Kate CeberanoThursday night (11 June) was monumental for the Australian Recording Industry Association – celebrating its 40th anniversary – and artists inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame during a Special Event.
Six artists from Australia and New Zealand received the honours this year: the late, ever-powerful Gurrumul; rockers The Living End and Spiderbait; pioneering Kate Ceberano and Jenny Morris; and the commanding Vika & Linda.
Entertainers such as Jimmy Barnes, Eddie Perfect, Julia Zemiro, and others inducted the stars into the Hall of Fame, while the evening featured Spiderbait, The Living End, and Kate Ceberano delivering awe-inspiring, energetic performances. Dan Sultan, Mia Wray, and Kate Miller-Heidke paid tribute to Jenny Morris, and Gurrumul was honoured by members of his family and Briggs.
Before the ceremony, however, there had to be a red carpet. And The Music’s Nick McDonald was on the ground, interviewing Spiderbait, Kate Ceberano, The Living End, and Vika & Linda as they shared candid reflections and revealed who they’d like to see inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
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When they were asked about their favourite ARIA Awards memory, the members of Spiderbait reminisced about that time they didn’t go. Janet English recalls the moment the band’s manager, Fiona [Duncan], asked them if they wanted to go, to which she received a straightforward “No” in response.
“Everyone makes it into this big punk rock defiant moment,” Kram adds. “It’s become a much bigger deal, but I’m so glad that we didn’t turn up, because everyone’s been talking about it for 30 years.”
“I don’t even remember not turning up,” Damian Whitty quips.
Kram continues, “If we had turned up, we’d just be another fucking band that won an ARIA, and no one gives a shit. Everybody else is like, ‘Why weren’t you there? Oh, you’re that band that didn’t turn up.’ But we turned up today. Very happy to be here today, thanks.”
Linda Bull also has fond memories of past editions of the ARIA Awards—even that year when they didn’t win anything.
“We were there one year when we didn’t win anything,” she said. “We were there all night, and I ended up in The Sebel Bar in my pyjamas, and Michael Gudinski had to get me and take me and put me back into my hotel room, so I didn’t disgrace myself!”
For Vika Bull, she has a different favourite memory of days gone by: “My favourite ARIA memory, gee, was the Steve Kilbey speech when The Church were inducted into the Hall of Fame [in 2010].”
And the sisters back plenty of their peers, citing Mark Seymour of Hunters & Collectors fame, and Australian Crawl’s James Reyne as should-be ARIA Hall of Famers.
Spiderbait also looked towards their peers, such as Powderfinger, Grinspoon, Magic Dirt, Tumbleweed, and Silverchair. Meanwhile, The Living End harkened back to music from the 1950s, telling The Music that Col Joye and Johnny O’Keefe should be inducted one day.
Of course, the level of recognition from being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame is meaningful to this year’s inductees, particularly Kate Ceberano.
“I think any opportunity for Australians to rate Australians is important because if we don’t feel culturally confident and secure, then it’s very easy for us to just sort of be influenced by any other country in the world, and then we don’t ever have our cultural identity,” Ceberano shares.
She continues, “So, there is such a thing as being Australian. It’s impossible to make the kind of music that I’ve made or, for that matter, the people that are on the stage tonight, if they hadn’t been raised in Australia. So, it deserves to be taken seriously. I think a standalone event like this is important, and it makes us feel a bit important as well, which I love.”
The Living End’s Scott Owen also expressed appreciation for the recognition, saying they were never a “mainstream” act and that it means a lot to be accepted by the industry.
“Well, for us, we’ve said it before, I think we were never, like, a mainstream kind of band. We started in these weird subcultures in Melbourne, these weird little scenes, you know, rockabilly scene, punk scene, stuff like this. So, what it means to me to be included in this sort of league is that we’ve been kind of accepted by normal people, which is great.”
Kate Ceberano reflected on her beginnings in the music business and offered some advice she would love to tell her younger self.
“Chasing trends is never going to be good for anyone,” she begins. “If you really want to be an artist, I think that the aim is to kind of prove yourself against hate, malice, unkindness, and just say, ‘I will endure despite anything you could throw at me.’ Like, I would build yourself a really amazing Joan of Arc kind of… I don’t know, what do you call that in weaponry when you’ve got your shield?
“I think you’ve got to make a shield for yourself, and you kind of have to live within your own truth on that. It’s not easy, and I’m not saying that you may ever get there, because I’m still at 60 struggling with it. But hey, you must do that.
“Otherwise, you’ll never have your own voice, and there’s a sea of a thousand voices who would love to be dearly on the stage that you’re occupying right now. So, be yourself.”
For The Living End, the advice was less specific. “Enjoy every moment and don’t stress too much. That’s what I would say,” Andy Strachan said. Chris Cheney added, “Yeah, and don’t forget to put the water in the dog bowl….”
Strachan completed the sentence: “When you leave home.”
