Australian Music Vault presents a series of public talks for emerging artists, established artists, music fans, music teachers and people who just really love music.
Participate in the ongoing dialogue around the music industry, exploring genres, ideas, motivations, changes, questions and solutions.
Thursday 1 March, 6:30pm – The Members Lounge
The Australian music industry recognises the need for active, positive work to be undertaken in the area of gender diversity in the industry.
This public talk focused on the plans and challenges in developing, supporting and promoting initiatives to tackle this issue. Speakers include artists Grace Kindellan (Wet Lips), Dr Catherine Strong (RMIT), Jessie Lloyd(Performer and Producer) and Tracee Hutchison (Music Victoria’s Women’s Advisory Panel) and the discussion will be facilitated by author and journalist Jenny Valentish.
Jenny Valentish - Facilitator
Jenny Valentish grew up in an unlovely satellite town of London, where she learned the art of escapism through music. At sixteen she started interviewing musicians and has done so ever since for a variety of magazines and newspapers, becoming editor of Triple J magazine and Time Out Melbourne. She is a published author of novels, and her latest non-fiction work Woman of Substances: A Journey into Addiction and Treatment is a frightening but essential read.
Dr. Catherine Strong
Dr Catherine Strong is a senior lecturer in the Music Industry programme at RMIT University. She has done extensive research on gender in popular music, including a project on women screen composers in conjunction with APRA AMCOS in 2017. She is a member of the Music Victoria Women's Advisory Panel, and Chair of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Australia-New Zealand branch.
Tracee Hutchison
Tracee is a career broadcaster, journalist, arts/media executive, producer/director, educator and author and brings 30 years’ experience at the highest level in Australian and international broadcast media and arts sectors. A former CEO of the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, Network Executive Producer at ABC International and Program Director & Board Member at 3RRR.FM, Tracee is currently Head of Journalism at the Australian College of Arts (Collarts) and Chair of Music Victoria’s Women’s Advisory Panel.
Grace Kindellan
When Grace moved to Melbourne in 2011, she loved going to gigs and seeing local bands every night but she was pretty unimpressed with other parts of Melbourne's music community. So, she rolled up her sleeves and formed Wet Lips, started volunteering at PBS and Triple R, learnt how to book and promote gigs including WETFEST, and has recently helped form Hysterical Records. Over the past seven years, Grace has had many highlights such as playing at Camp Nong and the Marriage Equality Street Party to travelling to the states with Hysterical Records but the best thing has been witnessing a whole new community of amazing trans, non binary, women, LGBTIQA+ and QTPOC artists carve out their own space in Melbourne's musical landscape. Currently, Grace works as the volunteer coordinator at Triple R during the day and at night she goes to gigs then hangs upside down from the rafters planning her next scheme.
Jessie Lloyd
Originally from the tropics of North Queensland, Jessie Lloyd is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musician who performs a broad collection of Australian Indigenous songs. A vocalist, guitarist, bassist and ukulele player, Jessie earned her formal qualifications at Abmusic in Perth, WA in 2002. Also a producer and creative entrepreneur as well as a musician, Jessie is a cultural practitioner of Indigenous music and is dedicated to the continuation of song traditions. Her mission is to produce, perform and progress Australian Indigenous music through innovative concepts, collaborative projects and cultural practice. Maintaining an authenticity that contributes to the rich diversity of Australian arts and its audiences, and working towards positive and progressive social opportunities, values and attitudes.
Wednesday 28 March, 6:30pm – The Members Lounge
The second Australian Music Vault public talk discussed the role of fans and fan communities.
Music fans and collectors are extremely important to musicians and can greatly contribute to their success and audience perception. They are also vitally important to curators and historians in their documentation of music history. Speakers include Peter Green (PR and fan club for Crowded House and Split Enz), Lynne Trute (Nick Cave collector and fan), Owen Lambourn (co-founder of the Kylie Krew), Holly Pereira (writer and assistant booker at Howler). The facilitator is writer and journalist Jenny Valentish.
Jenny Valentish - Facilitator
Jenny Valentish grew up in an unlovely satellite town of London, where she learned the art of escapism through music. At sixteen she started interviewing musicians and has done so ever since for a variety of magazines and newspapers, becoming editor of Triple J magazine and Time Out Melbourne. She is a published author of novels, and her latest non-fiction work Woman of Substances: A Journey into Addiction and Treatment is a frightening but essential read.
Peter Green
Celebrating his 38th year working with Split Enz and Crowded House, Peter Green has enjoyed a passionate embrace of the fan world. Commencing with the iconic Skyhooks as a teenager, the list of Australasian artists that followed reads like a 'who's who' of the music industry, Boom Crash Opera, James Freud, The Uncanny Xmen, Bic Runga, The Sharp, The Screaming Jets, The fabulous Finns and the TV inspired Popstars Bardot just to name a few. The author of 8 books, he also has 10 world tours under his belt and the writer of the prophetic 22 year old online diary "Famous For 16 Minutes". His spin on all things 'Fan' is a chance to peep behind the magic curtain of our most beloved artists.
Lynne Trute
Together with her husband Andrew, Lynne Trute is a long time Nick Cave fan and collector. Initially Lynne did not share Andrew’s fascination but fortunately this all changed in 1985 on hearing the song ‘Tupelo’. ‘The Trutes’ as they are known, obsessively collected and catalogued Nick Cave items from around the world. And so by combining their love of travel, they were able to see Nick Cave perform in many countries, witness book readings, signings and observe several albums being recorded. After decades of collecting, the Trute’s donated their large collection of Nick Cave memorabilia to the Australian Performing Arts Centre in 2008. The collection provides a ‘fans eye’ view of Nick Cave from the very beginning through newspaper clippings, audios, videos, photographs, rare items and posters.
Owen Lambourn
Co-Founder of the Kylie Krew, Owen has been interviewed by Star Observer and quarter yearly music magazine Women In Pop about his love of Kylie. Owen was also an active participant in ‘Collecting Kylie’ at Art Centre Melbourne in Jan 2017 as part of Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival.
Holly Pereira
Holly Pereira has been an active participant in the Victorian music industry since the humble age of 16. When she's not up the front of the crowd she's working as the assistant venue booker at Howler. Holly also works as a freelance music journalist, with her work featured in publications such as Beat Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Big Issue and STACK Magazine.
Thursday 24 May, 6:30pm – The Members Lounge
In this talk, we met with Renée McCarthy, the inaugural ARIA Music Teacher of the Year. This award was first given in 2017, supported by The Song Room, and is designed to recognise and celebrate the influence of Australian music teachers. In conversation with singer/songwriter Josh Pyke, Renée will discuss her teaching method and practise and the inspirational music program she runs at Woodcroft College, SA.
If you believe in the importance of a great music and arts education, this conversation is not to be missed.
Josh Pyke
Josh Pyke is one of Australia’s premier singer/songwriters, having released 5 studio albums to much acclaim. He is an award ambassador for the ARIA Music Teacher of the Year award and supports many young musicians through his roles as APRA Ambassador (the Josh Pyke Partnership, awarded to an unsigned musician to grow their career), and as an Indigenous Literacy Foundation ambassador.
Renée McCarthy
Renée is the Director of Music at Woodcroft College in South Australia, which opened with 71 enrolments in 1989 and now has over 1300 students from Reception to Year 12.
In 2004 she was appointed Head of The Arts and in 2013, Director of Music. Despite the fact that Woodcroft is situated in a low socio-economic area, her music students are making their own mark on the world, participating in an annual music production, school band, international tours, an Aspiring Musicians Program and an a cappella group, all begun by Renée.