BUDDING artists and songwriters had a chance to hone their craft with a regional workshop event last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Held at Quality Hotel Lakeside, the Regional Sessions program was presented by music rights management organisation APRA AMCOS, as part of the State Government\u2019s $5 million On the Road Again initiative aimed at boosting the live music industry\u2019s recovery from COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Local songwriters had a chance to attend workshops by Ed Kuepper who co-founded punk act The Saints, Castlemaine-based musician Eliza Hull and reggae and ska veteran Nicky Bomba.<\/p>\n
Central Victorian singer-songwriter Grim Fawkner was in attendance, and said it was refreshing to have \u201cloungeroom level chats\u201d with established musicians not only about song writing, but real issues in the music industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been incredibly informative and even something that just gives us a spark of motivation because we\u2019ve got such established people coming to Bendigo to share their knowledge, it\u2019s an opportunity we don\u2019t get so often in the countryside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been this wishy-washy industry pat on the back, it\u2019s been a really good course in realism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guests we\u2019ve had have spoken about mental struggles during lockdowns. One of the biggest takeaways I had from Ed Kuepper from The Saints was that his biggest regret was not having better legal advice early on his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal things like that that can make a significant difference to an artist\u2019s career are really important to know, rather than just how someone came up with a great riff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castlemaine-based songwriter Rebecca Jane Howell said she signed up for the session to not only hear about the experiences of more established artists, but to share \u201ccommonalities\u201d of the music industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of reassuring when you hear people talk about imposter syndrome, writer\u2019s block… it\u2019s reassuring to be somewhere where everyone can identify with that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BUDDING artists and songwriters had a chance to hone their craft with a regional workshop event last Wednesday. Held at Quality Hotel Lakeside, the Regional Sessions program was presented by music rights management organisation APRA AMCOS, as part of the State Government\u2019s $5 million On the Road Again initiative aimed at boosting the live music […]<\/p>\n