Silly Talks Music

Wouldn't it be great if touring musos could save on some costs generated by life on the road, by receiving free food, accommodation or transport, for example? Pixie Weyand, the founder of Feed Music, is convinced this can be done. I'm sold on this idea already, but Pixie is currently on the journey to convince brands and music fans about it, too. Find out how the concept works from this episode. 

Check out Feed Music's website: https://www.feedmusic.org/

Connect with Pixie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pixieweyand/?originalSubdomain=au

A flight from Sydney to New York is about 22 hours, from Perth to London - approximately 16 hours, and from Melbourne to Singapore - more or less 8 hours. So it's not easy or cheap for an average Aussie act to tour overseas. Nevertheless, the world is finally embracing the potential of the artists from the Land Down Under. So I've invited Larry Heath, the Associate Producer for Sounds Australia - the Australian Music Export Office, to take me through all the ups and downs of exporting Aussie music abroad. 

Get to know Larry's company, Heath Media:

https://www.heathmedia.com.au/

Learn more about Sounds Australia on their website:

https://soundsaustralia.com.au/welcome-2/

Read about the Aussie BBQ in London in May 2022:

http://sillymcwiggles.blog/2022/05/25/the-2022-aussie-bbq-was-heaps-good-hey-my-takeaways-from-the-event/

I often get the question, "Who is your music journalist role model?" Well, here is me talking to one. Sosefina Fuamoli has worked with Rolling Stone Australia, the ARIA Awards, or BIGSOUND music conference, for instance. And I'm quizzing her on the "definition" of Australian music, some grassroots organisations championing local music Down Under, and the vital aspects of the business that still need to be addressed urgently.

Don’t forget to tune into the Silly Encore with Sosefina after this one. We’ll talk about some of her fave Aussie acts.

Find out more about Sosefina on her website:

https://www.sosefinafuamoli.com/

And here are links to some projects we mention throughout the episode:

NEWPRINT (supporting young artists of colour living in outer urban and regional areas):

https://mav.org.au/projects/newprint/

Music In Exile (not-for-profit record label for artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds):

https://musicinexile.com.au/

BIGSOUND (Australian music business conference and showcase):

https://www.bigsound.org.au/

We’re back to talk more "silly" stuff with serious Aussie music industry peeps. This time round, they’re (mostly) not musicians themselves.

Housekeeping: no more video from this season onwards, just my sexy international accent and my esteemed guests in audio format.

Sooooooo keen. Hope you are, too!

Saba from the sillymcwiggles.blog

Collab proposals welcome! Drop me an email at [email protected] or DM @SillyMcWiggles on socials. 

Podcast credits:

Concept, recording, production & artwork design - Saba from the Silly McWiggles blog

Music Theme from iMovie

To close this season of the podcast, here are some bits and pieces from the chats with all four guests on some totally silly and some completely serious aspects of the music business, with a few insights from Down Under.   

You'll hear again from:  

- cellist Anita Quayle: https://www.anitaquayle.com/

- the gents from the art-rock band Peak Park: https://www.thisispeakpark.com/

- Fight The Sun's frontman: https://fightthesun.com/

- and the R&B powerhouse Caiti Baker: http://caitibaker.com/about 

Follow  

https://sillymcwiggles.blog/

for more news and topics related to Australian music.   

You can email me at:  

[email protected]  

with any collaboration proposals.   

And stay tuned for more seasons of Silly Talks in the future!

I wanted to speak to Caiti Baker since the very first time I saw her at the St Kilda Fest in Melbourne in 2018. The Darwin-based singer/songwriter has such a magnetic vibe about her on stage that it's impossible to forget her shows. So when we finally connected on Instagram last year, I was super stoked to hear about her story so far and how a completely new chapter in her music adventure is about to get started.

