The Finale May 30, 2008

Well, well, well its about that time of the semester, everything is being summed up ready for completion. I’d firstly just like to congradualte everyone for putting in a big effort for our blog, its been quite fascinating reading everyones post and responses.

This Blog for me, like many of us is the first I have ever participated in; I have learned a great deal form this blogging activity, I never understood why people would even want to blog, now I do; it can be quiet satisfying, especially when you know your reaching the outside world. We have had some high profile comments outside our blog group, which I am still finding difficult to comprehend, I think that at the very least this indicates our blog has been a success; for example one of my blog post on the Kernaghans was commented on by Steve JW Roberts who is Lee Kernaghans Personal Assistant.

It amazes me how easily our blog reaches out to the world, the internet truly is a wonderful medium; while I have learned a great deal about country music, I have also learned some new internet presentation skills such as adding pictures and videos to posts, which I think adds an attraction factor to blog posts. This project is by far the most satisfying assignment I have ever been apart of! I has changed my perception on the Country Music Industry, and I hope what we have done will help to alter other peoples perception as well.

My Perception of Country Music Has Changed!

Previously I have been rather critical of the country genre, in one of my previous blogs ‘A different way to think about country’ I suggested that “I don’t really enjoy the sound; in fact, I would pass up listening to country music for most other forms of music”, this blog has helped to expose me to the country music scene, I have found that now I don’t mind country music so much, I am not going to run out and buy a Cd or anything, but I am far less likely to change the radio station or put in a Cd when a country music song comes on. With continued exposure to the country music genre, who knows I might even become a country music lover, but at this point I’m content that I have come to find I really quite enjoy folk country styles of music (Lisa Mitchell Inspired), I may even add some to my collection.

This blog has facilitated much learning capacity for the country music beginner,  we have brought to light so many different country related topics. My knowledge of the country industry is now much greater than the Australian country music awards and the Tamworth music festival, both which previously I avoided watching or reading about. I have even began to notice the country songs in my favourite genre, bands like Yellowcard and Panic at the Disco, have country sounding tracks incorporated on some of their albums and these to the dismay of most people that ride in my car are now some of my favourite songs.

The posts I have most enjoyed doing were the ones based on feminism in country music, music reviews and the modern cultural constructions of country music. I have been able to take a lot of information away from this blog, although our posts were not always academic, just the analysis of country music from sources such as myspace, youtube, news articles and websites has helped shape my perception of the country music genre. The combination of sources has allowed for wider audience participation, this construction of our blog has therefore supported the Country Music Industry in a postive way. I hope that now everyone has developed a far more authentic view of country music; I know that I have been able to develop many new ideas of what country should be, such as a form of expression, comedic and serious incorporated with life’s various issues, family, love, political, feminist etc… There is one thing I know for sure I’d rather be a Hillbilly or bluegrass country lover than a Lapdancer! How about you?

The great thing about this activity has been the fact that the blog will continually be exposed to the outside world but….

Just Like the final song an artist plays at a gig the blog is coming to a close… will there be an encore, only time will tell…

So for now I bid you all a fond farwell…

“Goodbye Y’all”

I sure have enjoyed being apart of this blog!

Post by: Ryan Witt

Individual Concluding Statement – Goodbye Bloggers May 28, 2008

Our group started this blog as a way to address one of the gaps in the mainstream music press’s coverage. That gap is the country music genre.

We are constantly bombarded with the top 40, the pop/rock, the popular music, but we believe this type of music is not the most interesting aspect of contemporary music out there. So by creating this blog we hoped to address the issue that country music is not publicised in the ‘popular’ music community. It’s a huge industry, so why isn’t it generally covered in the top 40, Video Hits, or on popular music stations such as NXFM? Why is it only well known within its own industry and community?

Country music is full of passion, humour and a good story. It is made by good old fashioned hard working, and generally middle classed people. It’s not this computer generated repetitive style of music that is normally on the countdowns. Its made by real people, who can actually sing. How do we know that? Well because country music is played in pubs and in parks, by someone with and old acoustic guitar and a dream. It isn’t a socialite or an actress who wakes up one day and decides to make a recorded because they are bored. Its real. The emotions are real and the stories are real. So why do we keep falling for the world of the manufactured music? Well quite simply, we are told to. Its hot, its new and its plastered everywhere. We don’t have a choice in the matter. But for reasons just like this, I argue that country music can pull us out of our consumer driven rut and back into the world of the real. Country music is a world where you can sing about beer and driving a truck and its OK to do so. Its fun. There is nothing to prove. Just as long as you have a catchy song that people can enjoy you have achieved your ultimate goal.

