Latest / The Front / The tiny theatres and town halls keeping live music alive - on the road with Sarah Blasko

Transcript

The tiny theatres and town halls keeping live music alive - on the road with Sarah Blasko · The Front

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Check one too. I'm a little bit horse today because
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: this is the day after the show.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: What his voice sounds like in the mid afternoon From
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: The Australian. This is the weekend edition of The Front.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: I'm Claire Harvey. It's better to burn out than fade away,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: sings Neil Young in the song hey Hey My My
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: ironic given the fact he's still performing after sixty years
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: in the music biz, I guess it's a more romantic
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: idea to spectacularly flame out in love and life than
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: to just endure. There's not many songs about consistency or perseverance,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: but staying relevant and experiencing longevity in any artistic career
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: is a huge achievement. Today we look at Australian singer
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Sarah Blasco's enduring career and how it's small towns the
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Australian bush that have helped keep Blascow's flame burning bright.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: So everybody's setting up their instruments and I'm standing my
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: outfit with the in house stammer.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: I mean, this is the rock and roll lifestyle, isn't it.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Earlier this year, our audio producer Jasper League got
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: an email from Sarah Blasco with an offer. Sarah was
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: on the hunt for a bass player for her regional
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: tour promoting her new album I Just Want to Conquer
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: This Mountain. With shows booked for weekends falling neatly around
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: his work schedule, Jasper jumped at the opportunity to work
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: with one of Australia's best singers. He packed his bass
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: and gig outfits, along with a microphone and a camera
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: to interview Sarah and shoot some video and record some
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: audio along the way.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: To my memory, I started doing regional tours probably on
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: my second record, and I've always done it. I get
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: the feeling that that matters to people. If you consistently
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: go to their place and the people at the venue
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: they're like, oh, welcome back, and they appreciate that you're
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: doing that. And then yeah, but I just love playing shows,
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: so I wanted to play as many as possible, And
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: if you just played the cities, you'd literally be playing
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: five shows each time you put a record out, which
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: to me feels disappointing.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: I'm only looking forward, I don't look back. And when
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: you hear something by someone new, like you first hear
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: at Tcheran or as a goal in Australia called Sarah Blasco.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: And whenever you hear something new that inspires you from
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: the young, it makes you feel I'm going to do that.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: I want to do it. Once you stop, you die.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: That's the voice of Elton John in a segment of
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: James Corden's Couple Karaoke, neatly articulating and instinct shared by
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: artists all over the world, the need to create, record
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: and perform and to do so for as long as possible,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: no matter what. Recently, I had to sit down and
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: listen to my first record a lot because.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: I'm putting it out on vinyl for the first time.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: And as I was listening to it, I could sense
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: from what I was trying to do with the artwork
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: and the songs of the sentiment was to sort of
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: show that I wanted to do this.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: For a long time.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: So I was kind of in a way, kind of
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: proud of myself that that was what I wanted, and
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: I was kind of trying to set that up. So
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: for me, it was just about that I would have
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: loved to have had a song that was huge, or
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: to go on like David Letterman or like all those
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: sorts of things were like, oh, that be amazing to
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: have an international career. In fact, it was quite brutal
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: at one point where I kind of realized, oh, that
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: wasn't going to happen. Then you regroup and work out
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: you know that those things aren't actually career goals as such.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Like the music, the projects are the actual making of
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the music. I always have to think, well, how can
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: I make the most of what I have? So this
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: is one of the things I have. I have these
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: small pockets of people who want to come and see
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: me play all over the place, which is actually a godsend,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: really like, it's really very fortunate. And then you realize, yeah,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: not everybody does have that.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: There's something very rock and roll about the way she's
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: living out her art now, which is not to curl
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: up in a ball and be sad that she didn't
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: end up playing Madison Square Garden or the O two
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Arena that she's playing the be a Chuka Town Hall, a.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: Chuker Paramount Theater, which is actually a cinema. We were
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: playing in theater I while the latest Hollywood blockbus that
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: was playing in the theater next door.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: It's so cool to embrace that be proud of that
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: and throw herself into it being a touring artist in
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: the way that she can. She's not giving in to
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: the disappointment that she's obviously felt at some points in
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: her career that she's not Lady Gaga.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Growing up in Australia, so many young artists have these
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: aspirations of going overseas and it's almost like the size
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: of the venue is somehow the best barometer of how
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: your career is going. But I guess the nature of
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: dreams is that they do evolve over time, they do change,
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: and they mature. And she's arrived at this point in
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: her career where instead of looking around and thinking about
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: the things that she doesn't have, she's grateful for the
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: things that she does have. I think it's a real
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: antidote to bitterness. And what she does have is something
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: that has eluded so many artists, and that is longevity.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: She can rock up to pretty much any talent around
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: our country and a couple hundred people are going to
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: come out to see her. That's a significant achievement and
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: is the byproduct of a lot of hard work and
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: consistent output.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Regional venues face an inherent challenge which comes down to
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: money and geography, securing high quality acts that attract audiences
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: big enough to keep venues operating. Some venues struggle to
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: bounce back after COVID lockdowns, and it's estimated more than
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: thirteen hundred Australian live music venues have closed since the
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: pandemic due to increases in public liability costs, rising rents
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: and energy prices. So who's helping these places stay afloat?
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: Made muchical.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: The vibe in a lot of those places is very
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: different because a lot of the people are volunteers, so
