Kisschasy..from unknown to international?

Previous posts have mentioned the ‘Bones and Skin’ Tour that Kisschasy are currently performing around Australia. This post is focusing on the success of the band who have also worked very hard to be where they are today. I remember not too long ago the only radio stations that Kisschasy’s songs were being played on were Triple J. The band have played various shows at the Bar on the Hill over the past 5 years or so and admitted that the show at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday the 24th May was officially the largest they had performed for. It wasn’t until last year (2007) that the band’s music actually took off commercially with their left-field antics surrounding politics, human rights issues and animal rights. This tour is the last for Kisschasy for a while as they are off to try their luck overseas in America. One thing I particularly like about the boys is the fact that they were asking fans on facebook and myspace if they knew anyone overseas that they could stay with. It is obvious that the band are not making the ‘big bucks’ from their music however they are still willing to try and have the courage to continue doing what they love. I just thought that this was a wonderful example of what can happen when local Australian bands are publicised and promoted through magazines such as ours. 

Check out more Kisschasy info on their myspace page: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=11924263

To reiterate again what has already been said, the music industry is severly lacking academic research and evidence to support such opinions as the ones that have been made in this and previous posts. 

This is Jess Smith signing off for The Musos 2008.

Women in rock, or lack there of…

The concert I attended on Saturday night contained an all female rock band, The Donnas. As I saw women in rock was a suggested topic I thought that I would do some research into the frequency of female rock bands. After extensive searching for academic sources I came up with absolutely nothing. Now this band is probably one of the longest running female punk rock band of our time, starting approximately 15 years ago when the girls were only 15. The Americans contintued to pursue their chosen career path with a large amount of success.

Unfortunately, the Donna’s were booed by some of the underage fans who were eagerly awaiting the performance from headline act Kisschasy. As someone who had heard the Donnas before it is hard to believe that the young kids would be so derogatory towards a successful international band however it made me ponder whether the treatment would have been the same if the band had been publicised and published in magazines such as ours? Top 40 artists seem to frequent our pages and get the attention they do and sometimes do not deserve, if we could focus some of our energy into promoting bands that have truly worked hard to be where they are today we could possibly sell more magazines in the future. As I have noted in previous posts it is time for our magazine to raise the bar in the content we provide through some academic research and further interesting, left-field articles.

 

Conclusive Post

                                         

Over the past few weeks I have really enjoyed researching music histories and the live music experience. It is interesting to note how much attention is given to certain types of music  in comparison to others. Pop music is covered in large doses in the media, with plenty of attention given to top 40 artists and their daily life shambles. This, I feel, is a shame. There are plenty of other topics which deserve coverage by the media and attention from the general public. The live experience and local music being one of these.

Here at Popular Music Press the team have attempted to present stories, articles, photos, media analysis and scholarly research on the live music experience in order to present an alternative topic and view to the general public. In doing this we hope that insight has been given into the struggles, benefits and general social debate on the topic.

Just to rehash live music is not all about anti-social behaviour and is not primarily driven by economic gains, as alot of media articles articulate. Instead the live experience should be thought of as a socially demanded activity that not only brings joy and entertainment but also social cohesion and a sense of community, as relevant theorists quoted in previous posts have suggested.

This sense of social cohesion and community has been argued by some as further intensifyed by technology such as the internet. The internet has rapidly changed the way we use, store, distribute and interact with music. This communication medium has opened up a world of possibility for musicians, allowing artists, particularly aspiring artists, to promote and distribute their work to thousands of people around the globe. However some believe that the impact the internet has had is indeed a negative one. 

Musicians such as Sir Elton John highlight the possible devastation within the music industry that may occur as a result of the internet, not only on decline in sales and profit but also on the level of musical creativity.

There have been fears of technology wiping out the live experience. I do not believe that this will be the case any time soon. From the research I have conducted I have found that people will always enjoy the live experience. The audience craves the personal connection with the artist and the music they produce, they crave the raw sound and the whole product, the scenery, social interaction and embrace the music created right there and then.

There have also been fears for safety not only for the individuals engaging in a live performance but also the safety of society. Riots, rampage and drug and alcohol abuse have all been linked to the live experience. Although these are apparent, they have always existed and should not influence the demise of the live music experience.

Popular Music Press hopes that the live experience blog has opened up your eyes a little to the world of live and local music and has sent waves of interest and excitement through your veins. Let’s hope that in the future local, live music will receive more attention by the media and the government and the social and economic benefits it can provide are realised.  

Thanks for reading!!

PANIC! Death at a Live Music Experience!

Concert stampede kills 10
SMH.com

February 10, 2008

Ten young people have been trampled or crushed to death as hundreds of music fans tried to force their way out of a rock concert in the Indonesian city of Bandung.

