WINTER ARTS SEASON 2012

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MUSIC CONTEMPORARY WENDY WERE PICTURE: IAIN GILLESPIE 4��CITY OF PERTH WINTER ARTS SEASON Wendy Were has high hopes and big plans for the future of Perth’s live music scene. Simon Collins spoke to the new chief of the West Australian Music Industry Association. From pulling beers in the Perth pubs where John Butler and Jebediah cut their teeth to sharing her three-year-old daughter’s love of Fremantle pop tyros San Cisco, Wendy Were will bring a fan’s eye view to her new position as chief executive of the West Australian Music Industry Association, or WAM. Taking over from Paul Bodlovich, who was chief executive for a decade, Were also comes armed with invaluable knowledge of the creative industries, thanks to her previous roles directing the Perth and Sydney writers’ festivals as well as the University of WA’s Institute of Advanced Studies and the federally funded Creative Industries Innovation Centre. It’s moving beyond grassroots,” she said. “It’s a case of looking beyond a local community of music and looking globally. There’s glorious potential.” WENDY WERE �� charge, the UWA graduate made the bold assertion that WAM aims to transform Perth into the “live music capital of Australia”. “It’s an aspiration and I think there’s a lot of work to be done there, but it’s an important thing because it does cross the entire industry, not just the musicians,” Were said during a chat at Northbridge venue the Bakery, which will host several festival events including the 2012 WAMi Awards on June 2. An impressive line-up starring Eskimo Joe, John Butler, Mama Kin and Dom Mariani will perform at the annual gongs, where winners in industry and public voted categories take home the traditional WAMington cake instead of an inedible trophy. San Cisco, Split Seconds, the Voltaire Twins and the Growl lead the nominations this year.
Banding TOGETHER In addition to giving our best musicians a sugar high each year, the WAMi Festival features eight days of gigs, an industry conference and even a star-studded soccer match, the Crustacean Cup. On June 2, the Saturday Spectacular really takes the music to the masses with 56 bands playing eight stages throughout Northbridge from midday to 6pm. �� has a really strong brand nationally and internationally as well,” Were said. “When you talk about the WAMis, most people know what you’re talking about and most people think that’s all WAM does because it’s such a �� WAM is not just about supporting musicians, but also managers — a “core focus” of the organisation under Were — and other industry professionals. “Certainly, we’re there to foster creativity but we can’t endow people with that artistic brilliance,” she says. “We’re there to provide the structure and the support so those people with that brilliance can go as far as they possibly can and make a living out of the industry.” Where two decades ago it was a big deal when local experimental rock �� Prague released a cassette for their coterie, now nascent Perth acts like Pond and Grace Woodroofe, right, receive rave reviews in overseas publications, such as the NME (which recently gave Pond’s latest album nine out of 10) and the New York Times (rock critic Jon Pareles gushed over Woodroofe’s debut). The new chief executive recalls working at the Swanbourne and Grosvenor Hotels, where she saw early gigs from Jebediah �� education just from those two venues,” Were says. Both pubs no longer host bands and while Perth punters have enjoyed a boom in small bars, only a few, including the Bird and the Ellington Jazz Club, host live original music. Via advocacy and lobbying, Were says WAM “needs to make sure that there is space for the local music to be heard”. A fan of local acts the Ghost Hotel, Felicity Groom, Abbe May and, of course, San Cisco, the married mother-of-two said she inherited a strong organisation with a few areas needing improvement. Were wants to make WAM less reliant on public funding through business development and corporate sponsorship (perhaps increasing the mining sector’s ongoing support of WAM’s regional programs), while the marketing and communication also need to be more “polished and professional”. The online presence of WAM needs to be a “platform and portal for people all over the world” — part of a new global approach from the new chief, who says all avenues of revenue and exposure should be explored. “It’s moving beyond grassroots,” she said. “It’s a case of looking beyond a local community of music and looking globally. There’s glorious potential.” 2012 WAMI FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE OPENING PARTY — Tomas Ford, Ben Witt, MmHmmm, Cow Parade Cow, Felicity Groom and Rainy Day Women, the Bakery, May 26 SUNDAY LIVE AND THE CRUSTACEAN CUP — Grace Barbe, Odette Mercy and Her Soul Atomics, Minute 36, Datura and more, Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge Piazza, Forrest Place and Russell Square, May 27 MUSIC FILM SCREENING, Northbridge Piazza, May 27 THE COMMUNITY BEAT CANTEEN — Diger Rockwell, the Empty Cup, Naik, Wisdom 2th and YELM, Northbridge Piazza, May 28-June 1 THE BIRD SUNDOWNER SERIES — James Teague, Simone & Girfunkle, Cameron Avery and Anton Franc, the Bird, May 28-June 1 LUNCHTIME MALL SESSIONS, Murray and Hay St Malls, May 28-June 1 JAZZWA SHOWCASE — Victoria Newton, the Glyn MacDonald Quartet and Horizon Art Orchestra, the Bakery, May 28 EXPERIMENTAL SHOWCASE — Heytesburg, Rack to Your Face and Usurper of Modern Medicine, the Bakery, May 29 FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL SHOWCASE — Ensemble Formidable, Rhys Wood and Rachel & Henry Climb a Hill, the Bakery, May 30 JUMPCLIMB PARTY SHOWCASE — the Empty Cup, Sunshine Brothers, Bastian’s Happy Flight and Sam Perry, the Bakery, May 31 BUSINESS CONFERENCE, the Bakery, June 1 WIRE MAG SHOWCASE — Split Seconds, Emperors, Ruby Boots and Warning Birds, the Bakery, June 1 SOUNDWORKS SHOWCASE — Paradise in Exile, Refl ections of Ruin and Malignant Monster, Rocket Room, June 1 THE COMMUNITY SHOWCASE — James Ireland, Diger Rockwell, Assembly Line, the Boost Hero Man, Lowaski and Mostark, Ya Ya’s, June 1 GUN FEVER SHOWCASE — Kill Teen Angst, Coveleski, Ex-Nuns, Dead Owls and Grim Fanbanjo, Beat Nightclub, June 1 SATURDAY SPECTACULAR — 56 bands, eight stages, Northbridge, June 2 WAMI AWARDS — Eskimo Joe, John Butler, Mama Kin, Dom Mariana and the Hurricane Fighter Plane, the Bakery, June 2 CLOSING PARTY — Sonpsilo Circus, the Chemist, Voltaire Twins, San Cisco, the Bakery, June 2 CITY OF PERTH WINTER ARTS SEASON��5
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WINTER ARTS SEASON 2012

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