Rudy Brandsma Award Winners

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Presented in recognition of the achievements of ASA co-founder Rudy Brandsma to an ASA member entrant who demonstrates outstanding potential.

2006 Daniel Arvidson

The Rudy Brandsma Award is presented annually to the ASA member who demonstrates outstanding potential as a songwriter. The award is named in honour of the ASA’s co-founder, the late Rudy Brandsma.The award winner for 2006 is Daniel Arvidson for his song “Not About”, which placed 3rd in the Open Category. Daniel also placed 9th in the Contemporary Pop Category with “Wanna Come Back As A Girl”.In previous years, Daniel has placed 4th in the 2003 ASA Pop/ Contemporary Ballad Category with “Feel Her Voice” and 6th in the same category with “Alleyway Café”.Daniel Arvidson is a singer, songwriter and entertainer from Newcastle in the Hunter Region of NSW. He has been playing professionally for over fifteen years. Daniel’s impressive list of achievements includes “Soloist Of The Year” in the 2002 ABC Music Awards, winner of the “Theatre Category” at the 2002 ABC Music Awards with his song “Crown Of Thorns”, and “NSW Wedding Entertainer” for 2002, presented by the Australian Bridal Association Inc.Daniel’s greatest passion is his original music. In 1998, he released a self-titled album of his music, which was produced by Peter Contini at Sun Studios in Surry Hills in Sydney. The album contains the award winning songs “Feel Her Voice”, “Alleyway Café” and “Crown Of Thorns”. In 2003, Daniel released a best selling single “Newcastle”, which went on to become an anthem for the NSW Hunter Region, and which he performed on stage with the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team in front of 50,000 people in 2003. 2006 will see the release of Daniel’s new CD “Wonderful Life”. -o-ASA: We were all really impressed with your song “Not About”, which you performed on the awards night. Would you please tell us how the song came into being and also run through your own composition process on this song.

DA: “Not About” came about from my observations on how what society deems as love really has nothing to do with love. For example power and money might take precedence over the qualities of someone’s character.

When creating this song, I was after something narrative to express my views, quirky but clever enough lyrically to hold attention, yet simultaneously powerfully melodic that would sponsor the raw emotion. I love songs with big dynamics. I love to sing soft and I also love the liberation of expression to fully belt something out vocally. This song has a chorus you can sink your teeth into. It’s a challenge, but it’s a pleasure to sing, and any strength given just adds to its conviction. The verses and bridge could be creatively complex but the chorus was to just soar and be simple.

“Not About” started out as a song called "Million Dollars". It was re-worked at Chartsong Studios with producer Stuart Stuart. Some of the changes included re-writing the bridge to give it a more dynamic build to the chorus. We trimmed the old chorus to keep it simple, focusing more on the hook to give it more of a commercial edge.

ASA: Tell us a bit about how your best-known song, “Newcastle” came into being and how you felt performing it on stage with the Newcastle Knights. Do you still get requests for the song?

DA: I had just finished my debut album and was in the process of it getting reviewed. One particular critic cited that the tracks had no “relatability factor”. Initially I was crushed as I loved the album and still do, but I took note of his opinion (it had merit) and my songwriting changed from that day.

I pulled out a song that I had worked on nearly a decade before called “Newcastle”. It was about my hometown, so it was something that I knew everyone who lived here could identify with. All it needed was a chorus. Whilst working and playing in a Contiki bar in Florence Italy, I noticed all the locals coming in chanting their soccer anthems. I thought “that’s it !!!- that’s what the song needs- an anthemic chant”. I came home, added the chorus, and started playing it live, and pretty soon it got to the point where people were packing out the pub just to hear the one song. I caught the buzz on a live recording and a local DJ had the courage and foresight to give it a spin on radio. As if there was not already enough “relatabilty factor” with a local singing on local radio about local issues, the song’s release coincided with the semi finals of the National Rugby League, and because the Newcastle Knights are mentioned in the song, the team as well as the public took it on board as their anthem.

I felt extremely proud of my hometown to sing it on stage with the Knights, and very grateful for their support. I was also very proud of the song’s accomplishments and enjoying the experience of being onstage playing one of my originals to 50,000 people.

The song still gets air play and is requested at my gigs, more than “Khe Sahn”, he! he! -so no offence to Cold Chisel, but I’m happy with that.

ASA: Are you happy being a Newcastle boy, or would you like to take your music to a wider audience?

