Up The Guts 2017 – Regional Live Music Tour

Up The Guts supports regional towns that are limited in their access to quality live music experiences. With 4 great genre and gender diverse bands, we travel from Melbourne to Darwin and put on 18 rock and roll gigs in regional towns along the way. We visit places like Shepparton, Whyalla, Coober Pedy and Tennant Creek to name a few!

Touring routes in Australia are limited and predictable. Shows from international artists are generally confined to the major cities and major rural hubs. When an overseas act tours to Darwin it is often a news item cited as a minor miracle. Touring can be expensive and difficult for artists. We want to show our fellow music community that extended regional touring is rewarding, important and that there is a crowd waiting to be inspired in these towns.

A major inspiration for Up The Guts is the pub rock scene of the late 70s and 80s which which celebrated regular touring and would see bands playing on any given night of the week in suburban and rural pubs all over. Possibly the most significant tour of this time was Midnight Oil's blackfella/whitefella tour of 1983 which celebrated Australian rock and roll and indigenous culture with a tour through the centre of Australia. Unfortunately this kind of tour has not become a mainstay in the musical community and that is a big source of drive and inspiration for Up The Guts.

The tour is split into two major sections: the live shows and the workshops.

The Live Shows:

As well as the 4 artists that we have at each tour we pick a local act to join the line-up in each town. This is open to all performers. This is to give that artist the opportunity to play alongside some exciting artists and begin a relationship that could lead to more opportunities in the future. It also engages the local community by celebrating one of their local talents. New creative relationships and inspiration can then begin to develop in these communities hopefully planting the seeds for a vibrant creative culture.

In 2016 we kept the ticket price at $12 to further encourage local community members to come along to the show. In a 2014 study conducted by Ernst and Young into Live Performance into Australia it was found that the average ticket price to a live performance was $100. Often touring acts in regional Australia have to increase the ticket price due to the extra travel. We have done everything in our power to not let this affect our ticket price. (http://reports.liveperformance.com.au/ticket-surve...)

The Workshops:

This component is very important to the tour and is another major reason it is unlike any other contemporary music touring model in Australia. The idea behind the workshops is to offer young Australians ranging from primary school to high school a realistic view into what it might be like to pursue creative endeavours. Rather than encouraging far fetched notions of pop stardom or fame Up The Guts is run by musicians and offers real life anecdotal examples of life in the creative field. The workshops begin with a panel of artists and serves as an introduction of the tour and a selection of the individuals on the tour. On the 2016 tour we had part-time accountants, graphic designers, lawyers, small business owners and full time musicians. While all decorated, some musicians on the tour had been on extensive overseas tours, had performed and world renowned festivals such as Glastonbury, Sasquatch and Splendour In The Grass. We want to convey to young Australians is that these are huge achievements but that they do not necessarily mean long term financial reward.

Following from the panel introduction we split the school group into three sections, they are: Song Composition, Sound Production and Music Industry. The Song Composition category sets out to show the many ways that one can write a song. We have instruments that the kids can use and we look at chord progressions and melody. In the Sound Production group our sound engineer offers an introduction to sound. This includes avoiding feedback, basic vocal effects and where vocals levels should sit in a live mix. The Music Industry group details how to put music online, how to form a band, how to book a show and includes some advice on financial management.

The workshop runs for approximately 90 to 120 minutes. The school group is then given the opportunity to ask questions or have a private chat at the end of each workshop. We give music prizes for great questions and attentive students.They are an awesome exercise for students and musicians alike and reflect the information that many artists on the tour wish that they had at the beginning of their careers.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking an interest in our project. We are constantly updating our Facebook page so please swing us a like and you can follow the 2017 tour!

https://www.facebook.com/upthegutsAU/

Donation Incentives:

$500+

1. Guest Pass to any or as many Guts shows as you would like;
2. The opportunity to attend a workshop.

$1000+

1. Guest Pass to any or as many Guts shows as you would like;
2. The opportunity to attend a workshop;
3. Merch Pack (T-Shirt, Framed poster art, Record LP from an artist on the tour)

$1500+

1. Guest Pass to any or as many Guts shows as you would like;
2. The opportunity to attend a workshop;
3. Merch Pack (T-Shirt, Framed poster art, Record LP from artist on tour);
4. Post Card from location on tour;
5. Personalised VLOG update.