Sure, there are those lucky few country music artists who do make it into the top 40 countdowns, but they are rare and far between, and that’s not good enough. A genre that has so much passion and such a huge following should be provided to everyone. Yes it has its very own television stations etc. but not all of us have pay TV, and I would say that country music is for the average Joe, and what average Joe can even afford pay TV?

One thing I have learnt about country music though, is it seems to be stuck in a catch 22. In order to be publicised and actually earn money the song needs to be poppy enough to fit into the top 40 and mainstream countdowns however, within the country genre, when a song is poppy and moves away from the distinct deep country twangy sound, the artists are ridiculed and considered sell outs, or worse, glorified ‘lap dancers’ (as discussed in Ryan’s article “Lap Dancer or Hillbilly Deluxe? The Cultural Constructions of Modern Country”). So there lies the problem. Either the country music artists stay true to their country roots and end up poor and relatively unknown, or they become famous and well off ‘sell outs’. There is a thin line that the country music genre is straddling. No wonder its difficult for the country genre to break into the mainstream.

Although our arguments is that country music is under publicised and that more people should be given the opportunity to hear it, I do realise that music is in the tastes of the individual. As discussed in one of our class readings, “Fast or slow, country or pop, jazz or blues – Louis Armstrong (or Duke Ellington) expressed the universal truth. There are only two kinds of music: good and bad. Roger Rollin has added his own corollary to that judgment. In matters of aesthetic decision, only the ear of the beholder is relevant.” (Cooper, B. Lee,1997, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me: Reflections on the Evolution of Popular Music and Rock Scholarship”, Popular Music and Society, Spring http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_/ai_20633221 ). So although we believe country deserves a wider audience, we cannot force it upon others, but instead we educate those about what else is out there.

Throughout writing this blog I have learned a lot. I have learned not only how under appreciated country music is in the mainstream, but I also learnt how huge it is on its own, which makes my first observation even more baffling. If it is such a huge genre, why aren’t we given more opportunity to it? Personally, I think this blogging form is a great way to reach people and spread the country word. We have had comments from random other bloggers and people seam to be either engaging in our ideas or at least reading them, so I think we have somewhat achieved our goal. Now if we could only get the word out to the wider community.

Country music is a great genre, and the more I have researched it the more I have been pulled in and the more I love it. Not just for the music but for the atmosphere and the general mood the genre brings. It has a real country quality. You feel like the people singing are not some super huge megastar but your next door neighbour. Someone you can go and visit on a Sunday afternoon for a beer around a camp fire. Its laid back, relaxed and care free, like there are more important things to life than high powered stress. To me, country music shows an ideal world, a community where you are not lost in the hustle bustle of life but where you have time to stop and appreciate the finer things.

I really hope that through this blog, we have shed some light on this relatively hidden genre. It’s a genre that everyone should experience and I hope that we have helped to do that, or at least give some more information on the genre so you may understand just what you are missing by not giving it a go. It’s a genre that can really change your perspective on things, and isn’t that what everyone needs now an again?

So spread the word, and join the country music world. Until you do, you wont know what you have been missing!

Jacki Tipton, signing off.

Thanks for reading!

Rock Hilbilly May 27, 2008

So looking at recent and past blogs and my own researching and searching for country with in the media, I came across well known (well at least what i think) Kid Rock, who to an extent I think can be seen a bit of a country rapper.  I came across him through my search through CMT.com, I had always heard of the Kid, but purely through tabloids, dating Pamela Anderson and his images and purely a red neck in music. It wasn’t until I decided to look at more of his background. I thought it was interesting looking at purely to see his musical contributions to the country music scene. Very alternative type country style that goes very much against the norms of country, especially seeing as hes from Detroit and has mainly a gangster rap rock image to start with.

his image was always what stood out the most. He played up on the white trash image with in a white raprock emerging industry being heavily influenced by such artists like the beastie boys, yet Rock’s lyrics were seen to be more obscene and in turn there was a $20 000 radio fine for one of his songs titled “Yodeling in the vally” which had close references to oral sex. Yet this image and Rock producing most of the work him self is what pushed him through the boundaries of the industry. HIs album “Devil with out a cause” released in August 1998, ten years after he initially attempted to break into the music industry, is what shot him to success, his song “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba” of the album shot him to a superstar with a Top Five, seven-times-platinum album and a gig at Woodstock ‘99. His success was due to his alternative genre which was infused with raw rock of country with rap.

