Cowboys in Cyberspace

The changing face of the music industry and a blast from the past…

A few months ago ABC 702’s Richard Glover said, PETER DENAHY’s “Sort Of Dunno Nothin’ is possibly the funniest song ever written”. That, coupled with the video being shown on ABC TV’s Rage and other programs, prompted a huge number of Internet users to search out the video and song. By last month it had clocked up over 300,000 viewings on YouTube and become the #1 most downloaded song on the Australian iTunes Country Store. Comments left as a response to the video include an English teacher in Prague who has won over a non-responsive class by playing them the song, countless people identifying with the characters and the occasional teenager denying they are like that at all. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_veIGGP1Uh4

While I was browsing around YouTube I also took the opportunity to watch the SLIM DUSTY FAMILY clip of Old Purple, directed & produced by Anne Kirkpatrick’s son James Arneman. An excellent blend of new studio footage coupled with classic archive shots of Slim driving Old Purple around this great land. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9-KxtftegQ

When I found the only footage I’ve ever seen of the band Derek and the Dominoes, I was surprised not only to find that it came from the JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW, but that their guitarist Eric Clapton also performed the song Matchbox with Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. This inspired me to search out the 2-disc DVD set, THE BEST OF THE JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW 1960-1971. What a treasure trove this is with 66 performances selected from the 58 episodes of the show that broke musical and social boundaries when it originally screened on American television. With around 4 hours of top class material to choose from here (bring on the other 54 hours), it’s hard to pick out high points, but here goes: The landmark duet with Bob Dylan, stone country from Loretta, Tammy, Conway, Haggard and Jones, a clean-shaven Waylon Jennings with Jessi Colter on keyboards, solo performances from Neil Young and James Taylor. Biggest surprises: Johnny’s duets with Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and with Louis Armstrong who recreates his performance on the original 1930 Jimmie Rodgers record of Blue Yodel #9. Look too for glimpses of legendary Australian musical director Bill Walker. My personal highlight: A close-up shot of Mother Maybelle Carter’s hands as she plays Wildwood Flower – the touchstone of country guitar playing as we now know it. Sony BMG Music 88697 04026 9 (also available on CD)

Bob talked to Barbara Morison on 2SER 107.3 FM about this month’s column and more…

Until next time, happy surfing!

Say it and share it on the Web… There is a saying in the world of internet business that ‘Content is King’ and it refers to the notion that the most important thing about a website is that which can be found inside its pages. After all, would you spend much time or bother to revisit a site that had only a small amount of interesting material? Recently though, with the advent of the so-called ‘Web 2.0’, an argument has developed that “community” is as important, if not more so, than content. This follows the latest trends of sharing the experience of the web with like-minded users via social-networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, to name a few most popular examples. Even if you don’t produce content yourself, you can comment on the things you see and recommend them (or not) to your friends.

 Amber Lawrence with Beccy Cole, Dianna Corcoran,

Kirsty Lee Akers and Gina Jeffreys

The talented AMBER LAWRENCE is a great example of an artist who is using the internet to great advantage for fun and also for the promotion of her music. Her official website contains all the prerequisite ingredients for fans and media alike (News, Bio, Photos, Album samples, Gig Guide) all nicely laid out and easy to navigate. Follow the links to her MySpace page and the fun continues when Amber dabbles in the art of blogging. No regular ‘Dear Diary’ entries for her though; After a couple of homemade videos, including one that documents her trip to Tamworth as a double Golden Guitar nominee, Amber has begun a series of video episodes entitled Bloggin’ Along. Even though an Oscar nomination might not be around the corner just yet, the videos have a charm and immediacy that fans will love. Meet Amber’s mum (doesn’t she look glam while doing the washing), go backstage at the Central Coast CM Festival with Chic Frontier, and for whodunit fans, solve the mystery of the cupcakes. 

