The very first iNTune Music Conference in Alice Springs was a great success.

It kicked off late in the day on Friday September 10 at Totem Theatre – as the Alice Desert Festival cranked into gear for 2010 – and wound up late in the afternoon of Sunday September 12.

Music NT was very proud to present iNTune Alice – the first of an intended future regional rollout for iNTune, for the Northern Territory.

Milyika Scales is Music NT’s Alice Springs coordinator; she and Manager Mark Smith programmed iNTune Alice, tailoring it to meet the specific and unique needs of Alice Springs region musicians and industry.

The speakers made their way to Alice for the big event; the impressive local and interstate line up were:

Sarah Howells (triple j), Clive Hodson (Perfect Pitch Publishing), Cain Gilmour (CDU), Vanessa Hutchins (Artback NT), Andy Rantzen (Australia Council), Michelle Pearson (Australian Business Arts Foundation), Darren Pfitzner (Arts NT Regional Arts Broker), Mark Smith (Music NT), Katie Harford (Country Arts WA), Rob Collins (APRA), Mark Smerdon (Iwantja Band), Shellie Morris, Lorrae Coffin (NG Media), Vicki Gordon (VGM Media & Marketing), Nick O’ Byrne (AIR), Di Mills (Woodford Folk Festival, Dreaming Festival), Scott Large (Red Hot Arts, Alice Desert Festival), Rebecca Matthews (manager and musician), Tammy Brennan (composer), Damien Armstrong (Nokturnl), Stephen King (Media Arts Lawyers), Megan Spencer (Music NT/DIY marketing/broadcaster/filmmaker).

Music enveloped the entire event, with live performances never very far away from the speaker sessions. Opening night speakers and delegates hung out at the Conference Club at the beautifully decorated, historic Totem Theatre, chatting about the Festival, catching up and networking after seeing fantastic performances at the iNTune Music Showcase next door at the Alice Desert Festival.  Unearthed Showcase Band Catch The Fly and headliners Colourifide both delivered superbly-crafted festival sets. (The Festival crowd didn’t mind them either!)

Day II proved an intensive for all in attendance, treated to some serious talent at the Feedback on Five session in the morning (where 5 local bands played to industry experts and received great constructive feedback, with the judges and audience impressed by what they heard and saw. Pics here.) This was followed by the Desert Divas Showcase of contemporary Indigenous female performers. (More on Desert Divas here.)

It really was a day of surprises, with one of the standout panel sessions of Day II being APRA Songwriter Speaks, chaired by Rob Collins and assisited by students from the CDU VET course in Music.

Musicians and composers Trevor Brown and Warren H. Williams gave poetic and generous insight into their songwriting process, and love for music. Warren spoke about how important “song” was in Aboriginal culture in terms of telling stories, and his love for performing. “The stage is my home”, he said, “the stage is where performers belong and where I feel happiest.. It’s my place”.

Trevor talked about how the “energy” of different places informed his music, describing music as a “contact sport”: “we make contact with music as much as possible – that’s what we do”. He also told of playing a sunrise song on the streets of Sydney, with passers by realising the sound was in fact that of the sun coming up.

To finish the session, Trevor played his sunrise song – AMAZING!! – with he, Warren and band mate Music NT Chairman Cain Gilmour collaborating on a beautiful song Warren wrote on stage one night while he was singing another! It was a very special unpredictable session, with the delegates walking away from it feeling they’d been further affected by the alchemy of music.

See the photo gallery from APRA Songwriter Speaks here.

Day III also proved a special day for all concerned, with some great contributions from surprise speakers such as performer Shellie Morris and Lorrae Coffin (NG Media), who contributed to the Women in Music panel, with Vicki Gordon, Nick O’Byrne (AIR) and chair Sarah Howells (triple j).

Manager Mark Smerdon was another surprise addition to the speaker line up; he gave some great insight into managing Iwantja Band on the MGMT (management) panel session, from a uniquely NT perspective and one of a man whose passion, compassion and generosity got him into the managing in the first place. And BIITE educator Matt Hill conducted an amazing and intense interactive session called “Wildest Dreaming” – which was extremely well-attended – about how to get from ‘Worst Case Scenario’ to ‘Wildest Dream’, specific to the wants and needs of the Central Australian music industry.

Many of the iNTune speakers also attended the panels, oftentimes contributing to the conversations from the audience – sometimes with great advice (Media Arts lawyer Stephen King provided some great legal advice from the floor to iNTune delegates ans speakers alike!)

With over 20 panels sessions, workshops, performances – and many one-on-one sessions between industry reps and local musicians – over the three days, iNTune delegates said they got much from the first iNTune Alice Springs Music Conference experience. And there was much talk about the next Conference in 2011 – great feedback indeed!