Now although I initially didnt really consider Kid Rock, although I thought he was a red neck hilbilly and I never really liked his music, its interesting to see he all over cmt.com through links to radio, video clips and bios and pics. He was/ kinda still is I guess a success with a country style rap rock. Although he’s still up there with red necks like limp biscit with the rap rock style, the fact that kid rock, although from detroit and has a primarily rap background, draws heavily from country not only for his hilbilly image but for his music i thought was quite cool.

However, I also find it funny how most of his image, and alot of what I knew about him before I researched further was his marriage/divorce relationship with Bay Watch star Pam Anderson!

 

Sophie Adams

We’ve Done Us Proud May 27, 2008

We have put a lot of effort into bringing country out of its shadow and into a new and brighter light and I believe we have been very successful. Therefore, I thought I would do one of my last blogs on the success and progress country music has already achieved throughout the past to where it is now.

Before Tamworth got involved about four decades ago, country music was in a completely different world. There were only a few artists who ‘worked’ as country music artists. This is very different from the flourishing industry that is seen today. So even if country music isn’t as mainstream as we believe it should be, it has still made a huge success from where it originally started.

When “Country and Western” music started to emerge more, the media belittled it and people did not take it seriously. “Country music artists and writers weren’t given the recognition or respect they deserved and there was little thought given to anyone to helping new talent and building new opportunities for artists” (Ellis 2007). Since country music got this bad media coverage, it was very hard for an artist to get a gig at any club, restaurant, or bar, let alone a venue bigger than that. As well, no national event or organization brought country music together, so artists didn’t even really know each other.

Once Tamworth became involved, country music started to see changes. The first Golden Guitar Awards in 1973 brought a “powerful magnetic effect, pulling artists, fans, and media into a compact and focused environment where country music was not just a sideshow but dominated the entire scene” (Ellis 2007). This festival that started everything for country music is now rated in the top 10 music festivals in the world. A survey showed there were 75,000 visitors at the 2007 Festival and at least 31,000 of them going through the Information Centre. These numbers exclude the tens of thousands of local/regional fans who attended the festival.

From the beginning of this festival, a new country music industry grew rapidly. People, including media and record companies, started to look at country music differently and take it seriously. “By 1999, some 20 percent of adult Australians in a national survey said country music was their favourite music, while 37 percent said they enjoyed listening to it” (Ellis 2007). By this time, country music had grown from a genre that was considered a joke to a genre that was respected.

Many organisations, like ‘Tamworth Regional Council and Tourism Tamworth’ and ‘the Chamber of Commerce’, are now investing huge amounts of money into country music to keep it growing. As well, the CMAA started up because of the Tamworth people giving it a secure base to start out on and the College of Country Music is still very successful. Other small events have also flourished to help support country – Star Quest, Tamworth Songwriters Awards, Tamworth Independent Artists Recognition Awards, Country Capital Music Association Talent Quest, People’s Choice Awards, Telstra Road to Tamworth, Bush Laureate Awards, Golden Harmonicas and Golden Fiddle Awards, and many others. The Golden Guitar Wax Museum and Walk A Country Mile are exhibits that also help preserve and promote country music. Furthermore, we must not forget all the radio stations, magazines, bulletins, and internet websites that have come about for country music.

“It’s time to salute Tamworth and Australian country music. In the words of Graeme Connors iconic song which Slim sang with such feeling, “We’ve Done Us Proud!!!”” (Ellis 2007).

