Dear Minister Kosky
My name is Naomi Brockenshire and I am part of the Melbourne based band, Asleep in the Park.
Over the past few years we have worked closely with Steve and Renate Iorio (Blind Beatroot), both here in Australia and overseas, and I can honestly say they are two of the most generous, hard-working and genuine people to grace Australia’s music scene. Their integrity never wavers, their work ethic is astounding and their humanity is a rare thing to find in this hardest of industries. The rescinding of the Vic Rocks grant for the Great Australian Wave Showcase is an appalling decision by Arts Victoria and one that should be rectified.
Asleep in the Park was part of Blind Beatroot’s Great Australian Wave at the Popkomm Festival in Berlin last year. The whole event was extremely well organised and executed with huge crowds attending all three nights, not a small achievement given that there were over 400 bands playing at Popkomm last year. It was an amazing experience and one that yielded some important results for my band.
Steve and Renate have time and again proven themselves to be an asset to the Victorian music industry, both as musicians and by helping other musicians. There are not too many people who can make such a claim. The government should be nurturing such individuals not punishing them. This money can and will make a significant difference in the life of those bands signed on to the Great Australian Wave. To deny them this money after granting it is outrageous. I urge you to give Steve and Renate the opportunity to prove the Victorian music industry, indeed the Australian music scene, has a future in Europe. Better yet show to them, and to all the tireless musicians out there, that hard work, dedication, persistence and generosity still have a place in our country.
I respectfully request that you direct Arts Victoria not to abandon the Great Australian Wave; the show will and must go on.
Yours sincerely
Naomi Brockenshire
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