“On first appearance, the popularity of Oz Rock signified the extent to which musicians and audiences became comfortable with their own sounds and venues. The suburban Pub Rock experience provided the practical and discursive means by which pride in Oz Rock fed into, and simultaneously benefited from, nationalist discourses generated by a brief period of Federal Labor governance intent upon funding local arts.” (Homan 2009, p. 36)
The effect of a changing culture has never manifested itself so well than during the 1980’s and the emergence of Pub and Oz Rock. It is a genre of music that encourages the relationship between the performer, audience member and venue. Specifically the concept of place has had the most profound effect on the sound of this music simply due to the ordeal that the performers had to endure when playing to a typical Pub/Oz Rock audience classified by, predominantly male, loud, working class audience that were all but intoxicated by 6pm. And so volumes turned up to 11, charismatic lead singer antics and even more disturbing audience antics ensued.
Key social and cultural influences that shaped the face of Oz Rock include the extended opening hours of pubs and clubs from 6pm until 10pm in 1954, and the relationship between overcrowding of pubs and alcohol sales were just as important as the music played on stage. The Wild One, Johnny O’Keefe, Cold Chisel, Johnny Diesel and The Injectors, Midnight Oil and INXS are among the founders of this genre of music that emerged in the local pub scenes in Sydney. (Homan 2009, p. 37).
So what happened to Oz Rock? It was the type of music that was typically Aussie in all its glory, but has since disappeared off the face of the earth in more recent times. Sydney, once a haven for Oz Rock, is now but a music vacuum, with the only thing heard on a Saturday night is the scratching of a DJ’s record and the popping of a pill.
How did this whirlwind of music crash to our shores and just as suddenly evaporate. While it is not entirely dead, there are still some epicenters of Oz rock that exist, however they are few and far between and will never be anything like the Sydney Pub Circuit was back in the hay day of Oz Rock.
Like it emerged, the shaping of a society saw it die. One particular incident was the fires at Luna Park, causing seven people to tragically die in 1979. A review of elements that had been completely overlooked throughout the genres emergence included, the numbers of people attending performances, entry and exit to the venue and the type of performers within the venue, (Homan 2009, p. 40). Venues began abandoning rock in favour of less extreme alternatives like poker machines juke boxes and betting. While we can’t hold regulatory bodies responsible for the complete demise of pub rock at the local on a Friday night, they definitely have a subtle influence. Similarly the inception of Random Breathe Testing (RBT) and the extreme media scare tactic that followed is another such example of social and cultural development influencing music.
How did this whirlwind of music crash to our shores and just as suddenly evaporate. While it is not entirely dead, there are still some epicenters of Oz rock that exist, however they are few and far between and will never be anything like the Sydney Pub Circuit was back in the hay day of Oz Rock.
Like it emerged, the shaping of a society saw it die. One particular incident was the fires at Luna Park, causing seven people to tragically die in 1979. A review of elements that had been completely overlooked throughout the genres emergence included, the numbers of people attending performances, entry and exit to the venue and the type of performers within the venue, (Homan 2009, p. 40). Venues began abandoning rock in favour of less extreme alternatives like poker machines juke boxes and betting. While we can’t hold regulatory bodies responsible for the complete demise of pub rock at the local on a Friday night, they definitely have a subtle influence. Similarly the inception of Random Breathe Testing (RBT) and the extreme media scare tactic that followed is another such example of social and cultural development influencing music.
Not only has it influenced the listening of music and the pub ‘scene’, but the production of local music artists has taken a serious hit too. Oz Rock split into two streams in the late 80’s, those making a hell of a lot of money playing covers and those making next to none playing originals. While this second stream, is usually the way the cookie crumbles for artists trying to make their mark on the world, at least there was some sort of avenue to do it in. Fast forward to 2009, and amps have been replaced with a strobe light and a bottle of Jack with a bottle of Evian. While it is not to say that dance or pop is any less important than Oz Rock, it is still disappointing to see the federation features of the iconic Three Monkeys Pub on George Street and ghosts of the 80’s replaced with a fluro-wearing DJ. Perhaps I’m just an old fashioned gal looking for resolve in loud drums and deep bass, finding herself lost in whistle toting and bubble blowing music that encroaches on her Friday night at the local.
Johnny Diesel and The Injectors: 1988
Johnny Diesel: 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-IDGrvkqlk
Something to think about
Something that came out of this entry was the fact that a lot of the key player in Oz Rock that epitomized that ‘Aussie Sound’ are actually all from a non Australian Background. Jimmy Barnes; Diesel, ACDC, Billy Thorpe and Doc Neeson (Homan 2009, p. 36). Look to my next post on the Racial Divide of Rock and Roll for answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment