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Ron Tudor and the A.M.M.A

The Models

Venue review – The Crystal Ballroom

Centre Page Minifold

Album Top 30

Records Reviews

Sports at Bombay

Note: just a few short comments on T.A.G.G in anticipation of questions to its aims and editorial policy.

T.A.G.G intends to provide: an accurate listing of when and where bands play; pertinent editorial for gig-goers, musicians and the industry, with regular features such as venue reviews, band profiles, and a look at the people behind the industry; studio recording and equipment information; and advertising which for all areas of Melbourne’s music industry; a subscription service for those who want their regular copy.

T.A.G.G will retain a Melbourne feel about it since only venues and bands here will be considered for review.

If our enthusiasm at T.A.G.G is any indication, success is certain. But we can’t do it without you. So get into it. Ask at your nearest major venue or bottleshop to see if they stock T.A.G.G. Remember it’s free, but there are only 5000 of this issue.

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Ron Tudor (I’m very old – 55″) is the managing director of Fable Records and the chairman of the Australian Music Maker’s Association. He has been in the music industry for 23 years and started at the now-defunct W & G Records as a sales rep. in 1956.

Here we will discuss the AMMA in the first of a series of stories which we will look at

Australian artists are shortly to be given a fairer go on the nation’s airwaves, according to the chairman of the Australian Music-Makers Association, Mr Ron Tudor.

Mr Tudor said last week discussions had been held with the bodies concerned and he expected a quota of 30% Australian content for all radio music shows to be adopted within the next few weeks.

“We took a delegation to the Minister for Post and Telecommunications, Mr Staley, and questioned the delays in implementing a quota which is in line with a recommendation from the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal,” he said.

“We are pushing for a 30% annual quota with an increase of 2 1/2 until the quota reaches 40%.”

The announcement, if made, will be the culmination of much hard work by the A.M.MA. and particularly Mr. Tudor, since the group’s inception last November.

The idea for an association was first mooted three or four years ago, Mr Tudor said. Discussions had been held with various record companies, artists and producers, but nothing had come of it. “I had the opinion for a long time that there was a need for a body to represent the interests of recording acts, especially solo artists, producers, and those other individuals, who, simply through their singleness, could not represent themselves,” he said.

“Then last year we invited about 40 people to a meeting in Sydney to discuss it.” “Thirty-five turned up, signifying that the need was there, and so the association was formed on the spot.

Mr. Tudor emphasised that the association was NOT a union, “We don’t want to cut across any union activities,” he said. With the association’s first aim now everything but fulfilled Mr. Tudor is looking to the future for new members to help “Work for the betterment of Australian talent in their own country.” ” We are now approaching the more contemporary musicians to join up – and Skyhooks and Dragon have been some of the first bands to accept,” he said.

“We are also approaching media people who have dealings with the music industry too.”

The Australian music needs a shot in the arm like the 30% quota, but the path is fraught with more then just the obvious objections from the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters (i.e. commercial radio).

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The federation disagrees strongly with the principles of imposing a quota, claiming that records are programmed according to their merit.

But to Mr. Tudor, comparisons of “merit” are valueless. “A programmer confronted with the choice of an American single which is in the Top Ten at home and a brand new Australian single, which of course has no chartings, will invariably choose the American record,” he said.

“We are not seeking advantages for Australian performers, we just want a more equal level of opportunity.

Mr. Tudor said the Industries Assistance Commission report of 1976 had revealed some interesting facts. “Roughly $2 million in royalties a month leave Australia for the pockets of our overseas counterparts,” he said. “And this is attributable to the effect radio air play has on sales.

“Other countries play a greater percentage of locally produced material – and they do it voluntarily. “In America it’s 95% and in Britain it’s 65%.

“Worldwide success depends on local radio’s attitude to domestic product.” Mr. Tudor said Australian artists were also fighting an age old stigma that “Australians just don’t do anything in show business as well as Americans”

“Many people I’ve spoken to seem to think that they don’t hear many Australian records on the radio because there aren’t many around,” he said. “The truth is that only about 10% of Australian recordings get airplay.”

For more information on the A.M.M.A Mr. Tudor may be contactable at Fable.

