Belfast's inaugural Cinemagic music festival aims to give wannabe musicians the cop on they need to survive in the industry, writes Jim Carroll
FOR ANY Belfast youngsters with an eye on the music industry as a means of avoiding real work, the Cinemagic Music festival may well help them to get on the first rung of this particular ladder. At the very least, it will provide a few vital clues about what to expect should they decide that they want a life revolving around an electric guitar rather than a career as a bean-counter or banker.
An offshoot of the already well-established Cinemagic TV and film festival, the debut Cinemagic Music festival is about to embark on a hectic three days of workshops, concerts and public interviews in Belfast. It will attempt to answer all the questions you have about the music industry but didn't really know who to ask.
According to one festival organiser Claire Baxter, Cinemagic Music was a logical step forward from the mother event. "Over the course of the last couple of Cinemagic festivals, we've had a lot of requests from young people for us to organise some music-related activities. Because we're a charity, we've always organised fundraising events, like Soccermagic the last two years, so Cinemagic Music fitted neatly into that slot."
There's certainly no shrinking on quality or quantity. For a start, there's a dozen or so two-day master-classes featuring instructions and tips from such well-travelled players as Damon Michella (Ocean Colour Scene's bassist), Steve White (drummer for hire with Paul Weller), Andy Cairns (frontman with Therapy?), Eric Bell (founding member of Thin Lizzy) and Kevin Godley (the video maker's video maker who's worked with almost any major rock/pop act you care to mention).
There's also a couple of public Q&As, the main one featuring the always entertaining and often slightly controversial Alan McGee (be sure to ask him about what exactly he did with The Libertines - he'll love that). The festival rounds off with a huge outdoor concert at Custom House Square on Saturday, June 24th. This show features Starsailor, Journey South, Aslan, Cosmic Rough Riders, Leya and many others, and organisers hope it will attract 5,000 punters.
As first drafts for festivals of this nature go, it's quite impressive. "We've been really, really lucky," says Baxter. "We went out to find really credible people and we tapped all the contacts we've made through the film festival. They're all doing it free of charge as well. Alan McGee is perfect for what we had in mind because he's very high-profile at the minute and he has so much experience in the business."
Hopefully the various events will give participants an insight into the industry and what they need in order to get on. "It's really an opportunity for them to talk to music people about how they ended up doing what they're doing, and that's something they may not get to experience without the festival."
As befits a festival with big screen and small screen roots, there's a huge amount of interaction with TV and film. Besides giving studio space to video-maker Kevin Godley to house his master-class, UTV will also make a documentary about the event and involve young, local would-be film-makers in the process.
One event the documentary makers will probably focus on in depth is the search for the Cinemagic band. Not quite You're a Star or Pop Idol, this talent search will involve those young hopefuls participating in the master-classes. The job for ex-Top of the Pops producer Chris Cowey is to put together a band, get them making music together and then shove them onstage in front of an audience at the closing concert.
"Local music professionals have been really supportive," stresses Baxter, adding that they view the festival as something which could have a positive effect for local youngsters looking to get into bands or find a niche for themselves within the industry. And, she confirms, the festival will be back in 2007.
Cinemagic Music '06 takes place in Belfast from June 22nd to 24th. www.cinemagic.org.uk/cinemagicmusic
