NineMSN, 04 April 2006, with Chris Cheney

Article by: Lauren Kent


An all-Aussie BBQ in the heart of Texas

You have to make a real racket to get noticed at the annual South By Southwest rock festival in Austin.

During the past 20 years, Australian bands with stars in their eyes have made the pilgrimage to the renowned Texas music showcase, a one-stop shopfront for international major (and minor) record labels.

Put in a good performance when the right person is watching and you might land a record deal.

While some Aussie hopefuls have been noticed, many more have been lost in the glare, playing their hearts out in small bars to a handful of patrons.

But a gathering called the Austin Aussie BBQ has changed all that.

This year, half the 22 Australian bands that went to Austin played the invitation-only event which brings together heavy-hitting record company types for a beer, barbecue and sample of Australia's finest rock.

The tradition began when Mary Mihelakos, former editor of Melbourne's Beat Magazine, arrived in Austin in the late 1990s and noticed a lack of focus and support for Australian acts.

"I only saw around 10 people at the Aussie shows," Mihelakos says. "There were Danish parties, Canadian stuff, Japan nights, but no Australian parties."

Mihelakos created the Australian Music Collective (AMC) which — with the help of Austrade and several music industry sources — sought to beef up the Australian presence at the festival. Now in its fourth year, the Aussie BBQ showcase has expanded to include events in LA and New York City.

The gig is open only to industry representatives so the focus stays on the bands.

"Here you can have people who are in the music industry meet people they have only ever contacted through email … and do it in a comfortable environment, with some beer and barbecue," says Johanna Greenway, who works for the AMC.

"Some good deals are made here."

Warner Music representative Kim Stephens came to have a look at Perth band Gyroscope.

"I have been aware of Gyroscope since my friend A&Rs them over there (Australia)," says Stephens, referring to Katherine Hardy, who works for Warner in Australia.

"Basically I am just checking things out, seeing what catches my eye."

Also on the bill are End of Fashion, for whom the stakes aren't so high having been snapped up by Capitol Records three years ago at the festival. But the band's frontman Justin Burford says this fact didn't change how the band performed.

"[Playing live shows] is not like making a record … anyone can do that," Burford says. "When we got together, we made sure that whatever we do, we gotta back up live. And we feel like we can do that."

Headlining the showcase is Melbourne's The Living End, who are promoting their new album, State of Emergency, and looking to sign to a US label. Guitarist and vocalist Chris Cheney says he is confident such a move wouldn't alienate their Australian audience.

"We're not going to move over here or dessert the homeland or anything," Cheney says.

"Hopefully the fans of the band will appreciate that we can appeal to more than one market. I think we can appeal to the American market.

"But looking at what's on MTV and stuff, I don't know … I don't know whether we're pretty enough."

By the next night, the band had two offers from US record companies on the table. And we're sure the beer goggles had nothing to do with it.