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One cold bleak Melbourne morning, lead vocalist–guitarist Sean Kelly and keyboard player Ash Wednesday were contemplating the ins and outs of Models forthcoming trip to Sydney and Brisbane.

But we had no time for such trivia. I wanted a history of Models in ten words. A few ums and ahs later, Ash spoke.

“When we started we had a vague idea of playing and performing inventive pop songs – I think “pop songs” was the phrase talked about at the time back in 1978″

Sean: I hadn’t sung before, so at that stage we didn’t know if I was going to be a mammoth singer or snivelling…” (pauses to sniffle)

Were Models a reaction to the extremes of punk? “The thrill had gone, and the drift of music coming in from overseas was changing,” Sean said, where bands like Magazine, Talking Heads, Buzzcocks and Television more mature forms of New Wave.

“There was bound to be a similar progression in Melbourne.”

The experience of Teenage Radio Stars, a band Sean formed with James Freud, wasn’t lost on him. It all happened very fast. The recording contract, the media confrontation, the pressures. “It was like a total crash course in rock’n’roll. Sean added.

Did it happen too fast? Sean: “No, I didn’t miss anything.”

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From Page 12

^{An interview with The Models by Al Webb}

Ash (diverging): “Actually the main downfall of new bands is that okay, they might get their music together, they might have the ideas there, but they don’t last because generally speaking, they’re not well enough organised to last.” “They crumble over a period of time because of bad management, because they’re not really into the idea of projecting themselves on stage.

They never fully develop themselves. This is where Models are different from most new bands. We’re basically organised. I can’t at the moment see Models falling apart in any way.

“Another thing too. We don’t like to stay on the same level for a whole night. We try and experiment with a different approach to each song.

“Take my keyboard playing, for instance. Because I’m using a synthesiser, I’ve got a lot of textural scope and I never like to repeat myself texturally.

“I don’t like developing an actual style of playing – I think that’s a real drawback. I’ve got to the stage now where I’m constantly playing peoples stuff. They’re really in there and into what they’re doing.”

Where do you think the eighties are going to take us then?

Sean: “A lot of people think it’s going to be disco or synthetic music. I don’t think so. There are so many people out there in different suburbs of all the different countries of the world who are distracted by things like work.

That’s what’s going to keep peoples minds on the level it’s always kept them. There’ll always be this demand for nice little melodies for them to sing to themselves.”

Ash: “I think the media like video and television, will be a lot more important than it has been. (A nod of agreement from Sean). Even to the point of reducing live performances. People will live indoors more.

“The eighties to me also means flash-flash-flash, a series of very surreal flashes. The artists of the eighties will need to absorb this and adapt to that sort of speed.”

“I think it was Andy Warhol who once said “by 1990 the life span of the average entertainer will be 45 seconds.”

So when do Models expect to achieve the peak of their life span, i.e. stardom?

Sean (pondering)” “What day is it today?”

Ash (calculating): “I think we should have our minute of stardom on about Monday week a the Civic Hotel in Sydney. Yes the Civic Hotel in Sydney.”

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If you’ve written good songs then you are off to a great start.

If you play them well, then you should be on the way to some kind of record release.

If you are still sitting at home, confused, irate, saying nasty words to your once favourite budgie, and to make it worse have no money. DON’T DESPAIR. It’ll happen if you really want it to.

To clarify that befuddled mind, hop on your bicycle and come down here.

You may be surprised what a good constructive talk can do.

If things are pretty normal with you, and you want to do demo’s, singles, albums or any other kind of sound recording, then consider the following: –

• our rates are pretty reasonable;
• you can record any time you like if the studio is free,
• we are open 24 hours every day;
• there are two easy-to-get-along-with and very friendly engineers to help answer any queries. They get the kind of sound you are after;
• the vibes at the place are great;
• the recording facilities are right up with the times.

This isn’t idle gossip. We’ve recorded some of Australia’s best artists.

Even if you only have plans to have a career in music, come down and have a coffee with us. You are always welcome.

Give us a buzz on 429 4922 HELMUT.