Find out more about Caiti Baker on her website:

http://caitibaker.com/about

Here is a link to her Sietta project on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qZEYie7YNe5V7D1nmXOrd?si=5JZopyR0R7u6mFUuu9Mkpg

Check out the 'Birds Eye View' podcast as well:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1dWFGsh89LWWit0qgV4aeg?si=a77fdc2ddc584f73

You might want to learn more about Kuya James:

https://www.instagram.com/kuyajamesmusic/?hl=en

Also, visit my blog:

https://sillymcwiggles.blog/

And finally, consider supporting me on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/SillyMcWiggles?fan_landing=true

See you in the next episode which is entirely dedicated to Caiti Baker’s new album, 'Under Our Galaxy'.

You’d be surprised, but although I cover heaps of music genres, rock and the heavier sound are my kind of vibe. So when Fight The Sun pitched their music to me on Groover, I invited their frontman, Adrian, for an in-depth chat. And we ventured into many different topics, like navigating social media and rock music marketing. 

Find out more about Fight The Sun on their website:

https://fightthesun.com/

Check out Adrian’s “Riffs of the Day” On TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@fightthesun

If you want to submit your music to me on Groover, contact me here:

https://groover.co/en/influencer/profile/0.silly-mcwiggles/

Also, visit Shihad, the Kiwi band Adrian mentioned in the conversation:

https://shihad.com/

See you in the next episode where I’ll speak to Adrian about Fight The Sun’s new music and their plans for the future.

Being a DIY band has its ups and downs: you learn heaps as you go, but it can get pretty hectic sometimes. The two Melbourne pandemic lockdowns were a huge blow to Peak Park’s plans as well. Yet, they’ve managed to come out stronger on the other end, both as bandmates and mates in general.

Find out more about Peak Park on their website:

https://www.thisispeakpark.com/

The interview with Peak Park from two years ago is here on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzrlxCkdyxY&list=PLHp5-7Ybvkr6vmAjoj5H8928Heqs_vNII

Follow my blog here:

https://sillymcwiggles.blog/

Don’t miss the next episode, the Silly Encore with Peak Park, where we’ll chat more about the band’s new EP, “How To Be”.

Classical instrument players are rarely guests on my show, and it’s time to change it. So today, I’m speaking to Anita Quayle - a Melbourne-based cellist and composer with 25 years of experience in the music business. She does so many cool, modern things with her traditionally classical instrument that I think I’m going to start taking cello lessons myself :)

Come back on Thursday to hear more about Anita and her journey to becoming a cellist.

Find out more about Anita here:

https://www.anitaquayle.com/

If you’re in or around Melbourne this week, catch Anita with her Beyond The Lake project at The Toff In Town on Thursday, 28 April 2022. Get tix here:

https://thetoff.com.au/gigs/beyond-the-lake-coming-home-album-launch/

The best way to support Beyond The Lake is through Bandcamp:

https://beyondthelake.bandcamp.com/music

Links to some other resources/artists mentioned in the episode are below.

Anita demonstrates the electric cello and its effects on the Australian Musician podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BcQxKLlgKw

Guzheng Player Mindy Meng Wang:

http://mindymengwang.com/

Violinist Xani Kolac:

https://www.xanikolac.com/

MAS (Melbourne Amplified Strings):

https://www.xanikolac.com/projects/#mas

The SPIRE project:

https://www.xanikolac.com/projects/#spire

The 13:12 project:

https://www.1312.com.au/about

Canadian cellist Zoë Keating:

https://www.zoekeating.com/

Silly McWiggles is back to talk more "silly" stuff with serious Aussie music industry peeps. 

Housekeeping: this time the episodes are dropping every Tuesday and Thursday. Stay tuned for the first one!

I'm keen. Are you? ;) 

Saba from the sillymcwiggles.blog

Check out my new ventures below.

Silly McWiggles on Groover:

https://groover.co/en/influencer/profile/0.silly-mcwiggles/

Silly McWiggles on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/SillyMcWiggles

Podcast credits:

Concept, recording, production & artwork design - Saba from the Silly McWiggles blog

Music Theme from iMovie