august 2008 NEWSLETTER

Hi everyone,

• It has been a busy two weeks with the Tamworth Camerata and the Hats Off Festival keeping me away from home. The kids were amazingly talented as always and I spent the week with the parents talking about their kids special needs and talents and the ins and outs of the Country Music business. Good fun but I was tired at the end of it! Our one Big Bush Brekky Show was a great success with Carter and Carter, Paddy Ryan, Talia Wittman and Melanie Dyer all performing as they always do … in top form! (I was funny too!)

This year so far with more performing than I have done for quite a while, although most of the shows have been at festivals and big events all around the country like Perth City Muster, Port Fairy Festival, Caboolture Urban Festival and the Dunedoo Bush Poetry Championships (Where they made me JUDGE as well as perform). Touring has changed in the past few years … see my first ‘Editorial’ below.

• I am still busy writing ... now that the BIG poetry anthology is finished I can get on and complete the one I have been writing on Country Music, then there is a book on Grey Nomads to finish.

• This week was spent in the studio recording some songs with young Melanie Dyer. She has been writing with myself, Dianna Corcoran, Melinda Schneider and Amber Lawrence and we wanted to get her used to recording in a studio. The seven tracks have turned out well and, while they won’t be released to radio or commercially through a record company, they will be available as a CD when she performs and via the website.

• Late August will see me heading up to the Muster for two Jim Haynes ‘Brekky’ shows with Pete Denehy and Melanie Dyer and others. In September I head off to catch up with family and friends in Europe.

• POEM OF THE WEEK this week is a funny Graham Watt poem about names that I recited on 2UE.

Come visit us again soon, and don’t forget I’m on 2UE every Sunday at 12.30pm, if you’re not in Sydney you can listen online at www.2ue.com.au

Cheers,
Jim

Jim’s Editorial COMMENT

I was recently re reading some research we commissioned at the CMAA in 2000 which showed that Country Music was the SECOND favourite music in Australia at 18% (Pop/Rock was first at 50%) and ONE THIRD of those surveyed said they enjoyed listening to it (Pop/Rock was 60% and Classical same as Country). This survey was done by AMR Quantum Harris and I am sure those figures are at least as good eight years later. SO WHY won’t commercial and ABC radio stations and TV take Country Music seriously?