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THE CRYSTAL REVIEWED

By Patrick Miles

A variety of senses motivate people to see a rock n’ roll band. It is impossible to cater to everybody’s whims and invariably someone is thoroughly peeved with the conditions in which they hear a band.

I have yet to visit all of Melbourne’s venues however The Crystal Ballroom in St. Kilda, due mainly to it’s size and layout, provides a roomy cage for healthy co-habitation of different kinds of people.

The grandiose decor of The Crystal Ballroom initially seems incongruous with some of the human remnants that patronise the place.

I saw Man and the Machine one night and Rose Tattoo another and all types attended.

There was perhaps a predominance of people heavily drugged by something wearing heavily badged raincoats, but there were always exceptions which made things a little more interesting for the bored indifferent…

The entrance seems royal – the glass door is opened from the inside and the foyer provides a gentle buffer between the street and the maelstrom of the main room.

One may hover in the foyer and browse through a selection of records on a counter (not every night), play the decrepit pinball machine, or just rub badges with the punky-reggae-rich-kids.

If you are in the animal involvement class, then the dancing area is adequate. For the casual observer, unless the place is really crowded, there is room to stand at the side and wander back and forth from the bar to the raised carpeted area at the back.

If you’re into heavily uninterrupted study you can stand in this elevated area and watch the band in relative comfort and certainly hear well.

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The stage is a goos size, not too high, and if you like to stroke Eric Gradman’s leg, as some girls do, you can.

The decor is that of an old theatre with opaque windows adorned by Roman soldiers astride rearing horses.

Is this symbolic? Ed.

The chandeliers, normally associated with opulence, give a furniture showroom effect.

The latrines are quite satisfactory. There was a complaint. though, about a lack of paper in the woman’s lavatories.

A point in the Ballroom’s favour is the availability of refugees if the band is lousy or the volume has become anus-clenching.

Wandering up and down the stairs is popular, as I mentioned before and on some nights there is another complete room downstairs where a different band plays.

Of course as at any gig, it pays to keep all senses at maximum alertness for projectiles, flailing arms and legs and lighted cigarettes searing past the face in the grip of some disembodied hand.

In conclusion, the Crystal Ballroom is a comfortable place to see a band, whatever your involvement. The sound was good, the times I went but if you’re a roadies lifting equipment in and out it’s worth double the money!

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Newly formed ZUES Music is ready to commence it’s publishing activities in Melbourne.

If you are in any way confused about what to do with your songs to make money from them or if you want to get a few vague points clarified, then give us a call, or drop us a line or a demo tape.

Don’t worry too much about the recording quality. (As long as we can tell the difference between the hissing and the music!)

Once we have the tape and the material, is OK, well the ball is in our court.

We’ll do our very best to get it all happening.

What we offer aside from a fair deal are recording facilities for good demos, our expertise, and our contacts.

All you have to do is provide the songs.

Give Helen a buzz on 24 2553. If you want to send the demo or bring it in, the address is 17 Pearson Street, Richmond.

Since we both need each other, let’s get together for a talk.

N.B. – No rearrangements or traditional Welsh folk songs…

-No cleverly overdubbed and mixed native chants…

Finally – No bird or animal noises irrespective or arrangements and recording quality!

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Atlantis, musical features aside for the moment, have distinguished themselves by approaching the climb to recognition in a somewhat unorthodox fashion.

A band, playing together some years now – no novices here – but making only occasional public appearances.

Meanwhile, they’ve concentrated on the odd complexities of many a different music with an eye and an ear to not only get it right and tight but also to make it move.

It’s music that, live, has the power to capture the listener without struggling. The studio the years of practice are evident as sounds and arrangements come across well-formed and structured.

Atlantis has existed in different permutations and combinations for approaching ten years though the present line-up cemented only some two years ago. That is, Scott Sinclair on percussion, Daniel Reilly on drums, Gary Winchester on bass and vocals, Michael Doyle on guitar and vocals and Chops on keyboards and vocals.

There is an easy accommodation of many different types of music from the latin feel of Scott’s percussion to the synthesiser playing of Chops and the elegant lines that guitarist Michael creates.

The vocals, singly and together in harmony, are a stand-out feature.