I was very surprised to find out that the Tamworth Festival is the biggest country music happening in the southern hemisphere and far bigger than any American event. This surprised me because based on all the research that I have now done on country music and just talking to other students I got an impression that country music was bigger and covered more by the media in the United States. As well, the Golden Guitar Awards are one of the longest running music recognition systems in Australia. It is even “acclaimed as one of the media events of the year” (Ellis 2007). However, with the festival and Awards program being so big in the world, I still wonder why country music does not get more media coverage in Australia – I still feel that it could be hi-lighted so much more.

Ellis, M. 2007, ‘We’ve Done Us Proud’, History of Country Music in Australia.

http://www.historyofcountrymusic.com.au/wevedoneusproud.html

-Natalie Boyce

Newcastle to Nashville May 27, 2008

Telstra Road to Tamworth is a national competition which has been providing an outlet for aspiring country music stars since it began in 2004. The competition traverses the nation with twenty heats in various regional locations throughout the year, coming to a close with the grand final series at the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival with the finals held at at the Toyota Country Theatre.

I first took notice of this competition yesterday when I saw a brief advertisement searching for competitors. Seeing as we have been researching Country Music I thought I would take a look at it. On the website where entry details are submitted is a video of a young man singing a song. He was the winner of last years competition and I instantly loved the song. I definatley want listen to some more of his music!!

   It turns out the guy singing the song is Morgan Evans and he is from Newcastle! Out of 700 entrants he was the winner. As part of his prize Morgan gets to record a single, perform in Nashville and produce a video clip.

Newcastle generally seems to be a very patriotic town. The radio stations, for example NXfm, are always talking about locals on television shows such as the Biggest Loser, Big Brother and Australian Idol and they will always try to get the towns support behind them. I’m sure that when Morgan won the competition it was on the local news channels and papers, but why haven’t we heard of him since?? Why aren’t the local radios getting behind him and playing his music? I really enjoyed his song and I think many other people will as well.  

Click on the link and have a listen.

Morgan Evans ‘Big Skies’

 

By Rachelle Fenning

Live Performance – Keith Urban Concert 2007 May 27, 2008

I know I keep coming back to this guy, and I know that he has now branched out into the more mainstream popular music culture, but the fact of the matter is that he is one of the best country musicians I have ever had the privilege to see. Yes I am of course talking about Keith Urban.

This man is not just a singer, but he is a real musician. He plays every instrument under the sun. I saw his concert in Acer Arena last year and let me just say…wow. I knew he played guitar but I didn’t realise that he was practically a one man band. Every now and again he would just stroll over to a new instrument and pick it up and just wow the audience over and over again. He was spectacular. And if you saw his performance with a guitar at the Arias last year, with the John Butler Trio, you would know exactly what I mean. he is just so at home with a guitar, its effortless. I can see why he got best live act by the Country Music Critics Poll (Discussed previously in “Nashville Ramblings” post).

I wasn’t always a Keith Urban fan. I bought a CD for a friends birthday once and gave it a listen before I gave it to her…then I kept it and bought her a new one. I just loved it. I couldn’t give it away. And from there I bought all the Keith Urban CD’s, even the old stuff back when he was in “The Ranch”. He is a terribly talented artist, however its only been the last few years that he ahs really achieved ‘mainstream’ success.

So when I heard he was coming to Sydney on tour, I went straight to ticketeck and, well they were sold out of course, so I went to good old eBay and bought the best tickets ever! 10^th row, section A, next to the catwalk. I shook Keith Urban’s hand…twice!

Heading into the concert I was expecting a great show, but what I got far exceeded my expectations. From the very start it was loud and bright and entertaining, everything a concert should be. He entertained the crown and spoke to us on our level. He wasn’t all high and mighty but really spoke to us, like we were his friends. When an artist does that you really get drawn into the show and it makes the experience so much more personal. It takes a very talented artist to realise this and actually employ it without coming over as too cocky. He gave people the opportunity to take photos and he sang not only on the stage but half way down the catwalk (in front of me) and also at the end. This way he reached the maximum number of audience members. An he wasn’t afraid of the audience. He bent down and high fived everyone. I have been to a lot of big name popular artists concerts and this is a rare thing. Its like they are either too good or they are scared of us. Keith Urban really wasn’t. he wasn’t there for the money but to put on a show for us! That, to me, is what is so appealing about all country artists. They seem like they are working for us. Like it’s a privilege to do what they do, and they try not to take it for granted.

