RAVE spends some time with JEREMY NEALE. The Velociraptor and Tiger Beams member (and solo artist in his own right) talks about SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) Day, which goes national this year to drum up support for live music around the country.

As a musician who’s been getting around a bit lately, how would you say support for live music in Brisbane compares with that of other cities?

Brisbane has a really diverse, almost segmented scene, in which there are many loyal followers. The size of the audience might not be as large as that of Sydney or Melbourne, but they’re a dedicated bunch. They’re out every Wednesday through Sunday. 

Smaller venues are doing it tough in the current economic climate. How important is it that places that nurture young bands continue to operate?

I think for a brief period (and well it’s happened a few times over the years) we lost a lot of places for bands to learn the art of playing live. Fortunately we’re in a really strong place at the moment. 

If we lost all the small venues, Brisbane would be stuck with its current crop of bands. Which mind you, is a strong crop. But when I started playing shows in Brisbane, I didn’t know any other bands, so it was really important to be slogging out some wild dog Tuesday night shows at Ric’s Bar so you could meet people and show your worth. 

New bands are really important to existing bands as well. Left on your own without others for inspiration / motivation, you can see music getting a little bit insular or stagnant so it’s good to be forced to push boundaries or consider other approaches. 

What would you consider to be a greater threat to live music in Brisbane – a lack of venues or people being too apathetic to go to shows?

To be honest I think we have an awesome number of venues in Brisbane so I’d say the real killer is the number of people going to shows. In some ways this is just a direct result of there being so much on in one night that it splits an already somewhat limited sized pie of punters into smaller groups.

Live music is important and awesome but a lot of the time shows are targeted at people who already know the band and perhaps don’t offer as much to the ‘regular Joe’. Music-related club nights – love them or hate them – are an important part of introducing new punters to bands they might not necessarily venture out to see.

This model of operation is really important to the future of live music because punters want an entire experience and to feel valued as part of the culture of an evening out. It is important to note that people also like to make out and drink alcohol.

What part do musicians themselves have to play in developing a local live music culture (beyond just turning up and playing)?

This is a really important question. In a live music culture that is growing and changing as much as Brisbane is it is really essential for those who have the ability and the knowledge to take on roles outside of being just a performer. If you look at someone like Dom Miller, who although he is a solo performer in his own right, 

he also manages acts including Ben Salter, Texas Tea, The Gin Club and producer Magoo as well as booking the venue The Dowse Bar. It’s also really important to be willing to offer yourself as a mentor to younger bands as well. I think the old school of thought is that music is a competition but really, a lot more could be accomplished with people genuinely helping each other out and using their own unique skill sets to further local music.

Live music has to compete with a lot of distractions in modern life. Why should someone in Queensland go to a gig and not, say, the footy?

You should probably do both at some point. Football is a good life experience too. You’ll learn how to fight and you can also gamble there, however I feel live music is inspiring. Creative energy at a show is quite invigorating as an artist and all music, anything from noise through to classical, can evoke feelings you may not experience in any other area of your life. It’s also the perfect place to catch up with friends, share a drink, dance and meet a lot of great people in a generally very safe and relaxed environment. 

As SLAM Day is all about increasing awareness and supporting live music culture, what outcomes would you personally like to see from the campaign?

I would hope that the campaign can successfully reach out to people who don’t usually go to see live music to give it a shot and see what they get from the experience. 

SLAM DAY goes national on Thursday Feb 23, promoting and supporting live music in small venues across Australia. See www.slamrally.org for more information.

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