Save Live Australian Music, Now

Save Live Australian Music, Now! Soon watching a band down at your local may be a thing of the past: Within the last year, two well-respected live music venues, The Tote Hotel and The Hopetoun Hotel, have had to shut their doors due to newly introduced liquor licensing laws.  In an effort to keep live music alive and kicking, S.L.A.M. (Save Live Australia’s Music), an independent body made-up of artists and music fans rallying for laws to be changed, was created. On February 23 a protest took place down the streets of Melbourne coinciding with the 34th Anniversary of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top” video shoot.  “This is going to happen whether they like it or not”, said rally organiser Quincy McLean on S.L.A.M.’s official website. “There’s too much momentum, it’s too big to stop. It’s like Moomba with a message. Whenever a natural disaster happens, musicians are the first to put their hand up to offer support. Now it’s time for the public, who get music free online and on the radio to give support back to the music they love so much.   “The only way left for musicians to make money is through live music, and that rug is suddenly being pulled out from underneath them. It’s the 2 am lockout all over again. It failed in the UK, then failed here.” “As a band who started their career playing in small venues around Melbourne, said honing our performance skills in front of many and varied audiences,” The Cat Empire said on S.L.A.M’s site. “Melbourne is known as a city that fosters the talents of its musicians, in ways that others don’t. This is critical to our culture and our community.”