Not only was Keith a spectacular musician, but his band members were equally as good. And not just those backing bands that stand and do nothing, they were entertainers too (a few were actually from Keith’s old band “The Ranch”). after all, we are there to see a show, not just people playing instruments, if you wanted to see that you could go to a music shop. Here is a little snippet of the last few seconds of “Shine”. This was actually filmed at the concert I attended, and you get to see a little of what I mean when I say how amazing the concert was, and how amazingly talented hi is.

You know what was the most amazing thing though. He could sing. That right, the singer could actually sing. No lip syncing or singing off tune. It was as clear as the CD and had just as much life and emotion, if not more. That is such a rare thing these days, with artists such as Ashley Simpson and Avril Lavigne you truly being to wonder how much work is theirs and how much is fake computer generated stuff. Its really nice to know that when you buy a CD, the artist can actually sing. After all, they are meant to be singers.

Even though Keith Urban is semi-mainstream now, I really thinks he deserves it. He lugged the man hours before he was famous and he is the real thing. A musician and an entertainer. So why am I doing a blog about him if he has infact made it into the mainstream? Well firstly, because the concert was spectacular, to spectacular not to share. I have never been to its equal. And secondly, no matter how much he merges over into the pop/rock genre, he is still mostly a country music artist. He plays a banjo like no one else (and has actually inspired me to one day learn it). He embodies everything that I have been saying is ‘country’. His songs are so emotional and they tell such amazing stories, and they make people happy. I cant help but smiling when I hear “Days Go By”. There is something about it that makes you beam and makes you forget your worries and just have fun. That, to me is what country music is.

So, since this is my last topical post for this blog assignment, I thought who better to drive home my idea that country music is an amazing genre than Keith Urban. And because he has broken into the mainstream music area, he is then bringing more publicity back into country music. People can hear him and try to find bands like him and perhaps explore a little more of this less publicised genre. To me, he is sort of like an ambassador for Australian country music, here and internationally.

Finally, I found these two videos that are also from the concert I attended. They don’t really show how good Keith was but I think I am actually in the videos. I was sitting right on the catwalk, only 10 rows from the front, and as you see here, Keith walks out for a few songs in the middle of the catwalk and he stops in front of me. In this first video you can see a blonde taking photos right in front of him. I think that’s me! In the second video you only see me for a split second (on the right of the screen), but half way through the song a girl puts her arms up and screams. I was beside her and in front a bit. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed at You Tube for having these videos. Of all the places in the concert that they filmed from they happened to be behind me. that’s pretty cool!

 

By Jacki Tipton

 

Star Maker May 27, 2008

The most successful and prestigious talent search in Australia for country music singers is Star Maker. BAL Marketing, a division of Radio 2TM, started Star Maker in 1979. Along with this, they were also already in charge of the Australian Country Music Awards. With the start of the talent quest, they wanted to focus on giving emerging artists a chance to emerge and enhance their talent and move away from recognising already established artists. It is now held on the first weekend of the festival in January at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre. The winner receives 12 months of promotion, both to the fans and music industry. This promotion includes their own 2 track CD that is released through ABC Music, a chance to perform at major country music events, and since 1998, Toyota, the sponsor of Star Maker, gives the winner a new vehicle for those 12 months. Many winners go very far in the country music industry. Some of the winners from past years have included Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys, James Blundell, Beccy Cole, Brendon Walmsley Grand Junction, and many others.

Star Maker sounds very similar to Australian Idol and Nashville Star in the United States that was previously discussed by Rachelle, but yet just a shorter process. When Rachelle talked about Nashville Star she stated that she was surprised there wasn’t anything like this in Australia and I don’t believe anyone else respond saying that there was. Since a festival that is very similar to these TV shows is so popular and successful, I think that it would also be very successful as a TV show.

It was also very interesting to me that it isn’t more well known, at least as far as I know, since so many major country artists have come from this show, like Keith Urban who is a huge success all over the world.

