Queensland. Always the brunt of interstate jokes and considered a cultural backwater.
And yet Queensland has always quietly boasted a vibrant, underground-music scene that has produced some of Australia’s most popular and influential artists. One man who knows this better than many is Melbourne born, Brisbane journalist and author Andrew Stafford.
In his book, 'Pig City: From The Saints To Savage Garden', Stafford documents both the music and the politics over what is arguably the most exciting 30-year period in music, both here and internationally. In 2007, the Queensland Music Festival staged Pig City: Brisbane’s Historical Soundtrack, a one-day festival inspired by Stafford’s book and which featured many of the bands covered in the book. This included The Saints with Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey on stage together for the first time in decades.
Stafford, along with friend Sean Clift of Red Dust Music Management, will now take the next step in supporting emerging artists by launching a record label to cater for the unheard, local gems.
We seem almost to be revisiting the old DIY days, with the technology that is now in the hands of artists to record and produce their own releases. We also have Bandcamp-style publishers. This, on top of the distrust of the big record companies, why start a record label now? What inspired this and what will Pig City Records point of difference be?
Not 'almost': making records is more DIY than it’s ever been, including the means of production. It’s relatively cheap for artists to make great-sounding records themselves now, and everyone’s doing it. It’s just harder than ever to get noticed, and harder still to sustain a musical career as anything more than a hobby. And this is a hobby label, really. We [Sean Clift and myself] are just fans. It’s a label purely set-up for Brisbane artists, of which there are a few, but we hope to build on the legacy of both the name and the city’s musical history. We hope we can re-issue some old favourites, too.
There’s a scene in 'High Fidelity' where the lead character (played by John Cusack) says he’s spent his life as a professional critic of music and by creating a label he’s now part of it, no longer just an observer. It’s a bit like that. There’s a lot of bad publicity about lockout laws and closing venues. Our view is it was ever thus; musicians in Brisbane have had to overcome bigger problems historically. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to say fuck that and do it anyway, and hope you don’t lose too much money along the way.
What kind of things will Pig City Records look for in artists you’re interested in working with and who are the first off the rank?
We’re primarily rock & roll fans, but we’re not that concerned about genre: if we love it enough and we have the resources, we’ll do it. What we care about most are great songs; if you haven’t got that – or we can’t see them coming – you’ve got nothing. Some Jerks are the first band; they’re a surf/ pop/ '60s garage group. We’re taking pre-orders for their album 'Strange Ways' now through the website; it’s officially out in October.
Do you feel social networking will play a major role in promotion for Pig City Records and its artists?
It has to; you’d be a nong not to use them. We’ve got all the usual channels set-up: FB, Twitter, website, Instagram.
What artists are you excited about in 2016?
I really love the Amber Arcades album. She’s a Dutch artist and legal aid lawyer who advocates for Syrian refugees when she’s not making music. Her album 'Fading Lines' is a peach. Locally, looking ahead, we’ll be finally putting out Sabrina Lawrie’s album next year. In fact, two records as she’s got enough material. She’s the most talented person I’ve ever met, but she’s had a lot of hold-ups; she broke her back earlier this year. That album’s in the final stages of mixing and it’s going to tear anyone who hears it a new one. I’ve never heard anything like it.
Pig City Records launch the new Some Jerks album at Black Bear Lodge 28 October.
