‘PARLOUR GIGS’ EXPANDS FUTURE OF LIVE MUSIC WITH RELEASE OF ONLINE BOOKING PLATFORM
From May 19, Parlour Gigs will make hosting intimate live music even easier with the debut of their new online booking platform. This purpose-built web application allows hosts to create a new gig in minutes, complete with electronic ticketing and the choice of recommended local artists from curated lists based on location and genre specification.
Founded in early 2015 by Melbourne singer-songwriter Matt Walters, Parlour has created an opportunity for Australian music enthusiasts to host a show for friends and family in their own home. Originally created as a means of making live performance financially sustainable for emerging artists, Matt was also blown away by the beautiful, intimate shows uniquely realised by each host.
To date, Parlour has facilitated more than 150 performances all over Australia, having hosted shows for Harry James Angus (pic inset), Dan Kelly, Mia Dyson, Oh Mercy, Tinpan Orange, Lisa Mitchell and many more talented Australian artists. Now, one year down the track, the team aims to expand their reach by automating their booking, ticketing and artist selection process, giving more hosts and musicians the tools they need to share the magic of a Parlour performance.
Matt and co-founder Glenn Luck are extremely passionate about the platforms’ expansion. The duo explains, “We love the idea that your next favourite artist could be in your postcode. Also most hosts that sign up now want us to recommend great local talent to them…we know there is so much amazing music available to people locally – but there are so many barriers. The fact is, fans don’t always want to go out to clubs and see headliners come on at 11.30 PM. We want to connect music lovers with these great local artists in their area – and, of course, host them in their house and showcase them to their friends.”
True to their intention, the benefit to both emerging and established Australian artists has been huge. Since Parlour’s inception, impassioned local musicians wanting to contribute have inundated the pair. The new platform encourages artists of all walks to sign in directly, curating a profile similar to Bandcamp or Soundcloud before being recommended to potential hosts in their area.
Musicians in Australia make just $7200 on average per annum (http://artfacts.australiacouncil.gov.au/music/), but with the expansion of Parlour, Matt and Glenn hope to work towards a rise in this figure over the next few years. Parlour artists take 78% of ticket sales and are currently paid a minimum of $300 per show, and there is no maximum, with artists receiving an average fee of $550 for a 45-60 minute set. A recent show at a church in the small regional Victorian town of Birregurra saw a band leave with $2,500, and in future Parlour aspire to create more opportunities like this for musicians to make a fair wage.
Parlour is about paying artists properly to do what they love best, while connecting Australia’s music loving community with new and talented performers. Giving control of this ground-breaking event management platform to the community that gave it life is the next step towards an industry that musicians and music lovers can be proud of.
For more information and to check out the new online booking platform, head to www.parlourgigs.com
SHELLEY SEGAL ANNOUNCES AUS FAREWELL SHOWS BEFORE RELOCATING TO LA + US TOUR WITH PERFORMANCE AT REASON RALLY + US PUBLISHING DEAL
In light of her upcoming move to Los Angeles, spirited songwriter Shelley Segal has today announced two Australian farewell shows at Club Redfern in Sydney on May 20 and a sold out show in Melbourne at Paris Cat on May 21. Upon landing in the US, Segal will be sharing the stage with Johnny Depp and members of Wu Tang Clan at the widely publicised 2016 Reason Rally in Washington DC on June 4. In addition, the hardworking songstress has also announced her new deal with Los Angeles-based publishing house, 411 Music Group.
Since 2012, Segal has toured the US nine times and is excited to be making the move permanent. “I have been building my fanbase all over the US – across 25 states and am excited to now be based there and to be closer to my fans,” says Segal. “I have also opened my record label, True Music in the US and am also excited to be moving over there to create more opportunities for the label and its artists.”
Accompanied by Tower of Power alumni and musical director of Joe Cocker’s band, Nick Milo, and one of Australia’s most prominent bass players, Rod Bustos, Segal will be performing at the exponentially enormous Reason Rally in Washington DC. This renowned secularism rally is estimated to attract 50,000 attendees, and Segal will be performing alongside speakers such as Bill Nye and Margaret Cho, plus many more. On the rally, Segal enthuses, “This rally celebrates a sense of solidarity that calls more to the cause of pushing back against discriminatory policy and lets Americans and the government know that we are here. I am so proud to be a part of that.” She will also be playing a series of gigs along the west coast in June, including a performance at the iconic Hotel Café in Los Angeles on June 10, and a show at the renowned Sunday Assembly gathering in LA on June 19.
To cap off an exciting series of developments in this talented performer’s career, Segal has just signed a deal with 411 Music Group, a publishing house based in Los Angeles. Boasting syncs with television programs featured on Netflix, HBO, MTV and many more, this deal will propel Segal’s catalogue onto the global stage. Be sure to catch Shelley Segal on home soil before she embarks upon this new chapter in her career.