History will no doubt confirm PAUL KELLY as the most significant Australian singer/songwriter of his generation and a wry and insightful commentator on the localised human condition to boot. We have looked at his site before, including the wonderful research index, full of articles by, and about Paul Kelly, but now there is an incredibly generous new section to report. Each month, PAUL KELLY offers free downloads - ‘A to Z’ - so that you can collect 100 live solo versions of some of his greatest tunes! The recordings are from the last few years, when he performed a series of unique shows under the banner ‘A to Z’, whereby he sang 100 songs from his catalogue in alphabetical order over 4 nights. The month of April will offer songs beginning with ‘D’ so don’t delay and get on the bandwagon now!  

Until next time, happy surfing!

The tribute concert at the Hills Centre in Sydney. On stage after the finale:
Back Row, L to R: John & Graeme Howie, Robert Edge, Jim Haynes,
Nick Erby, Graeme Connors, Johnny Chester, Lawrie Minson,
Dick Smith, John Kerr, James Blundell, John Williamson, Ray Martin
Front Row, L to R: Mary & Rita  Schneider, Clair Hayes, Lorrae Desmond, Melinda Schneider, Lee Kernaghan 

Thursday 13th March, at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club, Frank Ifield (right) presents his 2008 International Spur Award to Kirsty Lee Akers (centre) along with Tony Page (left) of The Rotary Club of Galston who sponsor the award in conjunction with the Galston Country Music Festival.

You can read Frank’s words here…

More photos - Canterbury Country site is here…

Remembering the legend of Smoky Dawson (1913-2008) on the Web…

The Australian Biography Online is a “web-based biographical resource profiling some of the most extraordinary Australians of our time”. As they so rightly claim…”A nation’s story is reflected in the lives of its people and these are the stories of our distinguished elders - told in their own words”. The site is an outstanding archive that provides in-depth profiles of “remarkable individuals who have had a major impact on our cultural, political and social life”. Amongst them is a marvellous section on SMOKY DAWSON which includes video highlights from the time he was interviewed for Film Australia’s Australian Biography series (in 1994) and also the full text transcript of the staggering six hour (plus) unedited interview. There are links to other articles, a study-guide for educational purposes and in a wonderful initiative designed to help users with slower connections, the entire contents of the section are provided in a choice of two downloadable files for offline viewing.
 

At the History of Country Music in Australia website you can read the ‘Tribute to Smoky’ (and Dot,

“…Two brilliant people working as one, supporting and complimenting each other and together creating the legend that is Smoky Dawson…”)

that was presented at the 2003 CMAA Industry Achiever Awards by Max Ellis. Pictured here are Smoky and his beloved Dot with Kasey Chambers (centre) celebrating on that night (photo Copyright ©2003 Bob Howe).

Over at the Australian Country Music Foundation site you can read more about Smoky, including the inscription from plaque on the Roll of Renown. A Google search of “Smoky Dawson” will lead you to a huge variety of news reports, tributes, a Saturday Night Country MP3 interview, YouTube videos and be sure to check out the wonderful photos at the Picture Australia site, which has a search engine that brings together images from various collections including the State and National Libraries. The National Film and Sound Archive also contains a wealth of audiovisual material that can be browsed via its website.

We hope you are enjoying our video snippets from the 2008 Tamworth Festival here at Cowboys In Cyberspace. You’ll find a selection of exclusive clips above including the Golden Guitar winners, Gina Jeffreys ‘Walk of Life’ Leukemia Foundation fundraiser, Toyota Star Maker Talia Wittmann getting the keys to her car, the Barry Thornton Memorial Bust unveiling, the Cavalcade and much more. There is also footage of the Rhinestone Cowboy himself, GLEN CAMPBELL at his Sydney press conference the following week, singing and talking about his recent shows with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, his early career as a session guitarist, Keith Urban and more.

Until next time, happy surfing!

Bob talked to Barbara Morison on 2SER 107.3 FM about this month’s column and more…

A glittering red carpet affair was held to host the 2008 Victorian Country Music Awards on 8th February as part of a Whittlesea Country Music Festival. The awards night attracted a capacity crowd with guests from  interstate and overseas attending. Residents of Macedon district, DONNA FISK together with the band CRAKAJAK won Victorian and National awards for their recording of the original composition by Donna Fisk, Harry Nanos and Doug Bruce (Crakajak) “Somewhere Between the Truth and Goodbye”. Harry Nanos lead singer of Crakajak also took out the coverted prize of Entertainer of the year.

