Author: Scott Landells

Have you joined up or renewed your Membership for 2022? There’s still time so no panic, but for the 20 odd members who have paid up, there are some bonus prizes on offer.

These are 4 passes to the Americana Carnival at The Vine Hotel, Wangaratta on Saturday 27 November featuring Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes, Riley Catherall, Great Aunt, The Weeping Willows, Little Wise and many more. We’ll be drawing those out next Sunday 21 November on air in Yackandandah on Harvey’s Americana themed Asleep At The Wheel show around 2:30pm.

To join or renew your Indigo FM Membership for 2022, you can head here

Pay via a card or deposit cash into our WAW Bank account – details on the link above.

Major Prize Draw

We’ve decided to conduct our Major Prize Draw on Wednesday 8 December from 4-5pm on-air at both our Beechworth and Yackandandah 88.0 FM sites. Stay tuned for details.

Catching Up in your Community

Thank you to Quercus Beechworth for inviting us along to their Flea Market last Saturday. Here’s the current schedule of upcoming market stalls.

• Yackandandah – Sun 21 Nov – Lions Market 9am-1pm
• Tangambalanga – Sat 4 Dec – Indigo FM Open Day 8am – 4pm
• Chiltern – Sun 5 Dec – Market 9am-1pm (w BMF Van)
• Yackandandah – Sun 5 Dec – Christmas Fair 10am-2pm

At Chiltern – while we don’t presently have a site there, we do love their community and own a licence. We called in during the week and were met with overwhelming positive vibes from several members and business owners about our upcoming visit with the Beechworth Music Festival van. How nice is that?

Our new playlist version 18.0 has hit the airwaves in recent days and it’s another diverse offerings with a focus on Australian, Indigenous and Independent artists.

Our most recent playlist comprises 900 songs by over 700 different artists with Australian content around 63%. On top of that we are proud to push the Indigenous content which comes in around 6%. We’re looking to grow that to 10% over the next year or two.

Australian independent musicians have been among the hardest hit as a result of the COVID19 pandemic these past 2 years and Indigo FM again proudly champions the music of this sector of the industry. Many who have toured through our towns playing festivals and venues have their latest tunes here including Tennyson King, Montgomery Church, Riley Catherall, Michael Waugh, Sunset Stranger, Lachy Doley, The Maes, Matt Joe Gow, Melody Moon, Ben Salter, Jess Locke, Daniel Champagne, Sunfruits, Emma Russack and Lachlan Denton, The Ramshackle Army, Jae Laffer, Gallie, Al Matcott, Maja, Four Lions, DC Cross, Darren Hanlon, Watty Thompson, Luke Sinclair Set, Van Walker, The Weeping Willows, Hachiku, Nathan Power, Justin Bernasconi and James Ellis and the Jealous Guys to rattle off a few.

Local musicians Paul Dyason, Toby Mobbs, Asha Bright, Buddy Dingo, GG Music, This Way North, Nic Jean, Sal Kimber, Nick Keogh, Gordon Dickson, Surprise Chef, Dean Haitani, Fanny Lumsden and Julian James also have tracks on Playlist 18.0.

Again we have stuck to our protocol of offering each artist a maximum of 2 songs on the Playlist, with all music sourced from either presenters at our volunteer run local radio station as well as from various record labels and free music sources such as Triple J Unearthed.

Our Playlist is what you hear between pre-recorded and live radio shows and is changed over every 6 months by the station’s Programming team. So tune in and embrace the delightful diversity on show here at Indigo FM.

Click Playlist 18.0 to view the complete listing.

Indigo FM’s annual Radiothon begins Monday 1 November and will run through to the end of November. It’s our annual opportunity to unleash the best kept secret of NE Victoria onto the radios, media players, devices and events of the many proud and wonderful towns of Indigo Shire as we seek your support for 2022.

