InnerSydneyYoungLabor

President:TomHarrisBrassil Secretary:DavidPink

Press Release Labor Loves Live Music

Inner Sydney Young Labor welcomes the call from Leichhardt Labor Councillor, Darcy Byrne, for a renewed focus on supporting the important cultural and community role played by live music venues across Sydney. Live music in Sydney has a rich and proud history. The Whitlams, Midnight Oil, Mental as Anything, and many other industry giants got their start in pubs and clubs throughout our city. Many musicians from those glory days now lament the lack of supportive venues, having watched pubs and clubs choose to maximise revenue with pokie machines instead of supporting live music. Inner Sydney Young Labor was saddened to hear of the financial strife the Sandringham Hotel on King Street, Newtown, finds itself in. On top of the ongoing financial and local government planning issues faced by many other venues, this is a blow to the live music scene in the inner city. Inner Sydney Young Labor President Tom Harris-Brassil said I watched this decline first hand. Growing up in Erskineville and Newtown, my parents would regularly take me along to gigs in beer gardens around our area. Nowadays however, you would struggle to find pubs which provide a supportive environment for up and coming musicians. NSW Young Labor Assistant Secretary, Huw Phillips, agreed: I live near the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe, so Im lucky that theres a venue in my neighbourhood which gives time and space to young musicians, but its a rarity these days. One of the biggest problems for live music venues are noise complaints made against them by nearby residents. Mr Harris-Brassil retorted It doesnt make sense to move in to an area because you like that its a vibrant, fun and exciting community, only to turn around and dob the local pub in for letting a band make too much noise. The Queen of the Nile might be quieter, but its music is rubbish. Inner Sydney Young Labor has joined the Labor Loves Live Music grassroots campaign and will lobby councils, candidates and residents in the inner city to support and foster the struggling live music scene. Mr Phillips has promised to take the issue up with the NSW Young Labor executive and push for a Sydney wide campaign. ENDS Media Contact: Tom Harris-Brassil 0401 834 924 t.harrisbrassil@gmail.com