Pictured right: Harry Nanos and Donna Fisk receive the award for Duet of the Year from Melissa Brincatt of Delfin Lend Lease Victoria (photo by BIG DOG BITES)

Tune on, log on, tune in…

During the early days of the World Wide Web, it was quite a novelty to find online radio stations from far-flung corners of the globe. They are a lot more common now and the search is on to find specialised stations or programs that seem tailor-made for your tastes. To make that easier, your favourite artists host many programs and perhaps the logic is that if you like the music they make, then chances are you’ll like the music they listen to as well.

This article was prompted when I recently received Steve Earle’s brilliant album Washington Square Serenade. Inside was a flyer offering a free 3-day trial of the online version of the American satellite radio station SIRIUS RADIO. His show is called Hardcore Troubadour Radio and can be found on Sirius channel 63, Outlaw Country, which is a “sanctuary for the freaks, misfits, outcasts, rebels and renegades of country music.” When I tuned in to wait for the allotted hour of Steve’s broadcast, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! My computer speakers filled with Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Emmylou Harris, Dale Watson, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and all three generations of Hank Williams! Other ‘celebrity’ hosts on Outlaw Country include Elizabeth (It Takes Balls To be A Woman) Cook, John (Swingin’) Anderson and the only son of Outlaw legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter - Shooter Jennings, with his program Electric Rodeo. Great music, although Shooter’s language is pretty colourful, but hey, this is the Outlaw station! They have other channels that cater for modern country, bluegrass and all other genres of music.

Closer to home, NSW Central Coast community radio station 94.1 FM has been taken over by a new team of community members and local stars and rebranded ‘todayscountry94one’. Look forward to programs by local musicians such as Adam Harvey, Kasey Chambers, Shane Nicholson, Bill Chambers, Gina Jeffreys and Beccy Cole and the station is also streamed on the internet. The first show produced was Bill Chambers’ ‘Hickory Wind’ and it was followed by the ‘Adam Harvey Christmas Special’ which featured many of Australia’s country music stars talking to Adam and spreading Christmas cheer. Pictured right: Adam Harvey with his 2008 Golden Guitar for Album of the Year.

Two of Australia’s best-known radio programs can also be heard on the World Wide Web. HOEDOWN recently celebrated 20 years on the air from 2TM, remembering the early days with John Minson and Kevin Knapp to more recent times with the name change to CMR and current hosts Nick Erby and Brian Howard. CMR can be heard across 32 stations via the 2SM Super Network and streamed via the 2SM website.  Left: Sara Storer talks to Nick Erby

Over at the ABC, John Nutting’s SATURDAY NIGHT COUNTRY consistently tops the ratings in its timeslot as broadcasts his weekly show across Australia on 60 Local ABC Radio stations and across the world on Radio Australia and the Web (disclaimer: yes dear readers, I am the show’s gig guide compiler, Big Bob from Bondi and yes, I know you thought I’d be bigger!). The ABC have been pioneers of streaming radio and podcasts and in SNC can be replayed at your leisure until the new episode comes along replace it. Our National broadcaster also has its own 24-hour dedicated country station that is an offshoot of DIG RADIO.

Dianna Corcoran, Lee Kernaghan and Adam Harvey are interviewed backstage after their 2008 Golden Guitar wins, by John Nutting and Sue Jarvis for Saturday Night Country

Several community stations are also streaming their shows live including 2ser.com with Barbara Morison and her long running All Kinds of Country show every Saturday from 5am.

Also check out www.2mcr.org.au, www.coolcountryradio.com.au and www.purecountry.com.au  (let me know if your station broadcasts online)…3MDR Mountain District Radio…102.7FM 4DDB…

Until next time, happy surfing!

Bob talked to Barbara Morison on 2SER 107.3 FM about this month’s column and more…