We have some very exciting prizes for this year’s Radiothon. They include:

1. A custom-made Hat by Cat Leahy from “Feather and Drum Hats” Yackandandah – valued at $450
2. A framed High Country Photographic Artwork from Kev McGennan – valued at $380
3. 6 x $50 Vouchers from MEGAS Music Wodonga – valued at $300

Our poster was designed by Felicity “Fizz” Rule, who has been designing Radiothon and Event posters for us since 2017. We think it’s another eye-catcher sure to look great on shop windows and noticeboards around our towns.

If you’re new to Indigo FM or keen to renew your Membership for 2022, head over to our Membership portal here.

We’ll be out in the community at a few markets, those being:

• Beechworth – Sat 6 Nov – Quercus Flea Market
• Chiltern – Sun 5 Dec – Chiltern Markets
• Yackandandah – Sun 5 Dec – Christmas Fair

We also have a range of cool new t-shirts – available in your size – that you can grab hot off the presses when you visit us at one of these markets.

Each site is holding a 24 hour radio marathon throughout November. Exact dates for each site are being worked out and we’ll have more on that next week. In the meantime, stay tuned to 88.0 Indigo FM in Beechworth, Kiewa-Tangambalanga and Yackandandah as well as via our stream on our website audio player.

To keep up with the latest Indigo FM updates, head along to our Facebook page or check in here and as always feel free to email us on [email protected] or [email protected].

‘Burning With Optimism’s Flames’ is a 1980 song from the quirky UK New Wave band XTC. You can check it out below.

This obscure lyrical reference also pretty aptly describes Indigo FM – following yesterday’s 2021 Annual General Meeting – as we enter the notoriously fun, yet mad-season that is the end of each year.

Indigo FM’s Committee line-up for 2021-22 welcomes in two new members – Tiff Ellis and Patrick Jovaras – to join 5 ongoing members – Jos Ceccanti, Greg Clydesdale, Nigel Jones, Bernie Jovaras and Scott Landells.

They offer a stable base going forwards, with a slight shuffle – previous Secretary Jos Ceccanti takes on a General Committee role and Greg Clydesdale returns to the executive as Vice-President replacing Phil Fraser who is stepping down for personal reasons. We thank Phil very much for his valuable contribution to the management of Indigo FM from 2018-21 and look forward to his wonderful soul show Scorcher returning in early 2022.

Tiff takes on the Secretary’s role, bringing to the group a wealth of community and business experience from Euroa and Wodonga as well as an interest in music, arts and the vibrant unique local communities of Indigo Shire and surrounds.

Patrick grew up in Beechworth but these days calls Melbourne’s outer north-east home. The first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 saw Patrick explore a musical podcasting project, launching The Nest – a 2 hour exploration of ambient, soul, electronic, kraut-rock, indigenous and world music genres, which have been airing Sunday nights on Indigo FM since mid-2020.

In our ever-evolving Covid-normal world, utilising Zoom technology and podcasting is enabling creative people everywhere to connect and overcome previously isolating geographic barriers. And Indigo FM is keen to put that into practice and bring Patrick’s many skills and interests to the management side of Indigo FM.

Incoming President Scott Landells will line-up in this role for an 8th consecutive year (and 9th on the Committee) whilst deputy Greg Clydesdale will contribute as VP for the first time in this role (and his 8th consecutive year on the Committee). Bernie Jovaras will go around again for this 3rd straight year as Treasurer (and 4th in this stint on Committee).

In summary the team for 2021-22 is:

• President – Scott Landells
• Vice-President – Greg Clydesdale
• Secretary – Tiffany Ellis
• Treasurer – Bernie Jovaras
• General Committee – Patrick Jovaras, Nigel Jones, Jocelyn Ceccanti

At their 2021 Annual General Meeting, 15 Indigo FM members attended via a combination of in-person and Zoom. They heard that Indigo FM had turned around a loss of over $1400 in 2019-20, to a profit of just over $4,300 in 2020-21. On an “oily rag” annual budget of around $10,000, this outstanding result was due to a Covid-enforced shift in Business model that, among other things, had unearthed new revenue streams in the growing market of listener on-demand podcasts.

