, no one will own up to writing the letter, making the anonymous threats and off the record slanging matches all the more brazen.

The letter starts:

Dear Marie,

We are writing to advise you that your support of Kim Walker is misguided and is causing seroius [sic] personal hardship to the staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, to its reputation and to the reputation of the university. You are also bringing your own reputation into disrepute and you are rapidly losing the respect of your colleagues at the The University of Sydney.

What the contents of this letter show is that the person associated with these letters is extremely senior within the University, displayed by the fact that the only time that Bashir would have given her support to Walker would have been at a meeting of the exclusive University Senate.

This is not the first time that Walker has been the subject of media attention and poisonous letters.

Just days before last week’s letter, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Higher Education Reporter, Harriet Alexander revealed that Walker was the subject of plagiarism allegations for the second time in six months and was accused of writing "lecture notes for audiences at a series of talks at the Art Gallery of NSW that contain phrases and sentences identical to those contained in a treatise by two Pulitzer Prize-winning United States historians."

It was only in September last year that Alexander documented allegations of plagiarism against the Dean with a February 2007 report to the conservatorium's college board "containing a number of passages identical to documents from high-ranking officials at Indiana University over recent years."

In fact it was estimated that two-thirds of the text in the report had been plagiarised from Indiana documents. Walker was stood down over the affair until an internal review was completed in July and August of last year.

This new letter, however, pushes the drama to a bigger sphere and now drags the NSW Governor in. The letter also alleges that a string of staff have left the Conservatorium, including three heads of school and even accuses the Dean of financial mismanagement, harassment and bullying.

A senior union official has confirmed with Crikey that the National Tertiary and Education Union (NTEU) "had a myriad of complaints about Walker from staff at the most senior level at the Conservatorium."

Crikey has tried to contact the office of the Governor in regards to the matter with no luck, but the letter that is now circulating throughout Sydney’s arts and music community makes things very plain for Bashir.

"If you do not reconsider your position," the letter goes on, "and withdraw to a neutral place and allow the university to conduct its business, details of your conduct, including your financial support of Walker's legal costs, will be put into the hands of the press where it will be open to public debate."

The allegations are strong, the bile is even stronger and it appears that a Governor hailed by her people as one of the best leaders of her time is about to be forced to dance to a tune that’s more allegro than adagio.

EXCLUSIVE: Emir Kustirica to appear at Sydney Opera House in July

You think Emir Kusturica, you think Black Cat White Cat, you think Underground... well your ever trusty Sydney Arts Journo can confirm that Emir Kusturica will be presented at the Sydney Opera House with The No Smoking Orchestra in July.

Many of you will already know my passion for the Balkan genre and my recent excitement over his new opera... well, the man is appearing with his Balkan band of fiesta in only a few months...!

I can't tell you how excited I am... so instead, youtube links are pasted below... Opa!

What Kusturica is oh-so-famous for...



In Argentina...



Unza Unza Time!



And Pitbull... as in Pitbull TERRIER!!!



The fiesta is about to begin.

The passing of a jazz great

Jackie Orszaczky, the legendary bass guitarist and jazz man died on Sunday.

He passed away at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown after battling lymphoma for nearly two years.

Orszacky was born in Hungary in 1948, where he first showed signs of musical genius while studying classical piano as well as the violin.

From here he evolved into a rock-jazz musician and first toured with his band Syrius to Australia in 1971. Not long after, he emigrated.

From here, Orszacky became a feature on the rock-jazz circuit, supporting bands as a bass guitarist but also composing and creating some of the most innovative and advanced music in the industry.

He leaves as a mentor and major creative influence on all musical genres.

My heart goes out to my dear friends who knew Jackie intimately. May you all continue his beautiful work.

There will be a private service for Jackie on Friday with a public wake on Sunday at 4pm at the Harold Park Hotel.

Tributes can also be made on his website http://www.orszaczky.com/


Image: 1991 portrait of Orszaczky by Georg Toth

PM calls on best and brightest?

It's all over the front page of The Australian today:

"The Prime Minister announced yesterday that 1000 of the nation's 'best and brightest' would be picked to attend a two-day summit in Canberra to articulate radical solutions to the 10 most pressing problems facing the nation over the next decade."

And to my general shock and amazement The Arts gets a guernsey, coming in at number 8 (just after Indigenous Australia and just before Democracy).

