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This website dedicated to bringing you the latest Australian country music news |
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THE LATEST NEWS... DATELINE : WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2006People's Choice Awards Top 10 announced The top 10 finalists in the 2007 Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards have been announced. Most prominent on the list include Anita Ree (pictured, left) with six finalist positions, Graham Rodger (centre) with five, Cat Southern (right), Wildseed and the Wolverines with four each and Dale Duncan, Craig Giles, Sharnee Fenwick and Simply Bushed with three each.
Votes were taken on-line for the first time although traditional "paper" votes were also accepted. The Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards were taken over by the "Country Music Bulletin" after the originators, the Australian Country Music Listener’s Association, announced it was not able to continue organising and staging the activity. "We’re delighted to be able to continue this most important of all Australian country music awards schemes," said the Bulletin’s Bob Kirchner. "Every Awards scheme has its place, of course, but we believe the People’s Choice Awards to be one of the most important as its determined by the public – 'people power' if you like – the people who are the major followers of Australian country music who go along and support artists at shows and festivals. "Organisers are very pleased with all aspects of the Awards. "We were particularly pleased with the response to our two new categories offering recognition to country music broadcasters, programs and radio stations," Bob said. "We had such a wide and diverse response we had to increase the number of finalists announced to 12 for DJs and 11 for programs/stations. "This means there is obviously a lot more country music being played on Australian radio than some people think. "The top five finalists in the 2007 Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards will be announced on Friday, December 1. Winners will be announced at the gala Awards presentation at The Regent in Tamworth, Country Music Capital, at 1.30pm on Thursday, January 25, 2007. Tickets, at $23 each for earlybird buyers (prior to December 31) are available by telephoning The Regent on 02 6766 3162. Further information – including a full list of the announced finalists – is available at www.peopleschoiceawards.com.au. has
Keith's record sales skyrocket Keith Urban's critically hailed fourth studio album, Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing, has debuted at number one on Billboard's American Country Album Chart and at number three on the mainstream album chart.
"Fan support for Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing has been tremendous and these first week sales figures reflect that," said Bill Kennedy, Vice President Sales at Capitol Records Nashville. "This, along with Keith's third consecutive (Country Music Association, America) Male Vocalist of the Year Award and the number one position for the most downloaded album at iTunes, underscores Keith's very solid place in the country music world." Co-produced by Keith with Dann Huff, the new album has received wide critical praise. "So far, Keith Urban shows no signs of running out of exhilarating ways to declare life is grand, or finding dizzyingly uplifting guitar riffs that echo that sentiment," said The Associated Press. Billboard: "Few artists have the vision to see that country music isn't simply defined by fiddles and steel guitar (although this album has both), and even fewer have the talent to fulfill that vision. Urban does." The first single from Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing, Once In A Lifetime, made chart history by debuting at 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Song Chart. It marked the highest debuting single in the 62-year history of that chart. The album's second single, Stupid Boy, was released to radio this week. Gidgee Bush Ballad Award winners
Glenn Jones won the Male Vocal title with Down The Bucketts Road while Anita Ree was named top Female Vocal with Saltwater Creek Sliprails and Dean Perrett and Jeff Brown won the Vocal Collaboration gong with Two Old Mates. Nathan Charlton took out the Album award with Slim You've Done Us Proud, Glenn Jones and Ian Quinn won the Songwriter honours with Something Of A Privilege and Amos Morris won the New Talent award with The Last Goodbye. Charley Boyter was named winner of the Instrumental award for On The Nullabor and Matt Manning won the the Encouragement Award. NSW Gold Medallion Award winners
They are... Male Vocalist of the Year – Brian Letton (gold), Drew McAlister and John Williamson (silver tie). Female Vocalist of the Year – Karen Lynne (pictured, gold), Beccy Cole (silver). New Talent of the Year – Sharnee Fenwick (gold), Dale Duncan (silver). Musician of the Year – Charley Boyter (gold), Lindsay Butler (silver). Bush Balladeer of the Year – Tom Maxwell (gold), Matt Manning (silver). Songwriter of the Year – Ernie Constance (gold), Rick Aitchison (silver). Touring Artist of the Year – Tom Maxwell (gold), Brian Letton (silver). On Sunday (November 19), 27 artists, backed by two bands, spent seven hours entertaining an enthusiastic crowd who came to support Guy and Letice Argaet whose daughter McKenzie is in Westmead Children’s’ Hospital awaiting a liver transplant.