President Scott Landells summarised the new Committee as follows:

“Diversity and community are right at the heart of Indigo FM and we are thrilled to offer a management team whose ages range from early 30’s to mid 60’s. We reside in multiple communities within and outside Indigo Shire. Specifically Beechworth, Rutherglen, Tawonga, Murmungee, Yackandandah and the beautiful outer Melbourne enclave of Diamond Creek. Importantly rather than viewing ourselves as delegates of competing towns, we share a broader vision of the richness that every community and every listener can add to the ongoing tapestry of Indigo FM. And we’re very much looking forward to another productive year ahead, which will no doubt bring it’s usual mix of the predictable and the unpredictable. We’re as confident as we can be about our capacity to keep rising to the challenge of our member’s expectations.”

Burning with optimism’s flames, indeed!

Indigo FM’s volunteer presenters continue to create fresh content which you can access as podcasts. We also have a handful of new shows now up as regular podcasts

Check them out here

There are shows that delve into a whole array of themes and styles. Pop Culture, New releases, Australian music, Horns / Brass / Funk, Ambient / Electronic, Americana, interviews, Blues, Roots, Folk, Jazz, Road Trips, Classical etc etc. We have students creating podcasts and we have a few of us who still recall being students but are now nudging toward retirement age producing content for podcasting.

Among the shows available are:

Yackandandah Primary School News

Yack Primary School students have been a constant on our airwaves since 2013 and now they are podcasting as well. Check out Year 5 & 6 students Ada, Emma, Flynn, Indie, Irena and Stella as they offer a young person’s view of the community with plenty of freshness and enthusiasm.

Waste The Alphabet with Doug

Doug delivers a weekly musical commentary on the best latest independent Australian music – with a few thrown in from NZ.

Just Press Play with Gary *** NEW

Soul/Funk and blues with a little Appalachian spice!!!

Piece Of My Heart with Tiff *** NEW

Featuring some amazing seminal influences from the late seventies and early 80’s – an amazing time when we listened to LP’s , 12 inch vinyls and later tape cassettes, and then in mid to late 80’s CDs. This was the time before the internet, and bands relied on live performance and packed stadiums to sell records.

Reelin’ In The Years with DJ Pegg *** NEW

Predominantly 60’s, 70’s, 80’s with a bit of more modern stuff thrown in.

Lipstick Blues with Ruth *** NEW

All about Blues music.

Friday In My Mind with Bernie 

No Drums , No Vocals, No Doof Doof…. Bernie explores the rich sonic landscape of 20th Century instrumental music and beyond . Expect to hear an amazing mix of orchestral, ambient, minimalist and experimental music from the last 120 years – did someone mention 12 tone theory?

Go With The Flow with Jonny Smartboards

Lone gunman who candidly flip fly flows, single-handedly with one eye closed. An exotic array of sounds with no particular direction or agenda. Float downstream and Go With the Flow.

Horn Chowder with Chris

Fast beats, fat bass, flaming horns. Contemporary upbeat funk, soul, pop. Chris’ enthusiasm is infectious but those horns and rhythms are even warmer and catchier. 

Everyone Deserves Music with Scott

Now into it’s 9th year, Scott presents a modern Australian indie folk/roots music show with a bit of a focus on local and touring artists

Bullfrog’s Roadhouse with Mark

Since 2010 Mark has cut this deal – you supply the food and drink, Mark will supply the tunes – blues, roots, alt-country. And of late he has been raiding the cellar and the time-capsules to unleash some classics. Tune in to hear what comes next.

Monthly Music with Charles

One of Indigo FM’s youngest presenters but with a couple of years of shows under his belt, Charles selects new music from around the world.

Eclectic Avenue with Bernie, Michael and Sandy

3 guys walk into a radio studio on a Wednesday night in 2010…. And well, they’re still not sure of the way out. That’s our gain as they serve up a weekly smorgasbord of musical delights to titillate your musical taste buds from across the genres loosely brought together each week by a topical, quirky, out-of-left-field, nonsensical, and/or lazy theme.