Witnesses told the Pikiran Rakyat newspaper that people inside the packed venue were trying to escape the crush just as hundreds of others were surging their way inside.

“Ten people were killed, one of them has not yet been identified. Six other people were injured,” Bandung police chief Bambang Suparsono told the Detikcom online news portal.

The dead are mostly teenagers. He said an investigation was under way into the incident late yesterday.

Detikcom, quoting another police officer, said the capacity of the building was for 700 people but that only around 400 attended the concert by a popular punk rock group.

However, Pikiran Rakyat said there were more than 1500 people inside.

Detikcom said at least 40 were being questioned, while a police officer at Bandung, the capital of West Java, said three organisers were being quizzed as suspects.

“The bodies of 10 people have been brought here but all but three have been taken by their family,” said Toto, a staff member at the local hospital morgue where the dead were initially brought.

Suparsono said the crush occurred as people tried to leave the Asia Africa Arts Hall in downtown Bandung.

One 19-year-old witness told Pikiran Rakyat: “Outside, there were hundreds of people pushing to enter. They were pushing at the gate.

“Inside, there were also a lot of people who wanted to leave, because the hall was so packed that it was difficult to breathe.”

Another witness told the paper that while the band was playing, hundreds of people forced their way in, damaging the entranceway.

Six dead in concert stampede

SMH.com

SIX people died and several were injured overnight in a stampede at a concert held in Tunisia.

The stampede occurred at a theatre at Sfax, 300 kilometres south of the capital Tunis, where a concert was being held for the TV program Star Academy Lebanon, an official said.

Rescuers rushed to the Sidi Mansour theatre, the official said.

 

This is also an intersting related journal article about the deaths that occurred at The Who concert in 1979.  http://www.jstor.org/pss/800813

 Comment on PANIC! Death at a Live Music Experience! 

YOU CAN’T DOWNLOAD A LIVE CONCERT EXPERIENCE

This is a great article I found that I feel that any live music concert goer will love and understand.

It attempts to explain the significance of a live performance and of the live music experience from a personal perspective.

Jacobsen (2007) states:

“I have been a massive fan of the live experience since my first concert. It was in 1985 and it was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The atmosphere and energy were incredible. He gave the audience hit after hit for three hours and of course the E Street Band as a live unit were without peer, and when he pulled someone from the audience onto the stage the crowd went wild. It was a complete adenaline hit. Concerts still provide that unbeatable energy and vibe for me and many others.”

Jacobsen (2007) talks of the internet as the reason behind the increasing lack of musical talent and musical creativity, which I do not believe is one hundred percent accurate. He states: “we are going through a revolution that has not just changed the rule book. In some instances it has torn the rule book up and thrown it out the window. This revolution is the internet.”

I do not believe that the internet has had a detrimental effect on the promotion of music but rather on record companies and the sale and distribution of music.

Jacobsen (2007) however maintains that the live experience will remain popular as more booking agents are taking their acts to younger fan bases, ” in schools, regional areas, youth events and at Scout Jamborees [personally I've never heard of these before but..] which draw between 12 and 15,000 twelve to sixteen year olds.  Again, this is the first time many kids experience a live band – and because of that, they remain loyal to the experience and the band.”

Jacobsen (2007) also presents another theory that, “people in their 20′s are staying at home longer and buying their first house later in life. As a result they are not tied down by a mortgage and have more money to spend. They focus on getting exciting life experiences and going to concerts is one of these experiences.”

In summary Jacobsen suggests for the future:

As far as the internet issue goes, we should embrace it. Yes, there’ll be a time when concerts will be streamed on the ‘Net. Some promoters believe it will kill their market. Others, like me, believe it will only expand the market. Sure, it’d be good to see David Bowie play a show in Paris in the comfort of your home.

But as I said, you cannot download the live music experience – you can bet that thousands of the people who see that webcast, will then want to see Bowie live.

Australian promoters also need to lobby the government harder to give the live entertainment industry the tax incentives that the film industry has, and which have helped it thrive.

And finally, we need to stand together and demand that ticket scalpers and E-bay ticket traders be dealt with by law. Queensland plans to increase fines, but the rest of the country is dragging its feet. It’s an important issue because these scalpers are nothing more than parasites on our customers, whose greatest thrill is the live entertainment experience.

In summary, there are always obstacles and challenges like the internet. The only reason we might NOT be able to get past an obstacle or challenge, is if we continue to work with the same rules and business models.

So, as this industry goes through generational changes and the first breed of Australian promoters retire, I encourage all of us, armed with new ideas, to be the new blood.