Part of the fund raising on the day included an auction by noted Queanbeyan auctioneer John Osborne and a giant raffle with all items sold at the auction and used as prizes in the raffle donated by business houses and other benefactors. The Queanbeyan Kangaroos Club provided the auditorium free of charge. All the artists appearing at the Benefit performed without fee. They covered a cross section of country musicians from the Australian Capital Territory and southern NSW region. A strong contingent of radio presenters from QBN-FM, Yass FM and Goulburn FM were in the audience, as were members from a number of country music clubs. Guy and his sister Rae, together with their mum Carol, were there on the day and were overwhelmed by the support they received. Guy’s wife, Letice, could not be at the benefit, having to remain at Westmead with baby McKenzie. The principal behind the organising of the Benefit Concert was the recently married Di Masters, known to some as Di Flynn. Di has known the Argaet family for many years and has watched Guy and Rae grow up from babies. She was also involved in the development of their country music careers. When asked what she thought of the day, Di said: "I just can’t put into words how I felt. I just got overwhelmed with it. It was great organising it and I looked forward to helping the family. It was just a wonderful day – absolutely awesome." Artists who performed on the day were Peter Stapleton, Alan and Anne Gumm, Mal Osbourne, Rod Flynn, Joanne Fairall, Noel Cotter, Kath McCall, Kim Williams, Vicky Walsh, Sylvia Williams, Aaron Bolton, Dean Woodbridge, and Country Music Association of Canberra members Dianna Masters, Ernie Constance, Richard Hunter, Leon Andrews, Patty McKinnon, Kerry Summerfield, Leo Hill, Martin Bowland, Dave Meyers, Alan Neal, and Bev Stokes. There was also a comedy act, Sophisticated Jillaroos, as well as an on stage appearances by Guy Argaet and his sister Rae. The two backing bands were Caught In The Act and The Gurus comprising musicians Pam Byrne, Boots Meyers, Scotty Ingram, Rod Flynn and Allan Gumm. Comperes on the day were Dave Myers and Mike Crozier, with the Country Music Association of Canberra providing the sound equipment. Photo: Guy Argaet with Mike Crozier after performing on stage during the Benefit. Normie records new Don Walker song Normie Rowe, who has been dabbling in the country music scene over the last few years, will be the voice of a new Don Walker song titled Poor Boy.
Don, the legendary songwriter and keyboard player from Cold Chisel, has written for numerous artists over the years including country music star Slim Dusty. "He is a hell of a writer," says Normie. "He has a handle on Australian urban subjects and their delivery". Normie will release the song on his next album in 2007. He is also adding another unreleased Don Walker song – Long Black Limousine – into his live set. Meanwhile, Normie has just released a newly recorded version of his 1965 hit single Que Sera Sera. "I got a call from Mike Brady and Billy Pinnell from their radio show," Normie said. "Billy found the original version which had a slight Latin feel. I thought let's re-record it. ABC put it out via iTunes. Then we decided to do the whole digital mix with a radio mix and a dance mix". Normie launched the single in Melbourne at the Toorak Lion. His band was young Melbourne act Level 6 with special guest Sam See on guitar. – undercover.com.au Beattie gives the gift of Aussie music
The premier took copies of CDs from Queensland artists Troy Cassar-Daley (pictured), Graeme Connors, Kate Miller-Heidke, Andrew Morris, Katie and Maggie Noonan, The Ten Tenors and The Veronicas as gifts for diplomats and dignitaries on his two week mission to the Middle East and Europe. Australia's Ambassador to France Penny Wensley was one proud recipient of a copy of The Veronicas' CD while Queensland House in London received CDs from Troy, Andrew and The Ten Tenors for use at functions. Other CDs have been given to dignitaries met throughout the trip which came to an end at the weekend when Mr Beattie returned home. – thewest.com.au New album from Ian
Ian Quinn has just released his fifth album containing 12 new self penned songs. Titled River Or The Road, the collection of songs offers a fresh approach to what Quinny refers to as "my style of Australiana," according to a release promoting the album.
Recorded at Roger Corbett’s Valley studio in the NSW Blue Mountains, River Or The Road "showcases Ian’s award winning song writing and performing skills and has elevated him to a new stage in his recording career," the release said. "The result of a 12 month song writing period which included songs recorded by other artists, the final 12 songs for the new album signals Ian Quinn’s emergence as a contemporary singer/songwriter." The first single from the album – You Can’t Cut Gidgee – resulted from a conversation with an electrical linesman who revealed that stands of gidgee trees are now protected to the point that they have satellite surveillance. Ian is currently touring with singer/songwriter Anita Ree to promote the album. Weblink – here. Andy's "welcome back to Tamworth" Melbourne country roots music man Andy Baylor is heading for Country Music Capital this January for a "welcome back to Tamworth" show.