Check out all of the pictures from the sessions of iNTune Alice on the Music NT Forum. Words: Megan Spencer

Read the full iNTune Alice Springs program below…

INTUNE ALICE SPRINGS PROGRAM

TOTEM THEATRE, 10-12 SEPTEMBER 2010

Day 1: Fri 10^th September

5pm, Registrations & launch, Totem Theatre

6pm – midnight, Conference Club, Totem Theatre (backyard)

Network and relax with iNTune Alice delegates & panellists, to the sounds of the Desert Festival in the background. Sponsored by the Rock Bar.

8.20pm, Unearthed iNTune Showcase Band presented by Music NT and triple j, Alice Desert Festival Main Stage

triple j Unearthed winners Catch the Fly grace the Alice Desert Festival Main Stage with their unique local hip hop and prize-winning sound.

11pm Jam Session, Totem Theatre (backyard)

Jam it up with Music NT and local musicians at the Conference Club until late.

Day 2: Sat 11th September

Session 1: 10am, ‘Feedback on Five Bands’, Alice Desert Festival Play Stage

Panellists: Sarah Howells, Clive Hodson, Megan Spencer

Local bands play their best 5 minutes of music to industry experts who will give them critical feedback and suggest directions in which they could move forward in their work.

Session 2: 12.30pm – 2pm, ‘Desert Divas’: Indigenous Womens Music Showcase, Alice Desert Festival Play Stage

All delegates & panellists

Desert Divas showcases emerging contemporary Indigenous female musicians and singers from Central Australia. With artists hailing from both remote communities and Alice Springs, Desert Divas represents the strength and diversity in Indigenous women, and the culmination of skills development workshop in the lead-up to the festival.

Session 3: 2.40-3.30pm, ‘Raising Money’, Totem Theatre (inside)

Facilitator: Vanessa Hutchins. Panellists: Andy Rantzen, Susan Benham Page, Darren Pfitzner.

Arts funding can assist musicians to tour, develop and record music. This session looks at different funding streams available and how to maximise your chance of getting that grant

Session 4: 3.50pm – 4.50pm, ‘On the Road: Touring within and without the NT’, Totem Theatre (backyard)

Facilitator: Mark Smith. Panellists: Katie Harford, Vanessa Hutchins

Touring has survived the downturn in the music industry with more and more artists hitting the road and building audiences.  This session will give an insight into opportunities available for touring as well as the realities of being on the road.

Session 5: 5pm – 6pm, APRA Songwriter Speaks, Totem Theatre (inside)

Facilitator: Rob Collins. Panelists: Dan Sultan, Scott Wilson

6pm  Bush Bands Bash, Alice Desert Festival Main Stage **NB This is an Alice Desert Festival Event**

6pm-12am, Conference Club, Totem Theatre

DAY 3: Sunday 12th September

9am, Registrations, Totem Theatre

Session 6: 10 – 11.30am, ‘Feedback on Five Acoustic & Singer Songwriters’,  Totem Theatre (inside)

Panellists: Clive Hodson, Dan Sultan

Local singer-songwriters play their best 5 minutes of music to our panel of music industry experts, who will give them critical feedback and suggest directions in which they could move forward in their work.

Session 7: 11.30am – 12.30pm, ‘Women in Music: Directions & Perspectives’, Totem Theatre (backyard)

Facilitator: Sarah Howells Panellists: Vicki Gordon, Nick O’Byrne

What does it mean to be female in the contemporary music industry? How have things changed the past few decades and where to in the future?

Session 8: 12.40-1.40pm, ‘On the Bill’, Totem Theatre (inside)

Panellists: Di Mills, Scott Large

So you’ve done some gigs around town and are now looking out to other opportunities.  Festivals are still a major launching pad for many acts but how do you get noticed?  What are they looking for from an act and if you are booked how can you make the most of this opportunity?

Session 9: 1.50 – 3.15pm, ‘Remote Control’, Totem Theatre (backyard)

Facilitator: Matt Hill with Megan Spencer

An interactive session that seeks innovative solutions to a unique situation. Explores traditional pathways, cutting edge technology and social media to distribute and market music from remote areas.

Session 10: 3.20-4.20pm, ‘Sync & Publish: Your music in other peoples products’, Totem Theatre (inside)

Facilitator: Stephen King. Panellists: Clive Hodson, Nick O’Byrne, Tammy Brennan

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Learn how & why to get your music featured in film, TV, advertising, video games, theatre and more.

Session 11: 4.30-5.15pm, ‘Management: DIY or ?’, Totem Theatre (inside)

Facilitator: Nick O’Byrne. Panellists: Clive Hodson, Rebecca Matthews, Vicki Gordon

A look at the role of management in a changing music industry

5.15pm, Desert Voice, Totem Theatre (inside) **NB This is an Alice Desert Festival Event**

7pm, Sunday Night Concert: Dan Sultan & Dallas Frasca, Totem Theatre (inside) **NB This is an Alice Desert Festival Event**