2016 – Support Act Speech

Robert Metcalfe – as some of the nerds in the audience would know – first formulated his law, now known as Metcalfe’s Law, in 1980, to describe how the value of a network grows exponentially with each new node.  One fax machine, for example, by itself is useless. Add another and suddenly it has value. Add more and the value goes up by more than simple addition.  He was describing the world wide web before it happened.

Fax machines might seem like ancient history now – of course, I still have one – but John Donne writing 400 years ago sounds completely modern…

No man is an island, entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

Metcalfe and Donne were essentially saying the same thing – what makes us rich is our connections. Musicians know this instinctively. A drummer needs someone to play with, a singer needs a band. Sure, there are pleasures for a singer performing solo but there is nothing like that great oceanic feeling of being in a band on a good night, when you and your companions are part of this glorious noise that none of you could have made on your own.

There’s camaraderie within bands. Camaraderie and fighting! I’m struck as well by the camaraderie amongst people in different bands. A camaraderie that exists even when we don’t like each others’ music. A recognition, I suppose, of fellow crazies – so you’re trying to make a living like this too, running around towns and countries, playing the fool on stage, trying to grab an audience by the throat, hit them in the heart or shake them in the hips.

Musicians are quick to rally round when someone’s in trouble. And not just when it’s one of our own. Charities, bushfires, disasters, funerals; when people need help music’s never far away. And we do this willingly, often for free. It’s part of the job.

So it’s an honour to receive this award from Support Act who help the helpers. Who understand that many musicians and road crews dedicate their lives to art and bring joy to others yet, in the long run, end up with little financial return.  Support Act do something about this. They make connections, enriching the giver and receiver.

Friedrich Nietszche said a lot of things, not all of which I agree with. But he said this: “Without music life would be a mistake.” I couldn’t agree more.

Thank you.