DA: Both! Newcastle is the best place on earth to me, and will always be home, yet my musical aspirations have always been global. That’s the reason for the song "Wonderful Life". A human being in Siberia could relate to it just as much as my next door neighbour could. It’s a positive song and my dream is to uplift humanity, not just my community, with my music.
Alan Gilmour
Australian Songwriters Association Inc.
October 2006

2005 K crasher

K’crasher’s crystal clear voice, excellent pitch, and ability to hold a note make her a singer of rare power. Add her sense of humour, warmth and conviction to complete the picture of her as an entertainer who can immediately establish a relationship, both friendly and intimate with her audience, and move them to tears one minute and laughter the rest. K’crasher says of herself “I’m a singer but only recently a songwriter. In the past, whenever I thought of writing a song, I coincidentally found someone else’s on the same topic and got distracted learning it. I enjoy presenting other peoples songs, giving them new emphasis and conviction, but there is something special about singing one’s own songs. I only sing songs that I believe in, I can’t sing what I don’t feel. I like material that hasn’t been commercialised. I like to make a real connection with the audience.”

Maintaining a balance in performances between the serious and the light hearted, K’crasher’s sources are wide and eclectic. Her sense of timing, expressive voice and her skills with tricky lyrics help her to tackle a wide range of material. At home with the blues or soul music, she can also sing traditional folk standards and comic parodies. She sings songs such as, Cheryl Wheelers ‘Act of Nature’ and the classic ‘Summertime’. Her sensitive and versatile accompaniments on guitar or piano support and enhance the mood of her lyrics. She balances songs such as Alastair Hewlett’s ‘Suicide Town’ with Tom Lehrer’s ‘Masochism Tango’. Satirical songs by Bernard Bolon, Eric Bogle, Tom Lehrer and Dorie Previn are all part of her repertoire, as are modern folk classics by Joni Mitchell, Loreena McKennett and Cat Stevens. A serious singer, K’crasher also enjoys a good laugh with her cat medley, ‘Somebody’s Moggy’, ‘Basingstoke’ and ‘Birth Control to Ginger Tom’. Her rapid-fire versions of ‘We Sell Everything’ and ‘The Pheasant Plucker’s Song’ never fail to provoke laughter.
Lately, K’crasher’s performances of her own compositions have received enthusiastic acclaim wherever she performs them. Powerful lyrics drawn from her own experiences connect with people at a profound level. K’crasher is capable of being both bitingly insightful and compassionate at the same time, not to mention “stark raving Mad”.

Her music has taken her to all the usual hangouts, bars, clubs, functions and concerts. She has added a touch of music and humour at many a wedding and performed at political and environmental rallies across Australia. K’crasher has played at many festivals including the National Folk Festival in Canberra where enthusiastic audiences packed the venues of her performances to capacity.

She has done session work with piano, guitar and vocals mostly around NSW and the ACT. “Her instinctive harmonies make her a joy to sing with. She is a keen judge of a good song. She bristles with good humour. Her smooth guitar work and perfect pitch combine to make her an impressive interpreter of modern song”, said Bruce Cameron, president of the Bathurst Folk Club, and a musician that has rarely missed a folk festival.

Up until recently K’crasher only released recording has been ‘Live on Friday the 13th’ recorded at the Merry Muse Folk Club in Canberra by Moonlight Records.

K’crasher has now established her own business: BristleHead Music, and has financed and produced her current CD ‘Towards the Light’. This CD contains a selection of songs written by artists such as Tim Buckley, Christine Laven and many others. Special treats are K’crasher’s own songs.

2003 Callee Mann

The Rudy Brandsma Award winner for 2003 is 16 year old Callee Mann. She is currently completing year 12 at Southern Cross High School, Ballina, NSW and is also in the process of recording an EP.

Callee has been performing regular gigs as part of a duo at local pubs, clubs and restaurants on Friday and Saturday in an effort to raise money to put towards recording her material. She also performs at the Australian Hotel Ballina doing solo vocal and piano entertainment.

Callee performed as a duo act, at the 2003 Ballina Community 24hr-Relay-For-Life, both opening and closing the ceremony. She has also performed at Lions Club Dinners, ASA Wax Lyricals and has had both interviews and airplay with radio stations including ABC Radio North Coast, Triple ZZZ Fm 100.9 and Paradise Fm Radio 101.9.