He kicked off 2005 off with a new highly acclaimed CD release – Hometown Stomp – described as "a rockin’ double CD mix of blues, boogie woogie and Cajun soul and a celebration of his country roots". National touring followed with The Baylor Brothers and The Cajun Combo, followed by a tour of South East Asia with Lucky Oceans' Western-swing All–Stars. Later that same year, Andy received a grant from the Australian Arts Council and journeyed to Southwest Louisiana with his fiddle "to deepen his knowledge of Cajun and Creole music... he says he jammed with the who’s who of Louisiana music and narrowly escaped being caught up in Hurricane Katrina! In September 2005, he performed at benefit concerts in Melbourne aimed at helping New Orleans musicians. The second of these concerts found him playing guitar for legendary soul singer Betty Harris in what he describes as "a sensational show". A week later, disaster struck when Andy found himself diagnosed with Lymphoma, subsequently spending six months undergoing a gruelling regime of chemotherapy which saw him miss his engagements at the Tamworth Festival this year. Andy says he is now making a full recovery and is looking forward to playing for his fans in Tamworth this coming January. Andy and his "swingin' band" will be joined by special guests for the concert which will be staged at Southgate Inn on Monday, January 22. Weblink – Hot western swing, fiddle specialties, swingin’ twin guitars ,old-style country ballads, boogie woogie and hillbilly jazz….not to be missed…..www.baylormusic.com. APRA annual meeting At the APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) AGM last week, Mike Perjanik and Chris Neal were re-elected as Writer Directors.
At the AMCOS (Australian Mechanical Copyright Owners Association) AGM, Matthew Donlevy (Managing Director Peermusic), Ian James, Norm Lurie (Managing Director, Music Sales Australia) and Phillip Walker (Managing Director Origin Music), were re-elected to the board. A consolidated APRA|AMCOS revenue of $168.2 million was reported setting a new high, said APRA Chief Executive Brett Cottle, who said, "(The) APRA|AMCOS' final figure for net distributable accorded almost exactly with budget forecasts, owing to solid growth in some licensing areas and continued restraint in expenditure." APRA's total revenue for the 2005-06 year was $127.2 million, marking a growth of 2.9 percent over the previous financial year while the AMCOS revenue was $41 million, an increase of 8.8 percent. With the lowest ever expense to revenue ratio (12.8 percent of gross revenue) APRA was able to distribute a total of $110.3 million during the year, a 6.3 percent increase on the previous year, and AMCOS distributed a total of $35 million, an increase of 25 percent. The rise in revenue was attributed to a 12.5 percent increase in licence fees from pay television; a 158.3 percent increase in APRA online revenue (principally webcasting and ringtone transmissions); and a 45.5 percent increase in AMCOS online revenue with the October 2005 arrival of the Apple iTunes service. Copyright law changes attacked Meanwhile, Christie Eliezer reports in his weekly column at themusic.com.au that the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 – passed by the House of Representatives and the subject of a Senate Committee – has been attacked by some music and new technology executives.
At the APRA/AMCOS AGMs last week in Sydney, CEO Brett Cottle (pictured) said that the amendments were confusing and complicated, did not protect the economic interests of Australian music creators and failed to meet Australia's international treaty obligations. "Given the complexity of this area of law and the wide range of changes being made, we also regard the process of consultation and policy debate on the issues as having been thoroughly inadequate – the public had only six working days in which to provide submissions to the Committee," he said. The Internet Industry Association (IIA) warned that the changes risked making criminals out of everyday Australians. IIA chief Peter Coroneos said the law endangered the Internet industry with new criminal offence provisions in areas like distribution, potentially exposing ISPs (internet service providers), content hosts, search engines and "anyone with a network" to penalties. "In addition, we have identified quite a few breaches that will occur through the use of 3G phones, not to mention the possession of devices for digital copying – including, wait for it, computers..." he said. In other words, fans using mobile phones to film a concert will now have committed a criminal offence and could be fined up to $6,600. He or she could also be facing jail if (s)he loads that footage up on YouTube, as has happened during tours by U2 and Pearl Jam, according to legal advice given to the association. But the IIA's concerns were dismissed as "a beat-up" and "scare mongering" by Gilbert and Tobin partner Michael Williams who has acted in various cases for the music industry in anti-piracy cases. Williams told "The Australian" that it had long been illegal for fans to film or tape concerts and that using a mobile phone was equally forbidden. But it was accepted that under the provisions allowing users to format-shift to iPods and other MP3 players, an Australian music fan would break the law as (s)he would create an extra copy of the music when (s)he sent it to his or her computer. "The Australian" also made the point that of concern was the introduction of "strict liability", where people can be fined even if they genuinely didn't know they broke the law. WA artists to benefit from skills development program Country music artists in Western Australia are set to benefit from a new innovative skills development program set for February 2007. The Boyup Brook Country Music Club, in association with the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) and sponsor Smarter Than Smoking, is undertaking the initiative to "sharpen the skills of West Australian country music artists". The Smarter than Smoking Skills Development Program is a two-day course designed by the CMAA especially for the Boyup Brook Club. The course is derived from the very successful Australian College of Country Music course conducted in Tamworth each January. The program will include sessions on songwriting, career management, recording and music business. Tutors for the program will include successful independent artist Merelyn Carter from the duo Carter & Carter, songwriter, bush poet and "larrikin" Jim Haynes and current Director of the College Peter Winkler. The program will run from February 13 to 15 in the lead up to the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival. Weblink – www.country.com.au. Musicoz '07 on TV
They will also be shown on the Aurora channel through December. Felicity Urquhart was named winner of the Country Musioz when the awards were announced last week. Chart update – Lee holds on to number one Lee Kernaghan holds on to the number one spot on the Country Tracks National Top 30 singles chart this week with Listen To The Radio.