 

Article can be found at: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/acem/pdfs/Jacobsenspeech.pdf

Alex Cooley Presents the Live Music Experience

I found this site which ties in very well with our blog.

You can find it at: http://www.alexcooley.com/

This site attempts to look at live music on a deeper level, which I here at Popular Music Press believe has been lacking in the media. Alex Cooley suggests that live music naturally promotes community, culture, discovery, fun, family and adventure, which I tend to agree with. Anyone who has a attended a live performance they have enjoyed is left with a sense of social cohesion, excitement and joy. 

Cooley also offers an optimistic look at the digital revolution in regards to the live experience stating that, “the digital revolution offers exciting possibilties in the live music industry. There are new ways to enhance audience experience, to help artists reach more fans, and for fans to take the experience home.”

The site also offers people the chance to share their live music experience posting ‘live music pic of the week.’

Explaining Musical Experience by Paul Boghossian

This article by Boghossian looks at the live music experience as an emotional journey for the audience memebr, a journey where rationality is lost, the physiology behind these experiences and the psychology of the audience member.

Boghossian explains that on one hand our body will respond physiologically to the stimulus of a sound vibration passing through the air, into our ear drum, stimulating our auditory nerve and interacting with the brain. As music or sound travels in nerons, it can often interact with other nerons inside our brain which will promote a positive or sometimes negative experience.

From this explanation, Boghossian argues that if this is the only response, the body’s response to music is simlar to the body’s response to a drug.

However, he argues that it is more than this, with Boghossian explainning that a loss of rationality occurrs for the audience member, which assists the experience we come to relate with music.

Kivvy, explains in this article that we are moved not simply by our physiology, but by the shear brilliance of the musical experience, we are moved he argues, by the craftsmanship, and the artistic beauty of the musicians.

Boghossian adds to this point by examing the meaning behind music for a lot of people, which can be either representational or expressive. Boghossiann also argues that we place meaning on certain songs, musical compositions, albums due to our past experiences/interactions with them.

In conclusion this a very helpful article in articulating the deeper meaning behind music, and important for the analysis of the live experience.

Check it Out!

 

Reference:http://philosophy.fas.nyu.edu/docs/IO/1153/explainingmusical.pdf

 

Thought piece: Ipod…

These days it is hard to come by an individual who does not own, or has not at least at one point owned an Ipod or another version of mp3 player. Portable devices, now about the size of a snack cracker or smaller that can hold 1000s upon 1000s of songs with the click of a button. Convenient yes, but fatal if and when they may crash…

Mp3 players make up the majority of today’s society’s music collections. We have shown in project 2 that mp3′s have diminished CD sales and one of Musos’s scholarly articles cited made claims to live performance sales increasing with the increased popularity of mp3′s…but what lies in our future?

Possibilities are endless with the virtual reality world just beginning to be dabbled in.  At this point you can already download and watch any recorded music experience on you portable device.  Will the Ipod or similar devices eventually lead to the demise of live performances all together replaced by convenient hand held personal pocket concerts?

This piece is geared towards engaging others into a conversation on what direction you think the live experience is headed with the pathway that technologies are currently on?  Is there a future in live shows?

Let me know what you guys think?

Madonna

Madonna, arguably one of the best, if not most eccentric performers of all time. i have compiled here a few videos of Madonna’s live performances to depict how shows have changed over the years…

Madonna’s first show

Holiday…Seemingly lip-synced

Everybody performed in Italy

Madonna Holiday more recently

Like a Prayer

Vogue

Madonna live at the Grammy’s with the Gorillaz

Live Academy

Newest hit single, 4 minutes

It’s interesting to see the progression in these shows. How Madonna almost looks younger in the most recent videos then the ones from 20-30 years ago. The dancing skills have immensely improved, the effects, the lighting, the smoke, the props and the show in general are all together much more comprehensive and utterly just more entertaining. She continuously puts on a show that attracts millions all over the world.

In regards to the live experience i think Madonna is a hall-of-famer. This post on the live experience is dedicated to an artist who provides a unique and creative experience for all of her audiences…

The Hyenas – Local Newcastle Band

 

 

The Hyena’s are a local Newcastle punk / rock band who play regular gigs in the area.  On their MySpace page they claim that their influences are The Clash, ACDC, Rancid, Motorhead, The Ramones and many more.

They state on their MySpace page:

Ladies and gentlemen and carnivorous mammals everywhere. Has your diet of live music been lacking in bone crunching rock and roll and essential spectacle and showmanship? The you will want to feast your eyes and ears on the hyenas.

Check out their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/hyenasrocknroll

To check out more local Newcastle bands visit: http://www.newcastlemusic.com/links.php?cat=24