What does the Darebin area have that other areas don’t, in terms of support and opportunities for live music?
Well…the Darebin area is pretty much hipster central these days so there is plenty of cutting edge indie music to be sourced as well as an appreciation of it.
Do you think there’s a danger that people can take the music scene for granted in Darebin, and elsewhere in Melbourne, especially given the difficulty for musicians to make a living from music and the pressure of rising rental and venue operation costs?
A big yes! As everybody knows I wrote that controversial piece in the Age a couple of years ago. I was scared I’d get criticized for it and I did although overwhelmingly I got support for what I said. What I said was that it was all very well for venues and industry people to pat themselves on the back for supporting the music industry, but that there was still very little expectation with anyone including the musicians that the heart of the industry ie the musicians, should get paid for their efforts.
