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annican productions |
Being a frustrated songwriter, I started my little TV production company so I could air my "Minnie Monkey" shows on TV. Minnie was my first foray as a producer, though I have spent a lot of my life in front of the camera. With Minnie, I was almost everything - writer, producer, camera, and actor, and managed to turn out 13 episodes that I was very happy with. But all the time I was thinking, what about all those wonderful musicians who are proven great songwriters, so much so that their songs are still being played today. Have they stopped writing, or are they still trying? So I started looking into it, and found that yes, they are still out there writing, but unless we go out looking, we will never hear about them. Great songwriters of yesteryear record their songs and sell them at the gigs, and that's about it. We have an ageing population, with no-one marketing new material to them. How inconsiderate!! I kept my eyes and ears open, hoping this was changing. If a fantastic well-known songwriter with new material was appearing on a TV show, I watched, hoping they would play one of their new songs. It never happened, much to my dismay, and the look on the performers' faces told the story. Well - if I could make a program for children, then with my background in the industry, I could certainly make one for adults. |
I enlisted the help of my long time friend Matthew Mason, who had helped me start Minnie, teaching me the finer points of lighting, camera work and studio building (in my Austin 7 sized garage), and we began pre-production. Matt is well known in the music industry, being possibly the best live engineer in Australia (of course I'm biased!) But he also completed a degree in Audio Visual at RMIT, and so has been invaluable. Having been in the business for yonks, he also mixes most of the touring bands, so he knows who has good new material. Next was the host - who would I get? Matt suggested Wendy Stapleton, and the deal was done. She jumped at the chance, and I couldn't do without her. She is as nice in person as you see on stage, and let's face it - EVERYBODY loves Wendy! So there you have it - a music show run by musicians. I truly hope you are enjoying it! Below is an early interview I did with another C31 program called 'Visions' from Youtube. |
| Worked for the Goanna band when they
had the "Spirit of Place" album in the charts, then left to pursue
her own music career. Having learned piano for 7 years, she was able to pick
up the pieces and play covers. With harmonies being her forte, a
singing female keyboard
player is NEVER out of work, so 'Teacher's Pets, Skoolz Out, and The Most'
all got a
look in! |
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Anita's
Children -
2003 Roger Treble would turn in his grave if he saw this picture of himself (right gumnut). What a wonderful guitarist, and such a lovely guy, we miss him. The middle gumnut is Peter Reed, by far my favourite drummer, and on the left, Andy Burns who decided in this band to forsake his brilliant keyboard playing, and tackle the bass.
When poor old Roger became too ill to
continue and Andy left, 'Brock' O'Connor became the guitarist, and Gavin
Carroll filled in till he became involved in the 'Longway to the Top'
tour. Then we sort of fell apart! |
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Reflections
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| Minnie
Monkey As the writer and producer, Anita puts all of her 'spare' time into this children's character. Minnie sings health and safety songs to children aged 2-6, as prevention is better than cure. You can't tie a child to the house surrounded by floaties and rubber tyres, so best teach them about safety, at their level, on their level. Using her toys and dolls as props, Minnie has worked at festivals and community centres for over a year. Rose Tulk (Nanny Rose) looks after Minnie onstage, making sure she behaves herself, and has helped with the filming of 13 episodes of "Minnie Monkey" for Channel 31 in Melbourne.
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