With live concerts nowhere to be seen and the Australian music industry facing uncertainty, Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie is heading back to the archives to help raise money for Support Act.
Having launched their Sound of Silence campaign last month, Support Act has become an invaluable source for those in the industry whose livelihoods have been threatened by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, no organisation can be self-sustainable, and countless campaigns have been made – ranging from livestreamed concerts to supporter drives – to ensure that Support Act receives the funds it needs to keep doing its important work.
The latest artist to step up to the plate is none other than Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie, who launched a series ostensibly titled ‘Tip Jar Tunes’ to help raise funds for the organisation.
Kicking things off last week, Moginie’s plan is simple; he’ll perform a new song every 24 hours (at 7am AEST), with fans encouraged to “give generously towards musicians who can’t gig, and crew that can’t work”.
“I’ll do a couple of oils tunes as well but I’m not taking requests,” he explained. “I’m not Billy Joel. Think of it like this: it’s like a telethon without Don Lane, Daryl Somers or Kamahl.”
So far, these performances have raised a couple of thousand dollars, and have seen Moginie serve up renditions of Midnight Oil’s “The Great Gibber Plain” and “Shakers and Movers”, alongside a version of his own track “Triptych”, sharing insights into each song along the way.
“I think there were 3 versions recorded until we got the right one: ambient, rocky and the one you hear on the CD,” Moginie said of Redneck Wonderland’s “Great Gibber Plain”. “It’s about the republic, or the idea of it. Getting free from the Windsors, Menzies and the whole damn show. Standing on our own 2, or 40 million, feet.”
If you’re eager to hear more of Jim Moginie’s work, be sure to head to his Facebook page and tune in each morning for a new song.