Callee was also successful in a number of other competitions recently. These include:

• Winner of Accelerator 2003 Best Songwriter award for her original song, 'Lost Sheep'. This award is open to high-school students on the North Coast. Prize includes current airplay on 100.9 Triple ZZZ FM and the track published onto the Accelerator 2003 Compilation CD, available for purchase at local music retailers.
• Winner of Music Oz 2003. This competition is known as the national premier music competition for unsigned artists. Callee's original song 'Lost Sheep' won the Schoolies category of this competition which attracted over 6000 entries. The awards night was broadcasted nationally on NBN television, with Nikki Webster presenting the award. The eighteen category winners from MusicOz 2003 have their winning original song put ont the Music Oz 2003 Compilation CD, which is being sent to record labels all over Australia, the UK, Europe and USA;
• Winner of the North Coast NCEIA Dolphin Awards Adult Contemporary category for her original song 'Wet Shoes'. Also Top 3 Nominee in the following categories: New Recording Talent: 'Don't Think', Best Female Vocals: 'Lost Sheep' and Song Of The Year: 'Don't Think'.

2002 Sara Downs

Award winning singer/songwriter Sara Downs is from the SE of South Australia. Given her first guitar at the age of 9 by a family friend, Sara has not stopped playing since. She started song writing at the age of 13 and has set her sights on a career in the entertainment industry. In 1999 she was the Under 13 Champion and Under 16 Gospel Champion of South Australia

Sara is currently the 2004 Under 16 Champion and Junior Champion of Champion in South Australia. Sara was a graduate of the SACCM country music mini college in 1998.

In 2004 she was the recipient of the inaugural ArtSA Cindy Shelton Memorial Scholarship allowing her to attend the first Tamworth Junior College 'Camarata'

Sara has been astounding judges and members of the public from the age of 11, when she started her singing career entering talent quests and making public appearances across SA and interstate. Many people in the country music industry consider Sara to be one of the most promising young artists to come out of South Australia at this present time and is poised to become one of our great exports. Her main influences are The Beatles, John Farnham, Felicity, Kasey Chambers, The Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban along with a variety of other artists. A multi-talented performer, Sara not only sings, but also plays acoustic and bass guitars, mandolin and keyboard. Currently Sara is a volunteer radio presenter at the local community radio station. She attends the local high school where she is actively enrolled in all areas of the performing arts.

2001 Keith Armitage

Keith received his first guitar at age nine as a gift from his father, a retired dance pianist. He grew up listening to artists like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Neil Young, and steadily developed his guitar skills. Soon songwriting became a consuming passion. He joined a high school band and began performing in cafes and pubs. Keith turned his back on a year of air force training, and set out with a guitar and a backpack in search of adventure and the stories that were to become his songs.

Over the next few years, Keith travelled north to Townsville, Cairns, and Darwin, south to Tasmania then back to Sydney. He wrote songs about his experiences, playing gigs and busking wherever he could. Forced to take on many and various jobs to survive along the way, he worked as a deckhand for abalone divers, mined for wolfram, unloaded shipping containers, and waited on tables. He finally managed to save enough to travel to France to track down Franky Camus, a blues harmonica player he had known in Townsville.

After a few gigs in the French Alps, Keith encountered guitarist Antoine Demarest, based in Paris. Together they began songwriting, making demos and singing in small cafes - soaking up the nightlife, the music scene and the culture. Then they hit London, playing the pubs and wine bars whilst Keith worked as a waiter and Antoine as a bus boy in the Strand Palace Hotel. But after two years away, Keith was missing Australia. He and Antoine returned to Sydney to start a new band.

'The Middle Distance' began as a duo at the Alley Cat in North Sydney and the Rest Hotel in Milsons Point. After adding a drummer, Keith moved on to bass and they became a 'three piece', attracting a large following in pubs all over Sydney. They were the first band to play at the Great Northern in Chatswood - kicking off a great venue for many bands to follow. After five exciting years, four drummers, numerous demos, hundreds of gigs, and a packed "send off" at the Northern, Keith felt the need to discover his own style of music and redefine his direction as an artist.

Keith began studying to learn more about the craft of songwriting; he attended seminars and workshops, and read all he could on the subject, picking up five songwriting awards along the way. The song 'Holden HT', a nostalgic tribute to his favourite car, won the Australian Songwriters Association award for best novelty song in 1993. He also studied acting and television presenting; guest appearing in 'Water Rats', All Saints, and countless commercials. In high demand as a solo performer, he secured high-profile gigs in the Snowy Mountains resorts, at the Darwin Casino, and on the cruise ship Fairstar.

