Successful Grants Recipients October 2008 are: 24 applications were approved to a total of $256,163 Commercial Development Two applications supported to a total of $30,140 The Yabu Band - $15,000 To promote and market the release of The Yabu Band‟s album „Gundulla - We Dance‟ to a national audience. This will be done through uniformed branding, hiring a publicist, radio plugger, a professional photo shoot and online marketing campaigns. This activity is timely for The Yabu Band following on from their performance on Telethon, a live performance for the homecoming Olympians, securing distribution with Skinny Fish Music and consistent album sales. The album was recorded at Woodstock Studios in Melbourne and will be released on Australia Day 2009. Fairbridge Festival Inc - $15,140 Fairbridge Festival will be showcasing WA regional, original folk/roots artists at their 2009 Festival including Peter Brandy, Naomi Pigrim, Sue Cunningham, Xave Brown, Ashleigh Rodier and the Wise Family Band. The Festival is in its 17th year and is a weekend long family oriented celebration of roots, world music and folk music incorporating both contemporary and traditional aspects of each of these genres. The 2009 Festival theme will be Roots and Branches. Mentoring & Skills Development Six applications supported to a total of $66,133 Ken Watt - $7,457 Ken will undertake a three month mentorship with Jeff Martin (Canadian musician and producer from The Tea Party - now based in Ireland) and producer/engineer Rob Grant (proprietor of long running Perth recording studio, Poons Head and winner of multiple WAMi awards). This mentorship will give Ken a unique opportunity to learn international level commercial production skills in one of Australia‟s best equipped studios. Benjamin Vanderwal - $5,631 Ben will undertake a two month mentorship to study Latin American Jazz Music in New York with three highly acclaimed Latin American musicians Adam Cruz, Adriano Santos and Romero Lubumbo. Ben is a professional drummer who has worked in the music industry for 14 years. He performs in some of Australia‟s cutting edge ensembles (TRUNK, Cisco, Ben Winkelman Trio, Jamie Oehlers Quartet), has recorded numerous albums and currently lectures in the drumset at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Steven Richter and Josh Hogan - $10, 714 Taal Naan (Josh Hogan and Steve Richter) will spend two weeks undertaking skills development in May 2009 with respected Australian composer/musicians Michael Askill (Synergy, Sydney Dance Company) and Greg Sheehan (Circle of Rhythm, Utungan), culminating in a performance, live recording, and a workshop presentation at the Brisbane Conservatorium of Music. The focus areas will be composition, logistical and stage craft, utilising small percussion instruments and subtle electronic sound manipulation to hand drum and kalimba playing. Josh Hogan is also in other WA acts (Mukti, Tetrafide Percussion) and Steve Richter also performs in Mr Sister with Mel Robinson. Daniel Moore - $11,761 Dan Moore will be mentored by mastering engineer Dave Cooley from Eylsian Masters in his LA studio. Dave is the main engineer for Stones Throw Records, the world‟s largest and most respected independent hip hop label. Dan is a well-known DJ, producer and recording engineer in WA. He owns and runs Cardboard City Records, a locally based record label with an international focus specialising in hip hop and dance music. Dan will also DJ at numerous LA club-nights in order to promote Cardboard City records. Next Big Thing - $22,700 The Next Big Thing will record 14 bands/artists with the use of professional studios and producers. This project has been supported by the Department of Culture and the Arts for five years and in that time has provided skills for more than 150 acts and utilised numerous producers and studios. This project gives unsigned musicians the opportunity to record in professional surroundings and the songs will be marketed and available online to further expose the unsigned WA artists. Jamie Oehlers - $7,870 Jamie will be heading to New York to undertake a period of study with some of the world‟s leading saxophonists: George Garzone, Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano. Jamie will be working with George on his unique triadic concept for jazz improvisation. His study with Dave will be from his book „A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody‟ and with Joe he will explore a technique that involves the use of large interval leaps along with a rhythmic flexibility uncommon to the saxophone. While in New York, Jamie will have the opportunity to experience the latest developments in the jazz artform, through the attendance of live performances and jam sessions as well as meet new musician contacts and reaffirm associations with colleagues he has developed over the past 17 years of his music career. Production Eight applications supported to a total of $74,805 The