Welcome to a new segment on the pod!

This time, I'm shining a light on different regions of the Land Down Under through the eyes of a local act. 

⁠Newgate Crowd⁠ might be a young, up-and-coming alt-rock band. But they know the Adelaide scene inside out. 

Find out about their favourite venues, who has the only vinyl copy of their "Auditory Processing" EP, why they prefer to rehearse in a pilates studio and which character from the Muppet Show inspired one of the members to learn to play an instrument... which he ended up hating. 

Give Newgate Crowd some love and watch their latest music vid to ⁠"Change of Mood"⁠ - the single we talked about in the show.

Also, be sure to check out the ⁠playlist with local South Australian acts⁠, started by the band. (A correction here - it's now over 11 hrs long and counting.)

I have the band's permission to use their song in the interview.

Generally speaking, the heavier music genres don't top music charts these days. And if they do, most of them are all male outfits.

Is Australia different on that front? What does the heavier scene look like in The Land Down Under? And what is it like to be a woman in that broad genre?

All these topics (and more) are the focus of my chat with Sam - the singer of the Sydney alt-metal band Fifth Dawn.

Find more content like this on the sillymcwiggles.blog.

Despite what you might think, not every musician or band in Australia is from Melbourne or Sydney. BELLA DEER is based in Geelong, Victoria, for a change.

She talks to me about all the great opportunities she's had in the music business so far, including being a finalist in the prestigious Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition.

But everyone knows the music industry is not a bed of roses. So Bella also sheds some light on the challenges independent musos still face, not only in the Land Down Under.

Hands up if you know any Aussie country artists.

Fanny Lumsden is one of them. And she's taking me on a journey through the country music scene in the Land Down Under. We're also talking about Fanny's breakthrough album and the signature tour she's been running in rural areas for over a decade.

Last but not least, check out this playlist with Australian country artists curated by Fanny.

More content like this on my ⁠sillymcwiggles.blog⁠. 

Season 5 opens with a chat with an international guest.

Pilani Bubu is a singer/songwriter from South Africa. Her recent multi-part project, "Folklore", is a selection of stories about her land and a personal journey. Pilani talks about discovering her role in preserving her ancestors' knowledge and wisdom and what it's like to sing in her native languages.

This chat is a great lesson on South Africa's history and current affairs. Hence, here's a list of all the important people, places and events Pilani has mentioned throughout this interview, with a few personal notes from her as well:

* Where she is from: Transkei / Wild Coast / Mpondo People / Eastern Mpondoland

* Where she currently lives: Gauteng / Pretoria (The Capital City) / Johannesburg.

* Activist musicians: Mirriam Makeba / Brenda Fassie Dorothy Masuka Hugh Masekela

* Post-Apartheid Genres: Afropop / Kwaito

* African Renaissance Artists: Malaika / Mafikizolo

*Dance Movements / Post-colonial freedom of expression: Ama Piano / Ggqom / Moonchild Sanelly / Sho Madjozi / Tyla (nominated for Grammy now for Water) / Musa Keys (also nominated)

* The languages she speaks: Xhosa / Sesotho / Setswana / Zulu / Afrikaans / English

P.S. Shakira sang the 2010 World Cup song in collaboration with a group called Freshlyground, with the lead singer Zolani Mahola.

P.S.2 Jazz improv and inspiration for singing in Joburg was a diverse area before the Group Areas Act (A law passed by the Apartheid government to separate us by racial groups in terms of where people could live) called Sophiatown.

More content like this on my ⁠sillymcwiggles.blog⁠. 

Silly McWiggles is back on air.

Are you ready for more chats about the (Aussie and beyond) music business?

This is a special March 2024 edition dedicated to females in this tricky industry. #girlpower

Find out why it's taken Silly this long to release another round of interviews and who her amazing guests are this time.

Having been in the music business since the 80s, artist manager and former publicist Chryss Carr has probably seen it all. But even she thinks PR has become a much more complex game these days. She also shares her views on women's place in the industry and gives me solid advice on why the music industry is now a labyrinth and how to know “who's who in the zoo”. 

Check out AUM (Chryss's company):

⁠https://www.aum.net.au/⁠

Get to know J-MILLA:

https://www.instagram.com/jmillaofficial/

Learn about the "Beneath The Glass Ceiling" movement:

https://linktr.ee/beneaththeglassceiling

Check out Andrew Watt's book "Welcome To The Jungle: Navigating the Music Business in Australia":

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20840836-welcome-to-the-jungle

Find more content like this on my page:

⁠⁠https://sillymcwiggles.blog/⁠⁠

She worked with the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician, Gurrumul. Thanks to her, Australia (and the world) heard about Indigenous rapper Baker Boy. She also secured the first global TikTok live-streaming event from a remote territory for another one of her hip-hop artists, J-MILLA. Artist manager and former publicist who can’t help but still dabble with the media, Chryss Carr, speaks to me about her rock'n'roll career in the Australian music industry, falling in love with Darwin and the Northern Territory, and what it takes to break First Nations acts.

Check out AUM (Chryss's company):

https://www.aum.net.au/

Learn more about Gurrumul:

http://www.gurrumul.com/about/

Watch the documentary about Gurrumul:

https://youtu.be/TXa3gw3g4C4

Find out what's on at the Darwin Festival:

https://www.darwinfestival.org.au/

Fall in love with the Northern Territory:

https://northernterritory.com/

Get to know Skinnyfish Records:

https://www.skinnyfishmusic.com.au/

Learn more about the First Nations' "Voice" to Parliament:

https://voice.gov.au/

Find more content like this on my page:

https://sillymcwiggles.blog/

Many people dream of working in the music space. But being a part of the business also comes with some downsides. Ask any artists touring for extended periods of the year. Ash King is the in-house psychologist for Support Act, the Australian music industry's mental health charity. She walks me through the impact of well-being on the lives of the people working in the music business (and everyone else's, for that matter).

Visit Support Act's page:

https://supportact.org.au/

Support Act's Wellbeing Hotline:

1800 959 500 (24 hours a day, 365 days per year, within Australia only)

Find out why you should support 'Support Act':

http://sillymcwiggles.blog/2021/11/17/why-you-should-support-support-act/

Learn more about 'Sound Minds':

https://supportact.org.au/mental-health/sound-minds-meet-ups-for-the-music-community/

Participate in the Aus Music T-shirt Day:

https://www.ausmusictshirtday.org.au/

Read my article about #ausmusictshirtday:

http://sillymcwiggles.blog/2019/11/13/need-another-reason-to-wear-your-favourite-bands-merchandise-join-ausmusictshirtday/

Watch the interview with Lucas Sutton:

https://youtu.be/axXNMI7N2NI

Find me online as @SillyMcWiggles