In 1994 Keith attended his first Tamworth Country Music Festival, which felt like a homecoming with its large variety of Country, Folk and Roots music. Returning every year, Keith became a grand finalist in Australia's biggest Country music talent quest "Starmaker". He soon found himself supporting some of Australia's biggest country artists including; Tania Kernaghan, Troy Cassar Daley, Anne Kirkpatrick, and Jimmy Little.

In 2000, Keith's love of songwriting led him to develop "Songwriters Unplugged", held every week at the Ivanhoe Hotel in Manly. The event showcases some of Sydney's top songwriters before a large, receptive audience. Performers have included: Louise Perryman, Steve Balbi (ex-Noiseworks), Jackie Bristow, Amanda Easton and Maz to name a few.

Determined to develop his own unique 'Australian Coastal Country Sound', Keith withdrew from the limelight to create and record. Now after two years of hard work, being true to himself and writing from the heart, he has emerged with a beautifully written and produced album titled: "The Coast Road".

Keith's album is available via his website at www.keitharmitage.com, or through selected outlets supplied by "One Stop Entertainment" - phone (02) 3279 2754

2000 Tonino Speciale

Tonino loved music from a very early age, always singing and dancing at every party. The songwriting came about when he learnt to play the piano. The first song he wrote was actually for a girlfriend. "At the time I remember sitting down and putting this song together and eventually performing it for her. I really hate that song now. I guess it's not bad for a first attempt but I personally dislike it and feel as if my songs have grown so much since then. But it was from this song that I realised that putting words to music came fairly easy to me. So I went on from there". Now 4 years later Tonino has a repertoire of more than 70 original songs and is very proud of what some of his songs have achieved.

Tonino believes that songwriting is the absolute best way to tell a story: "There's so much that strong words and great music can do for a person or event. It's also a great way to let out feelings and emotions that you'd probably never be able to release without music. It's the best way to get strong messages across to different people. Everybody relates differently to a certain song - that's why music is the universal language."

Tonino is from suburban Sydney. He received the Rudy Brandsma Award while studying at Prairiewood High School. He entered three songs in the AUSMUSIC Student Category of the ASA National Songwriting Contest 2000. All three songs finalised and he took out 1st and 2nd place.

Tonino's Career Highlights to 2001:

Song Contests

• UNISONG International Song Contest 2000
  1st Place in the R&B/Rap/Hip-Hop Category with the song "Girl Of My Best Friend"

Feature Performances

• Sydney Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony
• Darling Harbour Australian Christmas Show - televised
• 2001 Sydney Schools Spectacular
• Public Education Campaign Launch at Parliament House
• Norton Street Festival 2001 - Performance of originals, TV news coverage

Recording Projects

• Recorded the song "Teach Your Children Well" for the Public Education Campaign - televised nationally
• Currently working with various producers on latest originals with the aim of getting a recording contract
• Worked with the "Glass Onion Band" on a short documentary about the Talent Development Project.

1999 Mike Kidd

Mike began playing classical guitar at age 9, developing a passion for alternative styles and by age 11 taking up the electric. These days he plays a range of instruments well and is an accomplished vocalist.

Mike's music reflects his passion for truth and respect, and he gains great pleasure from sharing and encouraging others through song. He works extensively with young people, encouraging freedom of expression and ideas through music. One of his dreams is to write songs to help raise awareness of environmental and social issues and needs.

One of Mike's career highlights to date is playing with his band "Equinox" before a crowd of 20,000 at the Falls Concert, New Year's Eve 1997. Equinox has a released a debut CD titled "Off Camijer". Mike's been playing guitar since he was a young pup, but these days he plays a range of instruments, as well as being an audio engineer with a small studio down in Apollo Bay ,Vic, where he selflessly helps others who come to record there. From time to time he puts his own talent on a CD and releases it.

Other songwriting awards he has received include:

• Port Fairy Folk Festival Song Contest in 1996
• FOOM 5 (Festival Of Original Music) 1997 Song Contest, hosted by SCALA in South Australia
• Unisong Contest (USA) Encouragement Award
• and many previous finalist placings in previous ASA National Songwriting Contests