The moods vary accordingly with the band taking such diverse styles as jazz-rock, soul, funk, and hard-edged rock’n’roll in its stride.

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Album review

This is the first time I’ve heard an album that Todd Rundgren has produced for someone else that doesn’t sound like Rundgren out-takes with the lead vocal of the performer dubbed on top.

No Spectre wall of sound here.

This album is tastefully produced to the point of elegance.

The only obvious intrusions by Rundgren are in the area of some sophisticated sound treatments and a few backing vocal arrangements, both of which lie well within the producer’s jurisdiction.

Wave verges on indulgence, but never quite tips into it.

The reason is to be found in the tastefulness of the music and the band’s natural for a good tune and chorus line.

It isn’t a hard album, and it almost seems as if Ms Smith is softening her stance and neutralising her acidity as the years and albums go by. Obscure rambling poetry that worked more on the sounds generated than the concrete meaning of the words – has given way to sensitive probes into emotions, both painful and pleasurable.

The approach to the songs has sparseness as the most important item, and this gives Patti lots of room in which to move around as she sings, recites, wails, and chants her way through the set.

The slow canter of the album makes the sixties Byrd’s hit, ‘So You Wanna Be A Rock’n’roll Star’, sound like dynamite, one of the few tough rock’n’roll cuts on Wave.

lot of the vitality of the earlier Patti Smith has been lost in direct proportion to her changing from a stage to a studio animal.

It takes the sophistication of Easter one step over the line, retreats into the womb of the studio and loses sight of audience contact and the electricity it can generate.

Its power is more subtle, more a mild Sunday soother than an enervating weekday upper, but the power is there nonetheless, and Patti Smith is still a captivating performer.

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Album review

Bram Tchaikovsky

Strange Man, Changed Man – Radar

There’s New Wave, there’s sixties, music, and sometimes there’s a successful merger of the two.

A merger that has the charm and melody of the sixties and the energy and exuberance of the late seventies. Such a record is ‘Strange Man, Changed Man’.

Nick Lowe carried off a similar marriage of styles with his solo album ‘Jesus of God’, but whereas Lower toys with styles and consciously moulds them into self-styled pure pop, Bram Tchaikovsky, named after the guitarist of the same name who once played with The Motors, write songs that contain greater rock commitment and fewer in-jokes.

Being a three-piece band (guitar, bass and drums), they achieve a remarkably full elaborate sound on record, mainly due to the thick production, some ringing chords played by Bram, himself and the constant harmony that follows his voice through each of the songs.

The effect isn’t far removed from the dry, lazy vocals of Pink Floyd, and works well in this rockier context.

It’s the natural, easy flow of the music that ultimately finds its way into your mind and makes this an individual record. The lyrics hardly matter – they’re just a part of the sound pattern. The band borrows from many styles and from many artists – The Byrds, The Beatles, The Who – but the end result is a batch of memorable songs that come from nowhere but Bram Tchaikovsky.

It proves the point the Beatles made last decade: you don’t have to be virtuoso musicians to make good music.

Write a good song and play it intelligently and with a bit of flair. That’s all it takes to make a good record.

It’s good enough for Bram and it’s good enough for me.

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SPORTS AT BOMBAY

The Sports live-to-air radio and television hook-up at Bombay Rock last Friday was both a success and a disappointment.

Their 8pm performance for the 3XY/2SM/2NX/4IP network was great – the audience was in a cooperative mood, cheering right on cue and the band’s performance was one of it’s tightest.

But somehow between 9pm, when they left the stage, and 12.30am, when they returned, the zap had gone and it was a pretty nervous group that appeared on screen for Nightmoves.

Lead singer, Steve Cummings, had changed his shirt and put on the ole’ hat, but somehow the boys just didn’t look at home.

It’s a pity that the 8pm show couldn’t have been the live performance – the songs were presented in a better order, giving the audience time to warm up properly.

One thing’s for sure, there were few hassles (fights) and the bar wasn’t overcrowded – everyone was out dancing!

Russell Morris and his band did their bit to keep everyone going between The Sports performances, and downstairs the Aliens knocked ’em dead.

Channel 7’s cameras didn’t intrude too obviously and all in all it was a good night for six bucks.

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