3 Minutes Of Your Time

To Whom it may concern,

Over the coming months I will be posting a series of blog interviews from both Western Australia and East Coast hip-hop Mc's, vocalist, DJ's, producers, promoters, managers and creative personalities that incorporate the elements of hip-hop in to their lives on a daily basis. They are short reads. Only 3 minutes of your time... 

I have formatted the interviews with very little structure allowing the participant to expand on what they are, what the represent and their beliefs, morals and plans for the future. The questions are very simple, the answers get a little more personal. My first interviewee is by a Perth based Mc beatmaking DJ Defyre! I have the assistance from my dear friend Ebony Campbell who will be editing the interview. Check out her blog adorable at http://adventuresofebony.blogspot.com/ or http://ebonyarwen.blogspot.com/

Speak Soon,


Evie x

Saturday Southbound 2012

They ran solo. They walked holding hands, in pairs, gazing into each others eyes. They drove in convoys of fancy dressed, free-spirted adults trying to hold on desperately to their youth. They camped in their swags, tents and tee-pee's. The taste-makers of the West Coast mingled with the country kids from our deep South.  Southbound 2012 was a well dressed indi affair. The first day was anyway. If Perth ever needed a slogan it could honestly be the "City Of The Pretty People"12,000 adults ( it was the first year the organisers, Sunset Events, had run the event as an 18+ event ) attended Southbound over the weekend of January 7th and 8th in the sunny town of Busselton, Western Australia. A festival I have attended 4 times of the 6 years it has been running.

I attended my first Southbound in 2005 which was also the inaugural year for the festival. I was 16 years old. My boyfriend at the time and his mates who were a few years older than myself were what the Australia culture on contemporary music punters represented to the core ( 6 years ago that is ). The boys were in the early twenties were hard workers, Johnny Walker drinkers, the type of guys that classified Triple J as a religion and the Hottest 100 Day was more important than Christmas, Easter and any turning of age put together. They gathered in their VL's, Troopies and at times of desperation their Mum's Excels to any and every gig that the J's promoted. Many may put these boys into the bogan category but in my eyes they never were or will be. For this one reason. They had/have amazing taste in music.


Years have passed and people change. I don't think many of those boys went to Southbound this year I suppose mortgages and having a dog gets in the way of attending festivals as you get older ( excluding Travi ) Not for me though. This year I attended southbound as a volunteer for Sunset Events in the area of artist liaison. I had a blast with the girls and boys backstage. Meeting and greeting artists. I saw snippets of music here and there. Got Kimbra her soy latte and mingled with others in the music industry. The highlight of my day is an event that is little more personal. Meeting the lovely Patience from The Grates and thanking her for the time and effort the band have showed by best friend Aimee Bailey over the years.

John and Patience are The Grates

I met Aimee when I was 15. We attended Armadale Christan College together. Straight away she thought I was strange. It probably didn't help that the first day she came to my house I showed her my collection of Austin Powers memorabilia which included the whole cast in talking figurines. I could see the look in her face, she wasn't impressed. She was scared.  Time went by and we became really close until one day, I can remember the day exactly, she said to me "we can't be friends if you listen to shit music"  Pretty harsh I thought but I get it now. She gave me three Cd's and strict instructions to listen to Triple J every chance I get, non-stop, every day for two weeks. The Cd's she lent to me that gradually became my own were the Triple J -1994 Hottest 100, Ben Harper - Live From Mars and Nirvana - Nevermind. Album's I swear she stole from her older sisters collection changed my life forever.

Triple J Hottest 100 - 1994 - Volume 3

Around 4 years ago Aimee had a really bad car accident. She was put into an induced coma as she had bleeding on the brain and the doctors needed to release some of the pressure. She didn't wake up for months. When she did she had memory loss which was heart breaking to witness from her point of view and every one around her that cared for her. Aimee has come to now but not before she went though months of painful rehabilitation that taught her everything from the simplest things in life that many of us take for granted such a speaking and walking. Her sister Rebecca had been in contact with The Grates manager and had informed them that Aimee was a HUGE fan.

