Photos by: John Elliott The speakers at the <strong>APRA</strong> Country Music Songwriting Workshops may not have offered a Ten Step Recipe for Perfect Songs, but attendees were left in no doubt about the conditions that make <strong>good</strong> <strong>songs</strong> possible. And taking chances was the biggest one. Chances with being honest, with sharing your feelings <strong>and</strong> experiences, with ideas – even strange ones – <strong>and</strong> with rhythms, rhymes <strong>and</strong> melodies. More than 240 people attended the <strong>APRA</strong> Country Music workshops held as a precursor to the Toyota Golden Guitar Awards in Tamworth in January this year. Speakers included <strong>Troy</strong> Cassar-Daley, <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers, Dave Gibson, <strong>Beccy</strong> Cole <strong>and</strong> <strong>Melinda</strong> Schneider. >> <strong>Melinda</strong> Schneider >> Dave Gibson <strong>and</strong> <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers >> <strong>Troy</strong> Cassar-Daley >> Gill Robert, <strong>Beccy</strong> Cole <strong>and</strong> Sally Howl<strong>and</strong> For those who weren’t able to attend the workshops, here’s a summary of some of the insights they shared. <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers “Pretty much every song I’ve written comes from experiences I’ve had. It’s generally just what I’m thinking of the time, what I’m going through. And it’s really as honest as I ever get with myself which is a really scary thought. And I sit down <strong>and</strong> I write <strong>and</strong> I don’t actually think I’m going to be playing them to people at the time so you just sit there being really honest, <strong>and</strong> then later on I think, “Oh my god, there’s like 800 strangers out there listening to me reveal my deepest darkest secrets” which is scary.” <strong>Melinda</strong> Schneider “I think country music is all about truth in songwriting. I try to write <strong>songs</strong> based on the big issues in my life. I start with the idea, then find out the right way to put it into words. Last year at Tamworth I sang a song about my dad, Sergeant Bean. It was an emotional time since dad had just died in October <strong>and</strong> I’d written this song three weeks after he died <strong>and</strong> the grief was very fresh <strong>and</strong> it was hard to sing them. But so many women came up to me <strong>and</strong> said, “You know, my husb<strong>and</strong> died”, or “my father died”. Some people were even crying – it’s pretty amazing to touch people like that. When you’ve got a song that is a bit special, I think you just know.” <strong>Troy</strong> Cassar-Daley “I think it’s a secret to not get too complicated because you can disappear into your own belly button if you’re not careful. I think diversity is important especially in country music – we need to push ourselves a little bit. Don’t be afraid to get out on a limb every now <strong>and</strong> then <strong>and</strong> just say, ‘I really feel strongly about this, so I’m going to write about it’. Work as hard as you can <strong>and</strong> be as hard on yourself as you can about the lyrics you’re about to write. Don’t just write crap because it fills the verses – keep having a slog at it to make sure there’s nothing you can come up with that’s better. Each idea you have is an open door to the next verse you’re going to write.” <strong>Beccy</strong> Cole “I think as a songwriter <strong>and</strong> performer, you need to find what you do best <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong> on it <strong>and</strong> do more of that. I used to write these silly little <strong>songs</strong> <strong>and</strong> perform them at BBQs <strong>and</strong> parties but never on stage. And I got together with <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers for my first co-writing experience <strong>and</strong> we wrote a song called Big Girls just for fun. I was jamming with Gina Jeffreys at the time <strong>and</strong> I played it to her <strong>and</strong> she said “that’s fantastic you should record it” And I just laughed <strong>and</strong> said, “No, that’s just a silly song for someone’s party.” And she said “No I’m serious, you should record it. And eventually I did. And then I realized that that was my “different thing”. We’re all looking for that thing that makes us different from the next writer <strong>and</strong> that’s my thing. And it’s became a big part of who I am as a performer <strong>and</strong> what I do on stage.” THE WINNERS OF THE 2005 TOYOTA GOLDEN GUITAR AWARDS The 2005 Toyota Golden Guitar Awards were announced on Saturday 15 January 2005 at a star studded ceremony at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre. The winners were: Male Vocalist of the Year: ADAM HARVEY Female Vocalist of the Year: KASEY CHAMBERS Album of the Year: FAMILY TREE - <strong>Melinda</strong> Schneider, produced by Graham Thompson Single of the Year: LIKE A RIVER - <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers New Talent of the Year: JEDD HUGHES Top Selling Album of