It does have to share a place with film and design, but I suppose that if The Arts are considered more important than democracy we shouldn't complain too much.

To be held in April, the weekend forum will aim to propose long term options for the development of Australia towards 2020. Rudd's press release goes on to explain that "this Steering Committee will select up to 100 participants in each of the Summit areas who will attend in a voluntary capacity. The participants will be drawn from business, academia, community and industrial organisations, the media and include a number of individual eminent Australians."

This is where you, dear reader, come in. The last thing we need is for the usual suspects to be lining up and representing 'the arts'. Can you imagine anything worse than a continuation of the status quo? It's enough to make you shudder.

It's very important that a 'real' cross section of the industry needs to be represented at this event in April, not just the institutionalised individuals at the top of the pecking order. You need your James Strong representatives in their bow-ties and jaguars, but you also need your fringe theatre artists. You need your Cate Blanchetts with their business sponsorship deals but you also need your regional arts organisation and their struggling relationship with state governments.

Unfortunately state premiers will be in attendance, so you can look forward to Premier Iemma of New South Wales having a chat with you about the merits of rugby league over opera. So the two day ideas-fest will spend at least one of the days discussing terms of reference.

Unless of course you convince Premier Iemma not to come, explaining to him that there isn't a sport category up for discussion. In fact, maybe he can just stay in Sydney that weekend and check out the footy. Doesn't the rugby league kick off that weekend?

I think there are a number key areas that must be addressed by the two day forum. The first is, of course, the funding structure of the arts with a greater integration of federal, state and local funding. The situation in New South Wales where funding keeps get cut and cut and cut, will soon enough spread to other states and territories. How can greater integration stop this from happening?

A new and fresh vision for the Australia Council must be discussed. The grant application procedures are at times ridiculous and anti-creative and the whole idea around 'peer review' needs to re-evaluated.

One of the other things that could be discussed would be an equivalent of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG). Maybe we could call it the Australian Minor Performing Arts Group (AmPAG), representing artists outside the gates of Troy.

The third area of importance is the state of arts education. This is an area that needs critical attention not only at a school level, but more urgently at a tertiary level. Arts faculties across the country have shrunk and a stream of subjects have disappeared at every institution.

And don't even start me on the National Art School which each year struggles to stay afloat. Just fund the damn thing.

The fourth area of importance is arts reportage. Is the standard offered by our media outlets (I'm looking at you Mr Fairfax and you Ms Rural Press and also you Mr Murdoch) really that good enough and how does it need to be renewed with vigour. And how do we stop the arts section from being just a pit stop for cadet journalists to practice their prose?

The fifth area of importance is greater integration of multicultural arts and collaboration on an international scale. Why is the AsiaLink programme so under utilised for cross-cultural collaboration? What does the Federal Government plan to do about expanding the touring programme for artists and arts organisations? What will be our vision for cultural exports?

There are more and you will be able to make your submissions online, when a website is created for the summit. So don't be silent and don't rely on those that are currently in the ears of government. It does make a difference.


Story UPDATED HERE.

A song from Beirut to start the new year

Well it's been a long time, long time now
since I've seen you smile
and I'll gamble away my fright
and I'll gamble away my time
and in a year, a year or so
this will slip into the sea
well it's been a long time, long time now
since I've seen you smile

nobody raise your voices
just another night in ________
nobody raise their voices
just another night in ________



Indeed. Have a good year!

Beirut Band

Peats Ridge Festival Cancelled

This year's every popular Peats Ridge Festival has been cancelled.

Announcing it on the Peats Ridge Festival website, the sustainable music festival stated that "it is with the greatest regret that we have to announce the cancellation of this year's Peats Ridge Festival".

It goes on to explain that "the highest December rainfall on record, coupled with six months of extremely wet weather has resulted in ground conditions that make it impossible for the Festival to proceed.

"Although the team has done everything in its power to deliver the Festival, at the end of the day the wellbeing of our patrons must come first. In the interests of public safety the organisers and venue owner have had to make this extremely difficult decision."

According to locals, a nearby dam has broken its banks, making the location of the festival a danger to patrons.

The festival which began in 2004 is situated in the Glenworth Valley just by the Popran River only an hour north of Sydney and is the first major music event in Australia to run on bio-diesel and renewable energy.

It is expected that the Peats Ridge Festival will refund all tickets.

For further information check out the Peats Ridge Festival website.

Image Credit: Mark Snelson, peatsridge.com.au