Having trouble reading this email? View it on our web site.
|
Lonnie Lee Spring NewsletterOctober 2009. Brought to you by Starlite Records |
 |
 |
| Hello and welcome to our Spring Newsletter. To start, Lonnie would like to say a few words about an industry in which he and a hand full of others helped start, over 50 years ago. |
"Last night I was a special guest at the 'ASA', the Australian Songwriter Association's grand annual awards night. Held at the modern Wests Leagues Club in Ashfield Sydney, it is truly a grand event which features the cream of Australian songwriters.. old and new. Ross Wilson (Eagle Rock etc) was inducted into the Hall of Fame plus the many young performers and songwriters vying for the prestigious awards. In a way it was such an uplifting night to hear and see such refreshing talent, however the dark side was that there are so few places for these talented people to perform in today. The 'live' show business industry in Australia continues to slowly sink and a survey released this week showed that there were an average of 350 bands and artists performing on a Friday night in Sydney in 1989 whilst in 1998 that number dropped to 250. This week 2010, there were only 69 bands and artists performing in Sydney on Friday AND Saturday night from jazz to pop. Whilst the number of performing professional artists has fallen to an all time low, many venues have also 'bit the dust'. One of the most famous in Sydney was the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills. This is where many of the bands of the 80's, 90's and up to the present, paid their dues and started their careers. No more as the hotel closed this week. We played a show there for a book launch maybe 5 years ago and whilst it was quite small, it has a great atmosphere. Vale 'The Hopetoun Other hotel and registered club venues also closed their doors for the last time. One can find many reasons why the industry is like it is and all of them would have some merit however, one of the primary causes is and has been the lack of respect for home grown Australian talent. Since the late 80's and early 90's, venues have chosen to present 'clone' shows who use high profile performer's names to attract the audiences. Virtually every high profile act has a 'clone' show taking advantage of their drawing power. We all know the shows such as the many Elvis, Beatle, Orbison, Buddy, Neil D, Tom Jones and Abba shows, Elton, Blues Bros, AC/DC, UB40, John Farnham, Johnny O'Keefe, Eagles, Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Bee Gees, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones, just to mention a few. Whilst these types of shows have given lots of work to many musicians, they have done nothing to promote original talent. Australian artists who over the years, have been lucky enough to make a name for themselves have had to take a back seat to these shows with much higher profile names. If a 'clone' show shows' booking fall, all they have to do is become someone else whereas the original artist is stuck being him or herself. One can easily understand the economic reasons behind going that way however, as it can be seen now, in the end it doesn't do anything except dry up the pool of potential and established local drawcards. This also has led to a dramatic decline in the existence smaller record companies as sales for them and the majors have fallen off the graph. If artists have nowhere to perform, they have nowhere to promote their songs or CDs, the radio, TV and press aren't interested in them and so the domino effect comes into play. That is why today, 95% of the only artists to be recording and promoted through the press, radio and TV as well as to be touring, are those on Australian Idol and those contracted to major labels. That only satisfies a few percent of the Australian public, but what about the rest? What about those over 35 or 40? Or the many who don't like today's pop music or who prefer something more sophisticated, or jazz, or some form of ethnic music. But where are venues for them to play in, the space given in the mass press, the TV shows, the commercial radio formats etc? Commercial and government entertainment emphases is totally on youth. It is virtually impossible for an independent label recording artist over 30 years old, to get any commercial radio play. So little wonder why the Australian music industry is as dead as it is! How could it survive under those conditions, let alone the booze buses, the emphases on gambling in venues, the surge in the promotion of sport and its stars and many other things. Whilst this makes it very hard for artists and bands who passionately want to write and play their songs, the saving grace for established performers is that the general public still have their favourites and will turn up at the shows..... if they get to know about them. Community radio has been a blessing for both new and established artists and without it, the scene no doubt would be much worse. Whilst the above is a generalisation, one can be really thankful that there are those who continue to promote original artists, whether it be on radio, in venues or in the general media. As well as the artists, it is them who man the buckets, trying to stop the ship from sinking further. Well that's my 2c worth! Lonnie PS: October 22 saw the NSW Government remove the need for venues such as pubs, cafe's, restaurants and clubs to have a licence for live entertainment. They can now have it without any approval. This may help some of the more cafe style bands however not the larger shows.. |
Once again we welcome our new recipients to this mail list and remind you
that if you know anyone who may also like to receive this information,
please let us know at newsletter@lonnielee.com
Also please feel free to forward this to whoever you know would like it.
