IN Music

Fremantle loves music and music loves Fremantle. So it’s time to warm your hands and hearts during Hidden Treasures, two weekends of music in the port city.

Western Australia has a great musical history and Fremantle has long been called home by some of our finest established and emerging musicians. Names like Bon Scott, Kim Salmon, John Butler, Lee Sappho, Lucky Oceans and Eskimo Joe through to hot young power pop quartet San Cisco are inextricably linked to Fremantle. Numerous venues of course provide inspiration to music loving audiences who can take their pick of styles.

This makes Fremantle the perfect place to celebrate a winter music series. In its second year, Hidden Treasures runs across two weekends and brings together musicians and audiences of all generations to celebrate the contemporary and more well-known parts of Fremantle’s music culture.

Last year’s festival was based in the city’s West End and this year the four shows will be held in the East End at the heritage-listed 19th century old Fremantle Boys’ School building, now known as the Film and Television Institute (FTI).

Each night’s four band line-up will feature a collection of well-known musicians and up-and-comers but they all share Fremantle in common as either a home or a place where they played or continue to perform regularly.

Bruna Chiovitti is the festivals officer at the City of Fremantle but is also a long-time music lover and local music supporter and reminds us that there has always been an active music scene in Fremantle.

“The city has always been known for its music and has always produced great artists,” Bruna says. “From rock and pop to folk and blues, the music here has always been from all genres. Even though it’s a real port city, there’s always been music here and places people can play. We’re really proud it has such a good reputation for producing great music.”

With a mix of old faces and new voices, Hidden Treasures will feature sets from Kim Salmon supported by three young gun bands for Back to Cool, Rooster Police and Amani Consort are on the Freo House Party line-up and Jill Birt and Richard Lane join others on Teachers Favourites night. The New School Sirens will feature Kate Kelly showing off her new band The Trophy Wives and Spank reform for the night.

“We found last year that a lot of people who have lived in Fremantle all their lives had never been into the venues where we had the bands. If you’ve never been inside FTI, we’re encouraging locals to come to this festival too, which will bring a whole new audience to the space.”

Fireplaces will keep FTI’s outdoor courtyard warm and a collection of public instruments will be available for anyone wanting to have a jam.

Clancy’s Fish Pub – long-time local music supporters – is hosting a series of acoustic acts to enjoy over dinner before the bands start next door.

Hidden Treasures takes place on July 19 & 20 and July 26 & 27. Entry is $10 and the venues are licensed. Programs are available around Perth and Fremantle or downloaded one from www.fremantle.wa.gov.au.

Glass Half Full

For months I’ve been arguing that the overly cautious and often negative sentiment surrounding the property market has been unwarranted and not backed by the fundamentals.

I am delighted that the country’s top banker – Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens – last week reinforced this view in his “Glass Half Full” speech.

Speaking after the latest interest rate cut, Mr Stevens called for the right kind of confidence to be installed, rather than negative sentiment that continues to call for interest rate cuts to stimulate consumer confidence and boost the property market.

The benchmark interest rate set by the Reserve Bank is now at a low 3.5 percent. And whilst the commercial banks will lend over this rate (that’s their business model), the time for sitting on the sidelines of the property cycle and waiting for it to fall even further are over.

The message is this: things are good, the economy is strong and waiting around to see whether the bank will further stimulate borrowing levels by dropping interest rates is unwise.

In my opinion, now is the time to look through the cycle and for considered investor participation and smart upgrade buying.

The Reserve Bank has been cutting the rate since November in moves designed to make consumers feel more confident but at the same time, wanting to avoid creating the expectation that property prices would start rising, Mr Stevens told an audience in Adelaide last week.

Instead of creating a situation which could lead people to taking on too much debt, the cuts are designed to create “the right kind of confidence” and stimulate sustainable investment.

Mr Stevens noted that consumers are standing on the sidelines in a kind of “irrational unexuberance” – a backlash to the years where “irrational exuberance” led to concerning personal debt levels.

And whilst Mr Stevens warned that among the structural shifts we are experiencing in our economy is that fact that the period of rapidly rising asset and house prices is over, that’s actually a very good thing for investors.

Property is still a great investment especially in WA where the economic growth is the best in Australia, rental growth is solid, property prices have stabilised, there’s increasingly attractive finance rates, housing demand growth and other favourable conditions.

The Reserve Bank’s Stevens also noted that observations that the economy really isn’t doing that well aside from mining were also incorrect. We’re actually spending MORE the data shows; it’s just that we’re not spending it on the same things. We’re spending on travel, health and education. But we’re also saving a bit more and using our credit cards a bit less. Two behaviours that bode well for the future strength of our economy and hence, the property market.

As Mr Stevens so appropriately put it; the glass really is (at the very least) half full, particularly in WA, so it’s time to make a considered choice in the property market.

IN Food

If you love your food and wine, there are two festivals you definitely want to be at in July.


We all know West Australians love their food. We’re also spoilt to be able to enjoy some of the finest produce on land and from the ocean.


So what better way to enjoy it than match it with some of the country’s best chefs, cooks, wine makers, sommeliers, patissiers and cheese makers? As fresh produce and the finest purveyors of how to turn it into something delicious come together in one place, it will be nothing short of heavenly.


First up, the Good Food & Wine Festival is three days of food and wine indulgence perfect for gourmets and interested amateurs to weekend barbecue fanatics and those who just love tasty food.


