Karamea Sound Machine Newsletter - September 2011
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Hi everyone!
It has been a while since the last newsletter and a part of me feels guilty for not keeping in touch with you all. However @ those moments I find myself being reminded that a lot has changed in my family life and I shouldn't be so hard on myself! Finally though I am beginning to feel the recent changes are sitting well with our boys and it is time to reconnect...
So what has KSM been up to:
Winter Solstice
Theatre restaurant fund raiser
Providing audio visual services @ Glenn's service
Providing sound gear to The Nomad gig @ the Lyric Theatre, Granity
Providing sound gear @ Sean's 16th birthday party
Supporting the KAS Student Council Disco
Providing sound gear and support to the Buller Youth Forum
Winter Solstice from all accounts was again a success. My intent was to step up the professionalism of the event and better manage the generous support from the community. Again I would like to offer a heart felt thank you to all of you who helped make this event so special! While I have taken time to enjoy the success, that ever present creative aspect of my psyche has illuminated areas that require work and provided possible exciting new features for next year!
The Nomad gig proved to be challenging and very rewarding - it was the first time KSM had provided services to an international act. With only a minor glitch (we found the capacity limit of the primary power supply interface!) the system operated flawlessly and Damien (The Nomad) was well pleased. The success of this venture has prompted a few of us to explore further the production of events @ this venue, but more on that later...
Again KSM had the privilege of supporting the Karamea Youth @ several events. The most exciting of which (for me @ any rate) was the Youth Forum held @ the NBS Theatre last weekend. This event was an opportunity for Buller Youth to be presented with the results of a recent youth survey and investigate the creation of a Buller Youth Council (google 'youth council' for details). At the end of the event the organisers provided an opportunity for youth bands and djs to perform. Both Tjalve and Elypsis got to perform along side other Buller youth bands. KSM had the honour of providing the sound gear for this aspect of the event. I feel it opportune to note @ this point how excited I am @ the rise in musical talent within the youth of the community – good on you guys and those from the community who support you!
If you look back at the newsletters and other publications of KSM you will notice a constant invitation and offer of support to anyone interested in collaborating in an event. Also I am often presented with suggestions of things I could do to which I normally reply 'I am more than happy to work along side you in doing that'.
I am very excited about a new project that is a direct result of these offers.
In the next couple of days 'Final Frontier Productions' will officially announce the first of potentially many events to be held in the Buller Region. The result of a collaboration between Raramai, Cody and KSM with the support of FlowIn, Sina and Kirsty – Final Frontier Productions allows the promotion of New Zealand Artists in Buller using a profit based business model. The advantage for KSM is it has the potential of offering a good revenue stream through the hiring of sound equipment, a platform for individuals being supported by KSM to launch onto the professional circuit and a great vehicle for networking and promoting KSM's activities. The desire is to produce exciting and novel events so keep an eye out for the launch!
So, what is in the future for KSM?
Community Cinema: I can finally confirmed we have the use of the coolstore @ the Dairy Factory as a community theatre. Firstly, thank you to Robert Rose (the factory owner) for keeping an open mind during the negotiations. Also thank you to Shona for helping secure much needed carpet for the venue. The floor is looking great after the working bee to clean up the space. Couches and chairs have been donated (although we can always do with more!) and I have done the research needed to minimise the reverb (echo) within the venue. All that is required now is a working bee to build a small stage, sandbag and replace a wall, create sound obsorbing objects to hang from the ceiling, install bass traps on the back wall, carpet, decorate and we have an exciting new venue in the community. Already we have the soundgear and screen and with revenue generated we can acquire a surround sound processor and additional speakers...
If you are available to help with this project please drop me a line so we can organise a date that suits everyone.
The Gig 11: It is on again! The West Coast music forum for the youth happens on the 1st October. It appears the youth band will be attending and I hope to also attract other musically orientated youth in the community. If you are interested in supporting our youth musically @ this event and in the future please contact me ASAP – I would love to hear from you!
Good old fashioned knees up @ Alana's: Alana is keen to have the crew have a get together @ her place on the 8th October. The invitational is open to all, however Alana requests that only people who will respect her land need respond. I have heard from many of you that it is about time we had a good blow out and this is it! KSM will be setting up the full rig and Alana is inviting Tony (from Wanaka) who will join FlowIn and our own dj's! Details will be finalised over the next week, but if you are keen on doing a set please contact me so we can throw something together... incidentally this includes live musicians!
Well that is it for now, there are mumblings in the background of other events and projects in the future and as soon as I have anything concrete I will share it with you. As always if you have any ideas or an event that could use audio and visual support please contact me! I am more than happy to work along side anyone especially if it empowers our community to express itself!
Cheers,
Gary Smith
(for Karamea Sound Machine)
Paul Murray 04 Oct 2011
Good work Gary, thanks for keeping us informed and thanks for your efforts to make the Karamea Community GR8!