What's happening ahead..
The two shows we have been presenting this year are the regular, 'Best of Lonnie Lee Show' where he sings all his past and current hits and the swinging big band show, 'Lonnie Lee's CRY! Show' featuring the great 50's hits of Johnnie Ray.
You can visit the web sit an time to see the tour guide, but at this time here are some of the show days ahead... Upcoming Events
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Want to become a Street Team Member? |
 |
Media Contact:
If you would like a story, radio IDs or other promotion material please contact the Starlite Records office here
In this issue
- What's Happening ahead
- Tour show dates
- Latest CD's and DVD's and much more..
Wintersun Magic a Hit in Mildura!
Every June long weekend in Coolangatta, thousands come and enjoy the world's most successful nostalgia Rock'n'Roll and vintage car festival. Because of its 20 year run and incredible success, many cities and town across Australia have been wanting to stage their own version of Wintersun. This never happened until this year when Barry MacNamara, the Director of Wintersun decided to cave in to request from the Victorian Murray River city of Mildura.
Lonnie and The Leemen were invited to headline the event with English band, 'Phil Haley and The Comments
and many other artists and bands. Cynics said it wouldn't work, but they were proved so wrong it is way off the map!!.
The exciting atmosphere this town had during the festival in August was fabulous. Street stalls, beautiful 50's and 60's cars, non stop shows in every venue, parks and streets, and people everywhere dressed in their 50's gear! It was so successful not only has it been invited back for the next 5 years, other cities have requested it.
Looks like, Barry will be a busy boy and hopefully so will Lonnie and the Leemen, who are one of the most popular Wintersun performers. See Website
Helidon 'RockStock' Festival (Near Toowoomba)
Seems like Queensland is heading the charge with family nostalgia Rock'n'Roll festivals This new festival called RockStock, took place 1st week in Sept. On Sun 6th Lonnie and the Leemen together with The Delltones, Judy Stone, Russell Morris, Judith Durham among others entertained the thousands who came to experience the event. They also had a selection of vintage cars and it was one of the most well run festivals and all by volunteers.
See Website
Back to Perth in November!
One of Lonnie's and The Leemen's favourite destinations is Perth and it has been that way for near on 50 years! These times they nearly always include a performance at Perth's most elegant restaurant called, 'Friends'. It is based in the Hyatt Hotel and aside from winning virtually every award known to man, it is a favourite place for many of the entertainers from the 50's to the 90's. This time Lonnie will return there on Thurs Nov 19th.
On the Friday 20th Lonnie and The Leemen will be at the Freemantle Leagues Club hall and at a place still yet to be confirmed on Sat 21st . See gig guide for confirmed venues.
See Website
Pass it on
If you know someone who you think would like to receive this newsletter, then it is very easy to forward it on to up to 5 addresses at once. Just see how to forward using your Email program.
See much more on the web site.. at http://www.lonnielee.com
Popular Merchandise
Lonnie's books, Six O'Clock Rock - The Facts and Johnny O'Keefe - The Facts are very popular and take the reader back to the excitement when Rock'n'Roll first started in Australia.
They can be seen and purchased here together with other books, DVD's and CDs... http://www.starliterecords.com.au/catalog
 |
 |
Latest CDs DVD's
[ST823] Light of Love - Doo Wop style ballads written by Lonnie.
[ST827] North West Mail - rockabilly country stories written by Lonnie.
[VT04] DVD Lonnie Lee's CRY!Show - Big Band Swing- The music of Johnnie Ray
 |
 |
 |
The original Hits
[ST815] The Definitive Original Collection 1959-1964 The Leedon Years Vol 1
[ST816] The Definitive Original Collection 1959-1964 The Leedon Years Vol 2
[ST818] The Definitive Original Collection 1959-1972 The TV Shows
Check out the online Starlite Shop here
|
 Volume 2 |
|
