ROCKON SPEAKER LIST:
Graham Ashton Head of Marketing & International Licensing at the independent Brisbane label, Dew Process Recordings. Graham entered the industry as a singer, but quickly moved on to managing bands and started the independent punk label, Emily Records. Since 1991, he has worked at independent and major record labels in Brisbane and Sydney and has worked closely with many artists, including Powderfinger, The Living End, Paul Kelly, the Hoodoo Gurus, The Go-Betweens and The Panics.
Chris Bailey GANGgajang Manager and a founding bass player with that band and The Angels, Chris for many years has recorded and toured with these legendary bands. He has also worked with many international and Australian artists, including Bon Scott, Alannah Myles and Jimmy Barnes, in everything from rock, jazz and funk to country and easy listening, and toured Australia, the USA, Europe, Brazil and Japan. Chris has also produced, presented and written music for a cultural expo and ABC TV.
Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup Founding co-producer and co-manager of GANGgajang, and drummer in GANGgajang and The Angels, Buzz is also music director for and manages Jimmy Little. Buzz and Chris Bailey are considered one of the all time best rhythm sections in Australian rock music. The internationally acclaimed Angels profoundly influenced bands such as American heavyweights Guns and Roses. Buzz has produced, written and played on many hit records and has also written, recorded and produced music for film. He was Music Director of the ABC TV series Sweet and Sour.
Max Bidstrup (DJ Climax) 18-year-old Max is a Producer / DJ / Musician from Sydney's north shore, whose passion for music began at an early age when he sat down at his father's drum kit. After more than 10 years of experimenting with different instruments and electronic music, as DJ Climax he is producing original material which is being acknowledged by DJs and Producers world wide.
Mark Callaghan General Manager of the Australasian Music Publishers Association, board member of AMPAL. AMCOS, and MCA, and a founding member (lead singer and writer) of GANGgajang. Mark's career since the 1970s spans diverse roles as a singer, songwriter, musician, producer and manager. His projects include working on albums for The Riptides, GANGgajang, solo albums and songwriting for the ABC TV series Sweet and Sour. Mark has held senior management positions at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Festival Records and Shock Music Publishing. www.ganggajang.com
Emma Carton Queensland Writer Services Representative at APRA (Australasian Performing Rights Association), Emma has worked in the UK at the Reading and Glastonbury festivals and for a music and film recruitment agency, Handle Recruitment and in Australia as Secretary of the Board of 4ZZZ. Emma has performed in Australia and overseas and her current band is J-Pan Fan.
Grayson Cooke scholar and new media artist who lectures in digital media at the Bundaberg Campus of CQUniversity. Grayson has exhibited new media and photography in Australia and Canada, and performed live-mixed audio-visual works in Australia and New Zealand, and published academic articles in numerous print and online journals.
Anthea Curtis Events Coordinator for Rockhampton Regional Council, Anthea manages community and civic events and the Queensland Government's A-Venue Youth Music Initiative in the region. Previously, as event manager for Rockhampton Tourist and Business Information, she organised Rockhampton's Big River Jazz Festival and other events for tourism and youth markets.
James Douglas Has a lifetime love of rock music from the Beatles to the Buzzcocks. He is a student of the history of recorded sound and enjoys making film clips of, and playing with, his band Therapeutic Paradox.
David French Managing Director of Capricorn Investment Partners Ltd, which he started originally as the financial planning division of The Rock Building Society, David is also a Director of Rockhampton Regional Development Ltd, Treasurer of the Home Support Association and writes a monthly economic and finance column for The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton. David's passions include Central Queensland's economic development and music.
Kim Green One of Australia's leading freelance Music Supervisors, Kim specialises in music licensing and research, negotiations, song sourcing, rights clearances and general copyright matters in film, television and theatre internationally. Her recent projects include films Samson and Delilah, Mao's Last Dancer and The Bank Job, the international theatrical show Dirty Dancing and numerous documentaries and TV projects. Kim previously held senior positions in major music publishing companies MCA Music, PolyGram Music Publishing and BMG over a 20-year period.
Stephen Green Project Consultant for D-Star's Play MPE music delivery media service and Executive Programmer of Brisbane's Big Sound Music Industry Summit and Showcase. Stephen's 13-year music career has encompassed many roles, from music journalism, marketing and event management to vocalist. He started two PR and marketing companies, Australian Music Biz (1999-2008) and Outbreak Marketing (2007-08), for clients including Sony BMG, EMI, Warner, Disney and directed campaigns for artists such as the Butterfly Effect, Kate Miller-Heidke, Screaming Jets and Tom Jones.
