BUILD THE BUZZ

It’s November, folks, and that means it’s time to rally around our local music scene for Ausmusic Month.

WORDS TIERNEY WHITE
IMAGE PAZ TASSONE

IN THE NT, we are so fortunate to have a talented and dedicated entourage of bands and artists that scratch our live music itch with gigs. But for our Territory music mates, being in a remote pocket of the planet makes reaching audiences beyond our borders tricky

You might think, with the rise of social media and streaming, that reaching larger audiences would be easy. But it’s not that simple. Plus, consuming music online will never compare to the experience of going to a live gig.

You might think, with the rise of social media and streaming, that reaching larger audiences would be easy. But it’s not that simple. Plus, consuming music online will never compare to the experience of going to a live gig.

“There would be periods of time, pre-COVID mostly, where a band would walk into the MusicNT office, sit down to have a conversation, and say, ‘we’re about to release an album’ and we’d say, ‘alright – why don’t you put together a Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne tour’. And they’d do it, come back, and it would have worked. But now, you can't do that financially,” he says.

“I think there's already barriers around getting to radio, getting in front of industry, and being physically present in that scene – and cost barriers limit this. It’s a whole different impact being there, physically on the ground and connecting with people, than trying to engage over email and phone.”

The exorbitant cost of an intra-Territory flight, between Darwin and Alice Springs, makes touring within the NT near impossible, with flights interstate more affordable than the around about $1000 round-trip.

In happier news, four-piece punk rock outfit from Nhulunbuy, Mertas, recently showcased at BIGSOUND – the annual national music conference in Meanjin/Brisbane that brings together artists and industry from across Australia. Mertas is the first NT band to have a dedicated official showcase slot in years, and whilst it didn’t come easy – or cheap! – it saw the band break new boundaries.

“It was an amazing opportunity for us that made us feel a little bit seen. Being a relatively small band from the Northern Territory, getting the opportunity to perform on a platform, in the big smoke of Brisbane amongst a lot of cool individuals, was something that we were really stoked about and really appreciative of,” says the band’s frontman, Matt McLean.

As you could probably imagine, the logistics of getting from Nhulunbuy to Brissie were a challenge.

“The flight costs are through the roof, and we are a 12-hour drive to Katherine or Darwin … so it's challenging to say the least. We are incredibly lucky that we got support from the Regional Arts Fund with support from Gove FM. That helped us with travel costs, because otherwise, as a broke punk band from the NT, I don't think we could have afforded to go.”

In the end, the band-of-four ended up out of pocket, but despite this, it was a huge opportunity with great flow-on effects, including new industry connections and a spike in followers.

“The opportunities that meant the most to us were the relationships with people that we've made – with other bands, people that came to the shows, and just being able to tick off that we played some pretty packed out shows in Brisbane. That was honestly the thing that meant the most to us, because we’ve wanted to do that for a long time, and it was our first gig outside the NT,” McLean says.

“We gained a lot of knowledge on where we could go, and what support we need – and actually, what support we don't need. I kind of took away, mostly, that we should just be doing this independently for now … We're just gonna keep playing rock shows.”

So what can we, as punters, do to support our music scene? Smith says there are simple ways.

“Really, in the end, the most tangible way to support musicians and venues is to go to a gig. It's still going to be really hard for bands to make money from selling music, so it's really about going out, supporting the venues that are supporting the bands putting on shows. We're not towards the end of the year yet – there's still lots of gigs happening. If you’re able to, go there, buy some merch, follow the band, you know, support them. That's really the most practical way.”

We’ve got an exciting new initiative to help make this happen. Off The Leash has partnered with MusicNT to pilot a program called Gigity. It’s a call to action to encourage attendance at music gigs in the NT, year ‘round – kind of like a run club or book club.

Here’s how it works. An event will be posted on the Gigity Instagram page, and before said gig, you’ll meet up with friends, old and new, to bond over a drink or two, which supports the venues. Then, of course, the ticket you’ve purchased will support the musicians. Down the track, there’ll be ticket giveaways, competitions and prizes, starting out with a $100 voucher from Bustard Town for one lucky punter to the first Gigity meet-up.

“There's a big national campaign, Ausify, which is managed by Music Australia, and their focus this year is around expressing your love for local music. There's been these periods of time over the years in the music industry that are challenging, sure, but what's the opportunity here? Can we try something new and see what happens?” Smith says.

“The whole premise is gathering like-minded people who like to do similar things collectively. The idea that we have around Gigity is taking this idea of a collective and getting them to gigs and venues. It’s this idea of community building – we want to build the buzz!”

The pilot phase rolls out over the next couple of months. It all kicks off with a soft launch at beloved local live music venue Bustard Town this Ausmusic T-Shirt Day – so don’t forget to wear your fave local band tees! – featuring new local funk-jazz-improvisational band, ROHA Collective. We’re starting in Darwin to see how it goes, with the view to roll it out in Mpartnwe/Alice Springs, too.

So, let’s rally. Let’s build the buzz this Ausmusic Month, get gigging, get Gigity, and support our music makers. Oh, how they are appreciated.