The Nest with Patrick

Covid enforced lockdowns gave rise to a host of artistic creation, and it was in Autumn of 2020 that The Nest was born. Patrick delivers a fortnightly mix including ambient, low fi type recordings but also a bit of boogie and disco, modern electronic pieces too. some contemplation and some dancing.

Baby Boomers Revenge with Neil *** NEW

Reliving the Baby Boomers era with a strong emphasis on influential artists like the Beatles, Eagles and bands who were influenced by them.

Asleep At The Wheel with Harvey

A big wheel keeps on turning on Sunday afternoon in Yackandandah between 2 pm and 4 pm. Covering soul, country, swamp pop, Cajun, blues, rockabilly and most importantly good music. Hopefully you won’t get lost nor be asleep on this highway.

Adios To All That Concrete with Scott, Nigel and Patrick

Hitting the road? Perhpas you’re heading towards the beautiful scenic heritage towns of Indigo Shire. Let this 3 hour podcast be your travelling companion.

Interviews

We also interview musicians, community members and creative people about their projects and podcast these from time to time.

Check them out here

Indigo FM is very excited to announce that we have moved to a new site in Tangambalanga. We’re now set up and on air on 88.0 FM in our new studio space in the Tangam Pharmacy building – right next door to Tangam Tangles.

After a couple of weeks of sorting out some reception issues, we are now putting out a strong signal on 88.0 FM in Kiewa-Tangambalanga and surrounds.

Indigo FM President Scott Landells thanked Tangam Pharmacy owner Michael Beniamine for providing the volunteer-run local radio station with it’s new home.

“Michael and his team at Tangam Pharmacy run a marvellous local business and have been very welcoming in helping us come on board to occupy some spare space in their building. With their support, our focus will now shift to recruitment of presenters, for live radio from this site. We have a handful of interested new presenters who will be hitting the airwaves very shortly. So stay tuned to 88.0 Indigo FM Kiewa-Tangambalanga as exciting times lay ahead.”

Wednesday 13 October marked the day that we returned to the 88.0 FM airwaves and it was Ruth with her show Lipstick Blues who had the honours of celebrating the occasion.

President Scott Landells wished to thank all of the station’s various volunteers and supporters who helped get the site set up so quickly and back on air.

“It was a fabulous and selfless team effort led by our Tech Officer Ken Halse and Site Co-ordinator Jos Ceccanti. We had volunteers come from as far and wide as Mt Beauty, Beechworth, Murmungee and Rutherglen, as well as here in Tangambalanga,” Landells said.

“We’d like to thank the Lions Club of Kiewa-Tangambalanga and Indigo Shire Council who very generously provided our previous home at the Lion’s Den from mid-2018 to mid-2021. Those 3 years provided a valuable opportunity to lay our foundation in the local community, and we now look forward to building on the goodwill we have eastablished.

“If you’re reading this and thinking – wow, I’d like to become a presenter at Indigo FM Kiewa-Tangam – shoot off an email to [email protected], and our Site Co-ordinator Jos Ceccanti will make arrangements to get you trained up and on-air with your own regular radio show.”

Local businesses and community groups are also welcome to get involved and promote their activities on Indigo FM with our rates very affordable. To find out more, email Jos Ceccanti at the above email address.

Indigo FM is holding it’s 2021 Annual General Meeting.

Date: Sunday, 24 October 2021

Time: 4.30 pm – 5.30 pm

Venue: Wooragee Hall, Wooragee.

We welcome your attendance and strongly encourage anyone with an interest in helping with the running of Indigo FM to nominate for our Committee of Management. Written nominations on the form linked below may be scanned and emailed to [email protected] or mailed to The Secretary, PO Box 64, Chiltern VIC 3683. Nominations may also be lodged at the AGM.

Due to COVID-safe protocols, a maximum of 20 attendees are permitted and you will be required to RSVP so that we can track numbers. An option to contribute to the Meeting via remote video link will be provided. For those attending we will be ensuring that Covid-safe protocols apply. That includes mask wearing, hand sanitiser, QR code check in (or manual sign in sheet), social distancing etc.

