AWME is back this November, running from 13th till 16th for its seventh year as one of biggest lineups of global roots and world music, showcasing approximately 50 world-class artists performing over four days and nights at some of Melbourne’s most iconic venues, including the Arts Centre, The Hi-Fi, The Toff, and Ding Dong.
This year, the Australasian Worldwide Music Expo will be jam-packed with high-profile speakers, who’ll comprise a broad conference program. Organisers have assembled approximately 500 local and international music industry professionals and an amazing array of musical talent to help up-and-coming and established talents alike.
To better understand the role that roots music, and specifically blues, plays in the Australian cultural landscape, Tone Deaf caught up with a musician who’s been involved in the scene for over a decade, Ash Grunwald, who took us deep into the scene to explore’s Australia’s very active and vibrant blues scene.
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There’s Blues In Melbourne, But You Have To Look For It
“I think more being a satellite of Melbourne and listening to community radio and stuff like that when I was growing up, and then when I was a bit older moving into the city and getting that Melbourne experience, more so shaped me. There wasn’t too much blues going on out in Croydon. PBS and Triple R… just having that community radio thing where it’s specialised [was important]. The Rainbow, I don’t know if that’s still going in Fitzroy and the Dan O’Connol… I played there a lot and that’s the thing, I ended up playing all of those venues.
“It was a twofold thing and I ended up getting my start by having my music played on those community stations. It was definitely a two-stage process: getting influence and then participating in the exact same thing. It was the perfect way to get your music out there and I’m sure the same is happening for people across a lot of different genres of music.”
For Aussies Blues Musicians, It’s Easier To Find An Audience Stateside
“On this last tour of America – I say last tour, I’ve been to America a few times but this is my only proper tour I’ve done of America – that felt really quite amazing, musically. Austin, Texas actually was the first gig I did there and that went over really particularly well.
“But yeah, I felt like over there it really shouldn’t be a surprise to me but there’s a really strong appreciation and awareness of bluesier sounds, more so than I’ve found anywhere else in the world and that really came out as a positive. Whereas in Australia, you think, ‘Oh, they’re gonna think it’s weird for an Aussie to be playing blues music.’ Atlanta, Georgia was another one.”
It’s Harder Get Over With An Aussie Crowd As A Bluesman
“I think the average [fan], the actual audience, all of the punters… like, obviously, with my music, I’ve been lucky, and feel like I’ve been received well over the years in my home country and had a good career and definitely have no complaints, and I feel like I connect well with my audience, but the particular bluesier element of what I do is sort of I guess more, dare I say it, perish the thought, more knowledgeably received [overseas].
“You play a specific blues song, and it’s not like they’re all blues fans per se necessarily, but everyone knows those songs. It’s really part of their culture. Whereas for us in Australia, if you’ve got a particular interest, it might be part of your culture, but it’s not ingrained in our culture in the same way, because we’ve got other things. Blues didn’t come from Australia, you know? So that’s just the difference in playing bluesy music, I’ve really noticed that. It was appreciated in a different way over there.”
However, The Aussie Style Is Pure Blues
“I think what’s come out of Melbourne is a lot more people who really get down right into the roots of the music and really have an appreciation for the old masters, from Collard Greens and Gravy, to CW Stoneking, and countless others. But the really cool thing is that the Australian blues acts are really, if anything, a bit more bluesy.
“They’ve really got more back into the old-school. Whereas the American acts… it’s hard to say one thing, there’s so many thousands and thousands of acts, but in my perception, it can be a bit more generic, a bit more straight, roadhouse blues rock, but I don’t want to sound harsh. I think the positive way of answering that one is that some of the Australian acts, because we have that distance and blues isn’t from here, we can reflect from outside of that culture, back on it and have a real appreciation for the old style.”
Being An Outsider Isn’t A Bad Thing
“When somebody from [Australia] gets into it, you’ve got to really commit. You know, your buddies at school growing up or whatever, the people around you, might not be into the same thing that you’re into or whatever, so you’re sort of to some extent alone in this little mission that you’re on to dig up all this stuff and you might have one or two buddies that are into it or other people you meet, but it’s a very individual thing.
“You’re on your own trip with it and you just explore and that’s good. I can’t say what it’s like now, for me that’s what it was like when I was growing up, we didn’t really have the internet when I was a teenager, it was really widely used so it was really just actually sorting through records stores and getting bargain basement tapes.”
Events Like AWME Help The Scene, But The Pressure Is On Artists
“I think, like, Melbourne Ska Orchestra last year got into Glastonbury, and things like that [can come out of something like AWME]. It’s a chance to blast out into the wider world, which is a really amazing thing. You never know what can happen. I just think you’ve gotta put in the work beforehand and make sure you get all the right people to come down and actually watch you.
“I’ve done a few of these things, South By Southwest in Texas, which I did get a few cool things out of. But it’s possible, if you don’t put in the work beforehand, to not get those things as well, so you’ve gotta make the most of it as an artist and get out there and also turn up to those other things in the day and learn as much as you can and soak it all in.
“I think this is the first time I’ve done [AWME]. I’ve got my manager coming so hopefully it can be a little bit of a schmooze there and then you can just see what comes of it, I’ve got some festivals in Singapore who were doing a similar thing earlier this year and I’ve got interest from other things in Asia and China and other places. A lot of good can come from it and you do learn a lot, so it’s a worthy thing to put the time into.”
Ash Grunwald will be performing as part of AWME’s live music calendar on Thursday the 13th November at The Hi-Fi, alongside Digging Roots (Canada), and The Bart Willoughby Band. He’ll also be speaking as part of an ‘In Conversation’ panel with Sarah Howells, Nicky Bomba, and Nahko at 11:00am on Friday November the 14th. For all AWME info and tickets visit www.awme.com.au
