No Horse Play: It's The Camels

Indent project co-ordinator Greg Carey with members of Sydney band The Camels

If you noticed that the weather was noticeably cooler around the Fitz Youth Centre recently then it probably has something to do with the fact that the centre has played host to a series of talks and workshops for local residents interested in playing music and starting up their own bands. Friday 26 August saw Sydney band The Camels visit the centre to give some advice to local musicians looking to follow in their footsteps.

The first half of the workshop ran through every aspect of starting out in the music industry, looking at writing your own biography, identifying the type of sound you want, getting gigs and recording a demo. The second half of the evening looked more specifically at the branding of the upcoming compilation CD the Fitz Youth Centre is compiling which will feature local bands and musicians.

Although the bands assembled at the workshop spanned genres from doom metal to Christian folk, the advice from the panel of experts was lapped up by all in attendance. One attendee was amazed by "the amount of work it takes to get yourself from playing for friends and family to actually playing for fans."

While the audience may have been inspired by the hard work and dedication demonstrated by The Camels, the band were equally chuffed by the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation of musicians.

Tim Holt from The Camels explains. "It helps generate a good community spirit and getting the kids working together which is altogether good for the community."

The workshop was run by Indent, an organisation dedicated to youth services with the aim of helping anyone interested in working with young people to create entertainment programmes. Project coordinator from Indent Greg Carey was impressed with the Fitz Youth Centre.

"It is accessible for young people, giving emerging artists a spot to play. The Indent community has been organised with Shoreshocked and other things in the area, so holding these kind of training seminars are really beneficial and something we need to do to look after the next generation of Australian musicians."

With the wealth of knowledge dumped upon the groups and groupies alike, the youth of Ku-ring-gai are now gearing up to put the advice into action at the upcoming annual Fitz Band Comp.