 Aimee and her Boyfriend Stevo - 2011

The Grates sent Aimee get well soon letters and invitations to their shows which she attended.  This may have not been a big thing for the band at the time but it meant the world to Aimee. When I saw Patience at Southbound and I mentioned I was one of Aimee's friend. She passed on a message for me to give to Aimee. It was a enormous hug and apologies for not being on facebook any more to chat. I relayed the information that Aimee was doing well, had a lovely boyfriend and a job she was really enjoying. After the encounter with patience it took me back to when Aimee was in hospital.

From lefty to righty - Cheryl another friend from High School, Myself and the lovely 

Miss Aimee Bailey at the 2011 Perth Big Day Out.

Studying and working in the music industry is inspiring and intense. There are so many talented and gifted souls that I aspire to be like and look up to that sometimes I forget that everyday people also carry these attributes. In no way at all am I saying that Patience or Aimee are everyday people but the gratitude that Patience showed so many years ago I will never forget and somewhere in our hearts we all carry it with us. The strenght and determination that Aimee shows everyday to life I will always admire. She is my hero. I think we forget that we can push though our personal limits to do huge things too often.

Kimbra @ Southbound 2012 

Photo courtesy of Raised By The Wolves

Kimbra - Live @ Southbound 2012

On a lighter note the highlight performers for me were at Southbound 2012 were ... Perth band Sonpsilo Circus's opening set on the Saturday which I managed to catch a few songs of were awesome. Kimbra the New Zealand female vocalist stage presence and vocals totally blew me away and Dub FX. Wow Dub FX is honestly. I have no words. Just really fucking cool live.

Mixtape Madness

On the 26th of November Cortext and myself held a Mixtape Launch at Harry's Bar in Northbridge. This event was the first I had ever worked on from start to finish, a process I found very rewarding but at the same time exhausting and stressful. The role of being a promotor I found easy in one aspect as I believe in the musicians that the show was for. Down South Crew and Omac and Wish have both produced exceptional releases and to be part of this night was not just a learning curve but also a privileged to play a small part in their continuous success.

The event showcased new releases from upcoming Perth hip hop act ‘Down South Crew’ with their debut offering from Denmark, Western Australia which featured collaborations with over thirty of Perth’s nicest on their Ill Recognise Ill mixtape.  ‘Role Models’ from Beechboro ballers ‘Omac & Wish’ delivered their own brand of high energy homegrown hip hop to rupture the punter's craniums.  The support lineup included BYP, Complete and Paulie P which reflected some of our cities most prolific and innovative talent, the night was surely one for the local hip hop history books.

Cortext and I as the promoters for the event had to look after all aspects for the evening which included

• Contracts
• Sponsorship
• Administration
• Production
• Marketing

Through this process I gained knowledge on the advantages and dis-advantages of different Perth venues, built contacts up with local street press including Xpress and the VERY helpful Aaron Rutter at Drum and gained sponsorship through DIME and Captain Of The Ship. I realized through the weeks leading up to the event how important planning and timing is to an event and the more time and effort you put into the process the less chance you have to fuck it up.

The Launch was a huge success we had 180 payers through the door and a 50 person door list. In addition we had another 40 people in the venue due to it's locals and a hen's night that was also taking place in the same venue at the time. 

Omac and Wish - Role Models Link

Normally the highlight of the evening for me is a track or something hilarious that went down but honestly the best part of the evening was being able to pay everyone involved including all the inspiring acts, the merch person and the sound technician.

Thank you to everyone involved.. Down South Crew ( Cortext and Aero D ) Omac and Wish it was awesome working with you on this project. Our top shelf support acts Paulie P, BYP and Complete. All the guest artist that jumped up a spat a verse or two, the talented DJ's (Defyre, L-Street, Jamu, Hykus) and Yaegar for looking after all the sound arrangements on the night. The night would not have come together without the support from CMIT, DIME, Captain Of The Ship, Paul and all the awesome staff at Harry's Bar. To Chloe and Anton for being the best merch peeps ever and all my supportive friends and family who came along.