If you can’t make it to the meeting and would like another Indigo FM member to represent you by proxy, you may like to use the Proxy Form via link below.

Along with adopting Minutes from 2020 AGM, election of Committee of Management and confirmation of Membership Fees for 2022, these are the only items of business permitted at an AGM as set out in the Model Rules – see page 10 on the link below.

An Agenda, our 2020-21 Statement of Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet plus President’s Report can be accessed via these links.

We will hold a brief informal General Meeting following the AGM for those members who wish to participate.

Jocelyn Ceccanti
Secretary

Model Rules

AGM Nomination and Proxy Form 2021

2020 AGM Minutes

Agenda

2020-21 Statement of Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet

President’s Report

Indigo FM’s volunteer presenters are constantly creating lots of amazing content which you can access as podcasts.

Check them out here

There are shows that delve into a whole array of themes and styles. Pop Culture, New releases, Australian music, Horns / Brass / Funk, Ambient / Electronic, Americana, interviews, Blues, Roots, Folk, Jazz, Road Trips, Classical etc etc. We have students creeating podcasts and we have a few of us who still recall being students but are now nudging toward retirement age producing content for podcasting.

Among the shows available are:

Yackandandah Primary School News

Yack Primary School students have been a constant on our airwaves since 2013 and now they are podcasting as well. Check out Year 5 & 6 students Ada, Emma, Flynn, Indie, Irena and Stella as they offer a young person’s view of the community with plenty of freshness and enthusiasm.

Waste The Alphabet with Doug

Doug delivers a weekly musical commentary on the best latest independent Australian music – with a few thrown in from NZ.

Friday In My Mind with Bernie

No Drums , No Vocals, No Doof Doof…. Bernie explores the rich sonic landscape of 20th Century instrumental music and beyond . Expect to hear an amazing mix of orchestral, ambient , minimalist and experimental music from the last 120 years – did someone mention 12 tone theory?

Go With The Flow with Jonny Smartboards

Lone gunman who candidly flip fly flows, single-handedly with one eye closed. An exotic array of sounds with no particular direction or agenda. Float downstream and Go With the Flow.

Horn Chowder with Chris

Fast beats, fat bass, flaming horns. Contemporary upbeat funk, soul, pop. Chris’ enthusiasm is infectious but those horns and rhythms are even warmer and catchier. 

Everyone Deserves Music with Scott

Now into it’s 9th year, Scott presents a modern Australian indie folk/roots music show with a bit of a focus on local and touring artists

Bullfrog’s Roadhouse with Mark

Since 2010 Mark has cut this deal – you supply the food and drink, Mark will supply the tunes – blues, roots, alt-country. And of late he has been raiding the cellar and the time-capsules to unleash some classics. Tune in to hear what comes next.

Monthly Music with Charles

One of Indigo FM’s youngest presenters but with a couple of years of shows under his belt, Charles selects new music from around the world.

Eclectic Avenue with Bernie, Michael and Sandy

3 guys walk into a radio studio on a Wednesday night in 2010…. And well, they’re still not sure of the way out. That’s our gain as they serve up a weekly smorgasbord of musical delights to titillate your musical taste buds from across the genres loosely brought together each week by a topical, quirky, out-of-left-field, nonsensical, and/or lazy theme.

The Nest with Patrick

Covid enforced lockdowns gave rise to a host of artistic creation, and it was in Autumn of 2020 that The Nest was born. Patrick delivers a fortnightly mix including ambient, low fi type recordings but also a bit of boogie and disco, modern electronic pieces too. some contemplation and some dancing.

Asleep At The Wheel with Harvey

A big wheel keeps on turning on Sunday afternoon in Yackandandah between 2 pm and 4 pm. Covering soul, country, swamp pop, Cajun, blues, rockabilly and most importantly good music. Hopefully you won’t get lost nor be asleep on this highway.

Interviews

There are current interviews with artists such as Melbourne’s Maja or Sydney DIY creator Kata from Change Machine.