the Year: WAYWARD ANGEL - <strong>Kasey</strong> Chambers Video Clip of the Year: GET ALONG - Slim Dusty, directed by Molotov Productions Vocal Group of the Year: BELLA Vocal Collaboration of the Year: TRACY COSTER <strong>and</strong> ANNE KIRKPATRICK, Back to the Saltbush Plains Bush Ballad of the Year: WHERE THE YELLOW KAPOCKS BLOOM - Jeff Brown, written by Wave Jackson Heritage Song of the Year: MISSIN’ SLIM - Lee Kernaghan <strong>and</strong> Colin Buchanan Instrumental of the Year: TALL FIDDLER - Tommy Emmanuel <strong>APRA</strong> Song of the Year: REAL PEOPLE - <strong>Melinda</strong> Schneider & Michael Carr “I arrived in Toronto at dusk, in the middle of the northern summer of 2004, after six months planning for my first overseas ‘tour’. It was a jumble of ideas <strong>and</strong> possibilities until I found out in January 2004 that <strong>APRA</strong> would support me with a Professional Development Award, making the trip an exciting reality. ”With Serena Ryder, a Canadian friend I’d made at the East Coast festival, generously putting me up in town, I set out to play as many gigs as I could in the two weeks I was there. I’d already been invited to play at the North by North East music conference in Toronto <strong>and</strong> the Vancouver Isl<strong>and</strong> folk festival but I’d made a lot more contacts via musicians <strong>and</strong> the internet <strong>and</strong> so I performed at many open mike nights, supports for some Canadian artists <strong>and</strong> even at a recording session for a group of aspiring sound engineers. Through a chain of gigs that led me from an open mike night to a support for a wonderful Torontobased folk singer to a rock gig at the El Macombo, I got to play on the same stage where Stevie Ray Vaughan had made his l<strong>and</strong>mark Live at the El Macombo video many years earlier. “The NXNE conference gig was a blast <strong>and</strong> I got to meet some enthusiastic people from the industry – radio, media <strong>and</strong> record folks. I also attended some workshops/info sessions on the North American music scene – daunting stuff. MIA DYSON Winner: Popular Contemporary Music Category “Over to Vancouver <strong>and</strong> an incredible trip at sunset across the water to Vancouver Isl<strong>and</strong>. Again, Canadian generosity had me gigging with some great local artists. The Vancouver Isl<strong>and</strong> folk festival, in its 20th year, gave me a great opportunity to play in front of a big audience. I was missing having my b<strong>and</strong> play with me, but worked on setting up things so that next time round they can come too. “In July I headed to London <strong>and</strong> straight up the M1 to the Stockton Riverside festival, for my first experience of the English countryside – foggy, windy, rainy (mid summer). They were a couple of strange gigs <strong>and</strong> the locals didn’t know what to make of this Australian roots singer (they laughed at the word roots…) “The Edinborough Festival had to be the most exciting part of the trip. I had two dates at the stunning Spiegeltent plus a few promo gigs on a huge open-air stage below the famous castle. The atmosphere was incredible <strong>and</strong> the audiences there seemed to embrace me more than in Stockton. I had a couple of showcase gigs in London between shows so I spent a lot of time driving up <strong>and</strong> down the M1. The showcase gigs did the job <strong>and</strong> I got to play in front of some of the labels I’d been interested in <strong>and</strong> some folks from the London music media. I was surprised to discover a whole lot of Australians in the audience, but really, there’s something like a million of us there, so why not a few at my gig? “Another privilege was to get to play <strong>and</strong> sing on two albums while in Engl<strong>and</strong>. I had met the duo Chris While <strong>and</strong> Julie Matthews at Port Fairy Folk Festival in 2003, <strong>and</strong> they offered me their place to stay <strong>and</strong> a guest spot on Julie’s solo album, plus a lap steel part on an album they were >> Mia Dyson producing for an Australian duo. “I wrote four <strong>songs</strong> for my new album <strong>and</strong> had a fabulous time meeting <strong>and</strong> playing with many inspiring musicians <strong>and</strong> songwriters. I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to perform live (solo if necessary!) <strong>and</strong> realised there’s an audience out there in the wider world that’s responsive to my kind of music. “The PDA has given me a great start to setting up an international career in music – it was an amazing experience to travel <strong>and</strong> perform in new places. Arriving home I got stuck into work on my new album which is just about finished. It will be released in Australia in April <strong>and</strong> due to the interest I received from some labels while showcasing in London <strong>and</strong> Toronto, looks sets to be released overseas in 2005. “Thank you <strong>APRA</strong> for your enormous support <strong>and</strong> encouragement!” A P R A P M A R C H 2 0 0 5 > > 0 6