Skills and Knowledge

What specific industry skills and knowledge do you want to develop through training over the semester ?
During the semester I have learnt to do a wide range tasks through a range of various systems and processes to demonstrate the best ways of achieving goals and the most efficient and professional ways to deliver information and get noticed. Below I have listed just some of the skills I learnt whilst in class

• Produce a press release
• Format a budget
• Time manage a team and myself
• Write contracts for all parties in the music industry
• Research Synchronization opportunities
• Branding of a business

Whilst being enrolled in CMIT Music Business in Semester 2 I was also giving the many opportunities some of these include

• attending Big Sound 2011 in Brisbane
• Interning for a Music Journalist in Perth
• Working back stage at Sterosonic 2011 Perth
• Landing a Menotorship with Elepfant Traks for 2012 in Sydney

I feel that if it was not for the advice, networking tips and time that my lectures put into the class many of these opportunities many never have arisen.

Future Education. Hopes and Dreams and Everything In between.

I have some how made it through 2011 and the final week of study before summer break has brought upon me thoughts of my goals and opportunity for future education. I have enrolled in The Diploma Coarse for 2012 at CMIT Leederville Campus in Music Business. Another year of being a broke-arse student living on a diet of instant coffee and Migoreing I am hoping that 2012 will bring smarter choices and wiser distribution of my time and efforts. The Summer timimg also brings into play my two projects for the warmer months. The first being my zine 'Silent Syntax' which will hopefully help to record and document the Western Australian Hip-Hop Scene in 2011 and the second a mixtape distribution strategy to deliver Western Australian hip-hop to the Kimberly Region. 

Heading into 2012 I will also start my application plan for The Seed. I am at full understanding that the opportunity to be part of The Seed is a privilege and some may say I am not ready for this movement at the beginning of my career. I feel since I have come into the industry I have displayed dedication and commitment for the industry which I am part of and the music community in which want to help develop. Over the coming years I want to learn the skills to give the artist and musicians around me the best possible chance of getting their music recorded, produced, loved and admired by this I want to obtain all the information, experiences and positive energy of the experienced peers in the industry.

Education Through Music

Two weeks ago I was introduced to the music of a political activist of English and Iraqi descent Lowkey by fellow class member Cortext. At first I didn't really think much of him but after listening to the lyrics in the 2011 release 'Terrorist' I was sold. Lowkey is an educator, his delivery has captured me and my thoughts. I have found myself exploring and researching topics which he mentions in his music whilst listening to it when I should be concentrating on completing assignments.

Late last night I had a pleasant conversation with a friend of mine, he relayed to me the situation that was happening in Egypt and expressed to me that he had serious concern for a good friend that was a journalist and who had been posting live on Twitter the situation in Tahrir. That was the beginning and the end of my study plan for the evening. I always had knowledge of our media being censored but after watching the broadcast from BBC compared to the live tweets, images and movies being uploaded on to Youtube the truth was obvious and so so heartbreaking of the events happening in Egypt.

With the the online delivery of the news in Egypt as it happened and the education through honest lyrics last night I felt part of a dysfunctional world but also felt relieved that there are artist such as Lowkey and Dead Prez that have the opportunity to share and create a awareness on an international level through there rhymes and do so. The point I am trying to make is that I feel there is the need for artist to deliver education through music and especially through hip-hop to ears that want to hear. 

The Mountain Goats - This Year

This time last week I was feeling unmotivated, dis-heartened and unenthusiastic about where I was at and what the coming years held. I had spent all weekend working at the cafe and at my Nana's house so I could find some peace and quite to concentrate on my assignments, many which are now over due. I found support in The Mountain Goat's track This Year. I posted it on my Facebook page as I have found it is the easiest way to replay a song that you want to listen to 30 times on repeat that you done have in your own itunes. After posting the song Archie, a Perth MC who I have met through hip-hop gig through out the year, posted a link to his Soundcloud where he had sampled This Year. I found solace in someone else connecting with this track. "If Archie was going to be okay, if Archie could make it through this year and it hadn't killed him then I was going to be okay"

Archie's Cover of This Year

There is nothing I can see myself doing next year other than studying music. Since part-taking in this coarse 6 months ago I have experienced hard times financially and emotionally but the knowledge I have gained, the experiences I have had and the people that I have met reassure me that there is light at the end of the tunnel. So today I will enrol in the Music Business Diploma Course at CMIT for 2012 and pray to God I win the Tuesday Night Oz Lotto draw tonight so I can re-connect my phone.