Bill Hauritz AM Director of the Woodford Folk Festival, which Bill instigated as the Maleny Folk Festival and which, under his leadership, has grown into one of the world's most successful festivals. A recipient of the prestigious Centenary Medal in 2001, a Queensland Smithsonian Fellowship in 2004, a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 and the Myer Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Performing Arts in 2007, Bill is best described as a practical and optimistic visionary with an insatiable appetite to address the imbalances in our community. www.woodfordfolkfestival.com
Robert James Guitarist with classic Australian bands GANGgajang (since 1985) and Yothu Yindu. Robert produced and co-wrote GANGgajang's current album, Oceans and Deserts and his own releases, Suzannah Suite and Secrets In The Sand. He produced the orchestral arrangement of GANGgajang's great hit Sounds Of Then performed by the Sydney Youth Orchestra with Jimmy Little at the 2004 NSW Premier's Luncheon and is currently finishing his second symphony, Land Of Many Countries and songs for a new GANGgajang album.
Derrin Kerr Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Music, CQUniversity, Derrin currently teaches jazz and popular music specialisation. He has performed with many leading jazz artists including James Morrison, Don Burrows, Vince Jones and Grace Knight, and Americans Michael Tracey, Michael Davison and Rick Holland. In 2006, Derrin was a speaker at the annual conference of the International Association of Schools of Jazz, at Louisville, USA.
Freda Mitchell International gospel recording artist, Freda Mitchell has been singing in church choirs since she was 10 years old. A recorded artist, Freda has won awards, sung with many gospel greats and performed widely in the USA, Europe, China and Australia, including performances for former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush and on TV on the Oprah Show and hosting her own cable TV shows. Freda frequently performs for her own home community in the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Areas. Freda will be conducting workshops in Yeppoon from July 15. For information see click HERE
Mark Opitz Renowned internationally acclaimed record producer, Mark has worked as head of A&R at Warner Music and with the Mushroom Group. A winner of seven Best Producer of the Year, ARIA and Countdown awards, Mark has recorded ACDC, and produced many multi platinum albums by such artists as The Angels, The Divinyls, Cold Chisel, Jimmy Barnes, INXS, Noiseworks, Australian Crawl and The Models. He has also worked with such luminaries as Kiss, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz and The Beach Boys. Mark's achievements are too many to list here, but can be found HERE
Tim Price Promotions & Development Manager for the Brisbane digital distribution company, Musicadium, which provides opportunities for independent musicians and record labels in the world's largest online stores. Tim was previously Rockhampton's A-Venue program coordinator and also worked promoting and booking original touring acts in Rockhampton.
Bill Riner Network Music Programmer for the ABC's Local Radio Network (60 stations). Bill has worked as a broadcaster and programmer since the 1970s in America and Australia. Career highlights include working as a broadcaster with Progressive Rock (Florida), and with 4ZZZ (Brisbane) and 10 years as on-air and programme director with FM104 in Brisbane. Bill was a speaker at the 2008 Big Sound Music Summit in Brisbane.
Geoffrey Stapleton Keyboard player with GANGgajang, Geoffrey is a multi instrumentalist who has performed and/or written songs with The Aliens, The Rockmelons, Wendy Matthews, Absent Friends, The Dukes, Gyan, Sean Kelly and The Stetsons. Geoffrey has worked with international producers such as Maurice Jarre and Charles Fischer and on movie soundtracks including Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome. He owned and ran Kings Lanes Recording Studios in Sydney, recording such bands as GANGgajang, Sean Kelly and Wendy Matthews.
Deborah Suckling Program Manager for Q Music, which develops new artists and the music industry across Queensland. Deb coordinates the annual Q Song Awards and assists the annual Big Sound Music Industry Summit in Brisbane. Deb has also performed in and managed the bands Brindle, Lucy Star, Satellite and The Peachfish. She has worked for various independent labels and is the owner and manager of SugarRush Records, a digital label.
Michael Walker ROCKon Coordinator. Founding member (lead singer, writer and manager) of the Brisbane band Solid Citizens, who performed live and on TV in Australia and recorded in Oxford, UK. Michael's 30-year career includes performing and songwriting in various Australian bands and in the UK, and writing music for film and the ABC TV series Sweet and Sour and Dancing Daze. He co-wrote with and produced the Gold Coast band New School Hero on his independent label Grafico Music, and for the RACQ's Free2go campaign and ABC, BBC and Sesame Street TV series Out There II.
Michael manages and contributes to the arts based web site Grafico Topico www.grafico-qld.com
Craig Zonca Morning Presenter on ABC Capricornia, Rockhampton, Craig joined the ABC in 2003. Craig has also played with various bands and worked as a promoter/tour manager for local bands in central Queensland.