‘History of Star Maker’, History of Country Music in Australia.

http://www.historyofcountrymusic.com.au/starmaker.html

-Natalie Boyce

It Takes Balls to be a Woman: Feminism in Country Music May 27, 2008

In one of my earlier blog posts entitled ‘Take Your Pick! Are you a hillbilly, a lap dancer or bluegrass picker?‘ I reviewed an article by George Lewis. It is proposed in the article that one of the themes that has appropriated in the past 50 years for many female country singers is their expression of feminism in their music, to address the need for the change of standards and ethics for women within society.

Elizabeth Cook continues this Country Music feminist tradition, it is through her recent 2007 single ‘sometimes it takes balls to be a woman’ from her album ‘balls’ that she keeps the tradition alive…

(This is an excellent song, It is both well written/performed and most importantly her voice is exceptional!)

Elizabeth Cook believes ‘having balls is just the beginning’

You can find out more about Elizabeth Cook on her official webpage and MySpace for a free listen to more awesome tracks!

Post by: Ryan Wit

Country Music has come a long way May 27, 2008

After reading a biography on a Country Music singing legend- Ernest Tubb I came to realize how far Country Music in relation to media exposure has actually come. Tubb was a country singer, starting his career in the 1930’s. He describes how when he first started out there wasn’t any country music awards and there wasn’t even any county music charts in the trade magazines. In 1942 a magazine called Cash Box started to put some charts in the magazine but these charts were built around songs and not recordings. A magazine called Billboard started a separate chart for country music and was a little more successful than Cash Box. Tubb suggests that the first all country music festival in New York at Carnegie Hall in 1945 was perhaps Country Music’s coming of age.

 

Ernest Tubb’s recollection of the beginning of country music exposure in magazines exemplifies how much country music exposure to the media has actually grown in the last 60 years. Even though it is still not recognized as much as it should be in todays media there is hope that it will continue to grow and become a larger section in the music media.

Rachelle Fenning

 

Plugh, R. (1998). ‘Ernest Tubb, The Texas Troubadour’, Duke University Press.

Australian College of Country Music May 26, 2008

In my last post I talked about the SA Country Music Festival and I found out that they strongly support the Australian College of Country Music so I decided to look further into this college.

After the first CMAA Country Music Awards in 1993, the board members wanted to start something long term for the organization. Members of the board had always been interested in education and assistance for young artists exploring country music as a career. The board discussed many different options for this education system such as a mentoring program, but they decided on setting up a college that would be in conjunction with TAFE New England and they would use the Clarossy School in Tamworth for the college. Several meetings were conducted and TAFE agreed to give $20,000 for the curriculum of the college. Peter Winkler was hired in 1996 to create the curriculum.

The first College was held from January 4^th -19^th 1997, with Peter Winkler as the Muscial Director. Rod Coe, Deniese Morrison, Dobe Newton, and Garth Portor were tutors that also helped out. This first college was a huge success and continues to be today. In 2005 there were 189 young artists from all over the nation that had graduated from this college since it opened. Some of these artists have gone on to become Golden Guitar Winners and new stars in Australian country music.

The college is now sponsored by many different organizations like the NSW Ministry of Arts, The Australia Council for the Arts, Tamworth City Council, APRA/AMCOS, the Country Music Association in Nashville, and many others. Many students that attend this college are also sponsored by country music organizations and talent quests.

Now that we know the history of the college, the next question is what exactly is it? This college is a 15 day course with only 21 students a year being accepted. The students accepted are all over the age of 17 and enter with all different levels of music talent, some part time entertainers and others who are just starting off. However, all students go through several different programs such as, training, song writing, stage presentation, industry studies, studio recording, instrument training and concert performance. The 21 students are separated into three groups of 7 and each group works with a tutor during the afternoons of college, but the entire group still has lectures together in the mornings. During the afternoon tutor sessions, each student is required to compose, arrange, rehearse, and record several original songs that will be presented on stage at the graduation concert. They will also be allowed to record a couple of their songs under the supervision of Garth Porter. Many already established artists will even drop in to offer some words of encouragement to these young artists. At the very end of the college each student receives their CMAA certificates and TAFE Statement of Attainment.

Ellis, M. 2002, ‘How the Australian College of Country Music works’, History of Country Music in Australia. http://www.historyofcountrymusic.com.au/collegeworks.html

‘History of the College of Country Music’, History of Country Music in Australia. http://www.historyofcountrymusic.com.au/collegehistory.html

-Natalie Boyce