Sure-Fire Midnights - $10,000 The Sure-Fire Midnights will record and launch a full length album with producer/engineer Matt Voigt at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne and mastering at 301 in Sydney. They have recently secured a song on a compilation from Swedish label Bootleg Booze titled „Up North/Down Under‟ and have performed in front of 15,000 people at the Bon Scott Celebration Concert two years in a row. The band has also toured with well known Aussie acts such as Airbourne, The Casanovas and The Spazzies. Natalie D-Napoleon - $10,000 Singer-songwriter Natalie D-Napoleon will record and launch a full-length album in Santa Barbara at Corporate Nightmare Studios. Natalie has released three recordings over the past 10 years in various bands, „Cable Thing‟ (with Bloom), „Fear of Falling‟ (with Flavour of the Month) and „After the Flood‟ (as a solo artist). Natalie has been performing solo since 2006 and in that time has toured the East Coast twice and USA three times. In USA, she supported American artists such as Todd Snider and Devon Sproule, showcased twice at South by Southwest and played the Australian Festival in Florida. Sneaky Weasel Gang - $6,000 Sneaky Weasel Gang will record a six-track EP for release and distribution. The EP will be recorded in Sydney with producer Tony Buchen (Macromatics, Blue King Brown, John Butler, Kahn Brothers). Sneaky Weasel Gang hail from the Peel Region. Their reggae-funk and rock influenced roots music has been played on radio all over the country and they have performed at the Rollercoaster Festival and both the West Coast and East Coast Blues and Roots Festivals. Blue Shaddy - $10,000 Blue Shaddy will record and release their fourth CD following on from the success of their last release „Bury My Ghost‟ which has sold in excess of 3,000 copies since November 2007. They will be recording at Monk Brothers Studio with band percussionist and studio owner, Arun Satgunasignam and mastering at Couch Studio. Blue Shaddy have performed at numerous festivals throughout Australia including Woodford, Blues at Broadbeach and Great Southern Blues Festival. Sugar Army - $10,000 Rock four-piece Sugar Army will record their full-length album following on from their extremely successful „Where Do You Hide Your Toys‟ debut EP. Sugar Army received high rotation on Triple J and have been on numerous national tours with Little Birdy performing 35 shows on a seven-week tour with Gyroscope and Shihad. Sugar Army performed at the 2007 Big Day Out and supported bands such as Interpol, Wolf and Cub, Children Collide, Something for Kate to name a few. Pre-production will be done with Sam Ford of the band The Silents and production will be handled by Dave Parkin at Blackbird Studios. The album will be released by Good Cop Bad Cop/Inertia. Homebrewe - $10,000 Young four piece high energy rock band Homebrewe (formed in Albany, now reside in Perth) will be recording and releasing a full-length album. Recording will take place at Poons Head Studio with Rob Grant. Homebrewe were scouted in November 2007 by Hollywood based 272 records to have their track „Never‟ put on a US rock compilation. This label searches for the best up and coming talent around the world. They are also currently receiving radio airplay on 100 US college radio stations. Arons Crusade - $8,805 South-West Band, Arons Crusade will record and release a full-length album following on from their successful EP „Life.Love.Work.Dreams‟. Arons Crusade will record at Studio Couch and launch their CD in March 2009 at Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany. The band has performed at 64 venues in the past year and opened the „Union of Soul‟ tour with The John Butler Trio, The Waifs and Claire Bowditch and the Feeding Set. The band members rise from previous bands: The Flaming Sheilas, Ulsta Road and Froggy Style. College Fall - $10,000 College Fall will produce, release and launch their album „Keep Your Promises‟. The album will be a guitar pop record and logical progression for their successful debut album „Eleven Letters‟. They will release the album for sale primarily on USB stick with a limited edition CD. They will record with acclaimed Sydney producer Michael Carpenter (Youth Group, The Vines, 78 Saab) who will fly to Perth and record at Underground Studios with sound engineer Matthew Giovenangelo. Touring Eight applications supported to a total of $85,085 Injured Ninja - $5,274 Post punk experimental band Injured Ninja will undertake a promotional tour of Japan to promote their current EP release. The tour will consist of 10 shows with seven dates in Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto and three in Tokyo. They will be touring with a popular experimental improvisational two-piece from Japan called Psychedelic Dessert. Injured Ninja‟s EP Circuitboard is to be promoted and distributed online in Japan through Shalestone Music, DISCO, Disk Union and CD Baby.