SHELLEY SEGAL SHOWS
FRI 20 MAY | CLUB REDFERN, SYDNEY NSW | ALL AGES
Tickets available from www.trybooking.com/LEQR | Door Sales
SAT 21 MAY | PARIS CAT, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.rollerdigital.com/pariscat/#/event/1039/73237/20160521 | SOLD OUT!!
SAT 04 JUN | REASON RALLY, WASHINGTON DC | ALL AGES
Free Event | VIP tickets available from www.reasonrally.org
SAT 04 JUN | REASON RALLY AFTERPARTY, WASHINGTON | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reason-rally-after-party-capitol-hill-tickets-21641708934
SUN 05 JUN | REASON RALLY MINI CONVENTION, WASHINGTON DC | ALL AGES
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reason-rally-mini-convention-tickets-21273818564
FRI 10 JUN | HOTEL CAFE, LOS ANGELES | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.hotelcafe.com/tickets/?s=events_view&id=5015
SUN 19 JUN | SUNDAY ASSEMBLY, LOS ANGELES | ALL AGES
Free Event | Info at http://www.sundayassemblyla.org
TUE 28 JUN | THE TRIPLE DOOR, SEATTLE | 18+
Tickets available from http://www.thetripledoor.net
FRI 08 JUL | COLUMBIA CITY THEATRE, SEATTLE | 18+
Tickets available from http://www.columbiacitytheater.com
STACE CADET ANNOUNCES NEW VIDEO FOR ‘MOLLY HAPPY’ + NATIONAL TOUR
Inserting some intergalactic optimism onto the dancefloor, Melbourne’s newest dance recruit, Stace Cadet has just released his debut single Molly Happy, alongside an accompanying music video that may or may not have been shot on Mars. To celebrate his release that has impressively already climbed to number 2 on the ARIA club charts (lastweek), Stace Cadet has today announced a national tour set to kick off in Melbourne on April 15, heading on through Adelaide, Brisbane and finishing up in Sydney on June 11.
Molly Happy is upbeat, visceral, and adventurous – and you can let Houston know that there’s not a problem in sight. House music fans will rejoice in the oozing bass, progressive, intricate production and concise, clever vocals that inform this slick debut. The man behind Stace Cadet, the effervescent Stasi Kotaras is coy about the details of Molly Happy’s conception, but reveals the basic recipe which could easily be mistaken for the plotline of the next big Hollywood blockbuster: “1 road trip around the US, one Claude VonStroke set, one private show from a high school marching band, a fire extinguisher, and a shirtless billionaire riding a Harley two hours inland for burgers.”
With an incredible host of Molly Happy remixes landing, including the likes of Dirtybird Records Kyle Watson, Sydney wonder boy Acaddamy and the best thing to come out of trap world since rolling snares, MOSS (Bris), you’d be forgiven for thinking it couldn’t get much better. “It was a Thursday afternoon and I was tackling a Bega Stringer like my life depended on it,” laughs Kotaras “and boom, I get an email from a very dear friend of mine, Guy Chappell (Yacht Club Dj’s / Twinsy) with a link to this delicious Twinsy mix. I threw the stringer on the ground and called the Medium Rare Records team and here we are.”
Directed by Chase Burns (Troye Sivan, Happy Little Pill), the video for Molly Happy is an existential exploration of yin and yang – punctuated to perfection with some signature Stace Cadet, astronautic dance moves, of course. Shot at Lake Corangamite – the closest thing to Mars on Earth, the video follows our hero Stace Cadet as he is thrust into an alien landscape, completely alone, or so he thinks. “In the clip, the YANG version of me finds a charm that transports him into another world where the YIN version of me finds some mirrors that encourage him to explore his emotions,’ explains Kotaras. “At the end of the clip he realises he quite likes this world, and lets himself wander off in the never-ending scape of it.”
Intrigued? You’re not the only one. The enigmatic Stace Cadet has caught the attention of Medium Rare Recordings, signing a deal with the renowned dance label owned by Ben O’Connor (better known as Benson), Daniel Farley (AKA Terace) Michael Mitropoulos (AKA Mike Metro) and Tom Piper (AKA LO’99).
To celebrate the release of Molly Happy, Stace Cadet will be embarking on a national tour, kicking off with a gig alongside the voice of Peking Duck’s High, Nicole Millar at Old Mates in Melbourne, and then wrapping up in Sydney on June 11. Letting audiences know what to expect from a Stace Cadet show, Kotaras enthuses, “Stace Cadet sets are deeply bass driven, energetic and climactic. Lots of big builds and deep drops… come have a listen and I’ll take you there. And I like to dance, notorious for it. Music is a joyous thing, it should be celebrated from both sides of the decks.”
Molly Happy is out now and we suggest you do yourselves a favour and jump on to Mars with Stace Cadet, strap in for a thrilling ride you won’t forget!