Check them out here

Indigo FM has released it’s hotly anticipated new playlist version 17.0 in recent days and again it’s set to sparkle on the airwaves with it’s customary freshness and diversity of musical styles.

This latest playlist comprises 782 songs by over 620 different artists with Australian content clocking in at an impressive 60% as has been the norm, since the very first playlist back in September 2014.

Independent musicians the world over have been arguably among the hardest hit in the COVID19 shutdown and Indigo FM again proudly champions the music of this sector of the industry.

There’s plenty of quirky moments with the modern day ode to drinking at pubs – “Eastern Standard Time” by Our Carlson and a classic word jazz piece from the late 50’s “My Baby” by Ken Nordine guaranteed to bring a wry smile to listeners faces. Longest song is Sampa The Great’s “The Return” clocking in at 9:18 followed closely by Dan Kelly’s “On The Run” at 9:12. At the other end of the scale, Melbourne/NAARM artist Dannika has the shortest track with “Horses” running for just 1:31.

Local musicians as well as those with links to North East Victoria feature prominently with tracks from the likes of Jenny Biddle, Luke Sinclair, Paul Dyason, Nic Jean, Chloe Jade, The Northern Folk, Godspeed Brotherman, Elissa Pernu, Eastbound Buzz, Joel Havea, Gretta Ziller, Matt Ortiz, Toby Mobbs, Candice McLeod, Tash Fenton, This Way North, Fanny Lumsden and Julian James all have tracks on Playlist 17.0.

We’re also proud to include new music from Lindsey Harder and ASHA who were section winners of Indigo Shire’s 2020 Youth Songwriting Competition.

Each artist has a maximum of 2 songs on the Playlist and all music is sourced from presenters at the volunteer run local radio station as well as from various record labels and free music sources such as Triple J Unearthed – the latter resource has supplied around 100 songs from current day emerging independent artists. Also we work closely with a number of independent labels and publicists to access music and these include Remote Control, Cooking Vinyl, Poison City Records, This Much Talent, AAnthologies, Ruckus PR, Spunk Records, Kick Push PR, Chapter Music, Dashville, Mistletone and a host of others.

Our playlist is the default between pre-recorded and live radio shows and is changed over every 6-8 months by the station’s Programming team.

You can tune into it anywhere you can get internet reception via the media player on our website (click the play controls on the media player section on this webpage) or alternatively the “old skool” way via the 88.0 FM signal in the townships of Beechworth, Tangambalanga or Yackandandah.

Click Playlist 17.0 to view the complete listing.

The Arts industry is often tagged “resilient”. It’s also inspiring and exciting and this was all evidenced on 26 February this year when Daniel Champagne hit the Yackandandah Public Hall stage with another breathtaking performance of guitar wizardry and exceptional songwriting.

This particular gig was planned in early 2020 for an original date in June of that year. It was then deferred to September and eventually re-scheduled to late Feb 2021.

Along the way Champagne released his 5th studio album Trying To Hold The Setting Sun – surprisingly this album didn’t feature greatly in his live show as he now has a vast catalogue of originals and choice covers (eg Spoonful, Vincent) to draw on.

A track of special significance for local audiences is Champagne’s instrumental track Indigo which he played. Indigo was written when leaving Yackandandah on a previous visit in 2018 and has now racked up nearly 1.5 million plays on Spotify which is easily his most played track.

During the pandemic of the past year Champagne has undertaken just shy of 300 live streams to continue his work ethic and his determined commitment to his fans worldwide, many of whom live in the northern hemisphere and have faced the twin challenges of icy winters and zero live music performances.

For Indigo FM’s events team it was a success and just such a relief to again be able to bring audiences and musicians together for their own enjoyment all in the name of building our community of music enthusiasts.

We’re grateful to Daniel and to the Yackandandah Hall Committee as well as Indigo Shire Council and our own volunteers. We also acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we were able to gather for this event and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders, past, present and emerging.

To explore Daniel’s music head along to his website

These pictures captured by Yackandandah’s Richard Nunn show a few highlights of the show from a visual gallery  perspective.