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: there's definitely a different energy when.
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: It's not there.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Job as such, it's kind of more, you know, something
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: that they're trying to foster in their community. The theater
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: draws people that maybe they want to see from the
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: city to that place. If you're into the arts, or
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: you're you know, you love music, or who you want
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: to get out one night a month or whatever, then yeah,
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: you would put your energy into it because you probably
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: know that you know that's your lifeline in that place,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: and it creates an atmosphere in the community. Like I
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: really felt that in the Brunswick Kids Place, there was
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: a couple of people that were hanging around at the
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: end that were clearly just in the community but had
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: made friends with the owners and come to things there
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: all the time, and you can feel that they're invested,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Like they were wearing their Brunswick Picture House T shirt
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: and they're keeping it alive.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: I did manage to ask a couple of volunteers why
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: they did do that, and their motivations were almost always
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: for the benefit of their community. They understood what these
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: concerts brought to their community, the sort of the enriching
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: nature of these concerts, and that's something that was important
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: to them and that they wanted to continue to contribute to.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: I almost likened it to like people who retire and
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: end up working for the rfs or community radio stations
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: or something like that. You know, these people are community
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: minded and they understand the value that these venues bring
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: to their communities.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: Coming up how Blasco's childhood in the church is shaping
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: her musical present. Sarah Blasco's latest album, I Just Want
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: to Conquer This Mountain, her seventh studio album, is Honest
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: and Raw. It's produced by Blasco with Nords to Nigel
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Godrich's work with Beck and French group Air, and though
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: there are large ensemble moments, it's largely driven by the
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: piano and Blasco's incredible voice. The album is also autobiographical.
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: Okay, out of the Marriage one Roz only twenty six
• 9:35
  Speaker 5: a ladda novo Giller Mosa the Wog.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: I grew up in the church, and like in the
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Penecostal church where everybody would kind of make up all
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: of these songs. As much as I kind of turned
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: my back again on the on the church, there was
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: something really beautiful about that experience and performing live, I
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: just love the community of it. I think as well,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: like there's something about the way that when everyone is
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: interacting and playing together, you you're not necessarily looking at
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: each other or it's just a very intangible, magical kind
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: of feeling.
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: I think.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: There's something very evocative about these little venues. They feel
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: a bit like church halls, don't they. And they feel
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: a bit like church meetings with people who are not
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: your normal necessarily rock and roll crowd sitting in chairs
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: or on pews, you know, looking up at the stage.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's such a good way of looking at it.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: And I hadn't seen the overlap between these regional venues
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: in the church. But you're absolutely right. Probably the biggest
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: thing that they have in common is that they function
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: as community hubs as much as they do anything else.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: I mean, obviously they're set up as music venues, but
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: it's almost like the music is an excuse to get
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: the community together. And this isn't to take away from
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: any artists that manage to draw a crowd in the country,
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: but the reality years there's less to do in these places.
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: And we actually played a place called Brunswick Picture House,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: which is a converted cinema up in Brunswick Heads on
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: the Northern Rivers, and there was a huge sign outside
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: that venue that said get off the telly, come to
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: a concert. Something like that. Artists like Sarah who breathe
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: in and out of these towns, they sort of act
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: like magnets really for those local communities. But another way
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: it's reflected is the age spread and the diversity in
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: the crowds. It's not like a concert in the city
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: where certain bands draw a certain crowd that all dressed
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: the same or have similar haircuts. Some of these venues
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: that we'd go and play, you'd have three generations under
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: one roof.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: That sign about getting off the telly and getting out
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: to a live show. I mean that's relevant for all
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: of us, isn't it, especially when the best television that
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: has ever been made is available for us all every night.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: What do you think about that idea that we have
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: sort of an obligation to go out and experience entertainment live.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: I think the obligations on everybody. I think the obligations
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: on audiences for being honest with yourself and thinking, hey,
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: have I gotten a bit sort of stuck in my ways?
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: Maybe I should make more of an effort to go
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: out and support the arts in whatever form that might be.
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: But there's a responsibility on performers and musicians in this
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: case as well to entice people off the couch. And
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: I think Sarah does deliver that she has a gift.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: She's an incredible singer. To see her sing and to
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: hear her perform her music is a really attractive alternative
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: to another night of watching Love Is Blind or Maths
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: in my case.
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: So, how has Sarah Blasco enticed people off the couch
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: and built a national audience?
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: Kids A drive inside just bus meby.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: I used to get played on Triple J and that
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: had a huge effect on my touring and playing festivals
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: and everything. But yeah, I don't know. I think it's
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: probably just been that period of time where I've just
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: kept going at this point, so people might know the
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: name or know my cover of Flame Trees at the
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: very least.
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: The choshnus.
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: Bless makes.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: Sarah Blasco performs for the last two shows of her
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: tour this weekend in Hobart and Lawnceston and Jaska will
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: be there. You can watch tool video called Longevity at
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: the Australian dot com dot a you right now. Thanks
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: for joining us on the front this week. Our team
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: is Jasper League, who produced and edited this episode and
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: composed our music regular producer Kristin Amiot, Stephanie Coombs, Tiffany Dimak,
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Joshua Burton, Leat Sammagloo and me Claire Harvey.