Adam Harvey jumps another two places to five with Lady Lay Down, Travis Sinclair is steady again at six with The Boy In The Aerodyne while Brad Paisley edges up one place to seven with The World. Keith Urban's Once In A Lifetime enters the top 10 at 10 while Troy Cassar-Daley moves up one place to 11. Bullet performers this week include Shaza Leigh (pictured) with Fiddler's Creek (22 to 19), Casey Watt's I Don't Want To Work This Hard (24 to 20), Sharnee Fenwick's How 'Bout Never (25 to 21), Paul Costa & Aleyce Simmonds with The Way You Make Me Feel (26 to 22) and Felicity Urquhart with Big Black Cloud (30 to 27). New entries to the chart this week include Jeanette Wormald with Opal Blue (in at 29) and Arthur Blanch with For A Song (at 30). The full chart can be viewed at www.nfspublicity.com.au. CMC Countdown – Keith still at the top
Trace Adkins edges up one more place to number two with Swing while Adam Brand's Cigarettes & Whiskey bounds up to number three. Felicity Urquhart drops back to number five with Big Black Cloud while Paul Costa enters the top 10 at number nine with The Way You Make Me Feel. Bullet performers this week include Karl Broadie (pictured) with Black Crow Callin' (18 to 14), The Flood's 2003 (new at 36), Horswood's Ain't Seen Rain (42 o 38) and Kelly Cooper's Stumblin' In duet with Billy Bridge (new at 42). The Top 30 can be viewed at www.countrymusicchannel.com.au. If you missed the weekend news about the new sponsor for the Golden Guitar Awards, click here for the story.
Country dominates American record sales
Five of eight multi-platinum certifications were awarded to country artists, including Alan Jackson, whose Greatest Hits Collection, released in 1995, was certified for shipments of six million copies. Gretchen Wilson's (pictured) debut album Here For The Party was certified for shipments of five million copies, George Strait's Greatest Hits, four million, Keith Urban's Be Here, four million and Trace Adkins' Songs About Me, two million. – CMT.com © Copyright 2006, ICMB Publishing | ||||||||||
Around 3,000 people voted in the 10 categories of the Awards, "an excellent result," according to organisers.
It's Keith's second consecutive album to debut at number one after sales reached 267,227 copies, according to Soundscan, the organisation which tracks album sales in America.
Winners from the 2006 Gidgee Coal Bush Ballad Awards were announced on Sunday (November 19) at the Pittsworth (Qld) Town Hall in front of a capacity audience.
Winners in the 2006 NSW Gold Medallion Awards were announced at Hexham on Friday.
Organised by "the friends of the Argaet Family" with help from the Lions Club of Queanbeyan, $10,130 was raised.
"It is a series of songs Don gave me the demos for," Normie told Undercover News (
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie didn't leave on his latest international trade mission without taking some home-grown music.
"With an ability to relate life experiences to verse and song, Ian has created an album inspired by subjects as diverse as the tourist driven NSW coastal town of Nelson Bay to a pumpkin festival in Queensland and cricketing legend Doug Walters at the SCG in Sydney."
Andy says it's been an eventful time for him over the last couple of years.
Ian James (Managing Director of Mushroom Music) and Damian Trotter (Managing Director, Sony/ATV Music Publishing) were re-elected as Publisher Directors.
The changes go through mid- December and take effect on January 1.
The 2007 Musicoz Awards will go to air on pay television, on Channel V, this coming Monday November 27, at 10.30pm and on Sunday December 3 at 3pm.
The Sunny Cowgirls' Six Pack Short edges up another place to two, Melinda Schneider's Big World Small World drops to number three while Alan Jackson's Like Red On A Rose moves up one place to four.
Keith Urban is still at number one on the CMC (Country Music Channel) Top 50 Countdown this week with his clip of Once In A Lifetime.
Country music dominated the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)'s multi-platinum certifications during the month of October, according to statistics released last week.