WA’s favourite butcher, Vince Gareffa returns to demonstrate how to choose, cut and cook the best local meat while you’ll learn plenty from the sommeliers at the Riedel Decanter Bar.


One of this year’s highlights is sure to be the new Private Dining Room which offers an exclusive and sophisticated dining experience for 16 people per session. Meet some of your favourite celebrity chefs who will prepare a beautiful three-course meal, followed by an insightful Q&A session.


Guaranteed to be mouth-watering is Andrew Fielke’s Tuckeroo Cooking School where you’ll smell, taste and learn about some of Australia’s finest home-grown ingredients. Also new this year are cheese master classes from Lyndey Milan, which are situated in the brand new Cheese Alley pavilion. Whether you want to assemble a mouth-watering cheese platter or create cheese harmony on your palette, these sessions are the answer to your cheese-loving prayers.


The celebrity theatre is the place to see live demonstrations of gourmet recipes and discover industry tips and tricks from well-known faces and names. Among others, you’ll see Manu Feildel, George Calombaris, visiting British chef Ainsley Harriott and patissier Adriano Zumbo.


Adriano dreams up, experiments and creates all the sweet stuff his five Sydney outlets sell. Credited with restoring the croquembouche to fashionable, Adriano says he gains inspiration from just about anywhere. One of the most obvious is his cake 'Marry Me, Ed' which is named after a good-looking friend who is always being asked out.


This was the kid who ran amok in his parents’ supermarket, gobbling all the sugar and sweets he could find. Adriano says that’s what gave him his sweet tooth and the desire to eventually become a patissier who used his love for mixing interesting ingredients to create amazing desserts rather than making cream buns and lamingtons forever.


“I started my apprenticeship at 15 in a bakery and really liked it,” says 30-year-old Adriano. “I realised I really liked putting different flavours together, experimenting and being creative. I pushed myself to create and realised that I really wanted to do something different.


“When I started there wasn’t a lot of interest in pastry but now it has a big following and people are trying all sorts of things.”


Later in July, the Mundaring Truffle Festival will feature truffle-themed dishes, exhibitions and master classes to inspire and tantalize the taste buds. The two-day festival features the Perth Hills Wine Show, truffle master classes, how to match truffles with the right wine, a long table lunch, food stalls and demonstrations.



The Good Food & Wine Show is at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from July 13 – 15.
Tickets from Ticketek. The Mundaring Truffle Festival is on July 28 & 29 with tickets through BOCS.

My Agent My Advantage

Welcome to our new tagline: my agent, my advantage.


In recent months, we put our collective heads together and stripped back the layers of our brand to discover what it is that makes Realmark different.


But after much introspection and contemplation we decided rather than just attempting to tell you what our point of difference is, we should ask you what you think makes Realmark different.


So we decided to open the doors and ask for your opinion - in the form of an open survey with some of our proposed new taglines and an area to make your own suggestions.


This was a very uplifting experience as we were overwhelmed and encouraged by your participation and positivity. We were also enthralled to receive so many of your own suggestions, of which here are just a few:

Realmark, Your Real Advantage
 
Realmark, My Choice
 
Keeping an eye on the market
 
Your Agent, Your Advantage

Realmarkable

Realmark are the best!


Another pleasant surprise from the survey was the number of people who indicated they were ‘a fan of Realmark’ when asked about their association with the company (i.e. Buyer, Seller, Landlord, Tenant or Employee). This small gesture reaffirms what we aim to do at Realmark; to build meaningful relationships that thrive on trust and understanding your needs.


But in the end we were still faced with the prospect of choosing a new tagline and ultimately we chose ‘my agent, my advantage’ because not only did it receive the most number of votes, but we also felt it encompasses the essence of being a Realmark fan.


The emotion of being a fan is personal; my reason for being a fan will be different to yours but they all carry the same conviction. Similarly, ‘my agent, my advantage’ is a personal motto that will have inherently different meanings to each of you.


For some, it may be ‘my agent, my rental advantage’, for others it could be ‘my agent, my commercial property management advantage’, and for others still it could be ‘my agent, my career advantage’.


The communication opportunities for this new tagline are as wide and far flung as what Realmark means to you personally, so in closing; Realmark really is your brand - ready for you to make the most of what it means to you.


Thank you.

IN Pink

Eternally bubbly, musical theatre star Lucy Durack is back in Perth for a series of shows before putting on her best shade of pink for the musical Legally Blonde.

Busy and grateful might not be words which belong in the same sentence, but Lucy Durack is both in equal measure.

Scoring a lead role for four years in the hugely successful musical Wicked, the former WAAPA student’s stocks have just kept rising. She has met the Queen and lunched with Prince William but later this year will transform into Elle Woods for the stage adaptation of Legally Blonde.

Luckily for us, Lucy has been able to return home to Perth for a few months for a series of more intimate shows before Legally Blonde steals her away.

“I’ve been so fortunate to be able to do what I love,” says the effervescent singer, actress and dancer. “I have to pinch myself because I feel like I am constantly learning. I wonder if I’ll ever feel like I have arrived when there is so much to learn. I keep learning things about my characters right until the last show, so I never get bored. There’s always something to try and that’s what inspires me.”

In Perth Lucy is starring in Opening Doors as part of the much-loved Cabaret Soiree season DownStairs at The Maj. She teams up with composer, lyricist and good friend Matthew Robinson, who has recently returned from New York, in a musical journey through his songs as well as a couple of Lucy’s favourites.

“Through these songs we speak about our personal experiences, our lives and what we have been up to so far. We’re performing musical theatre repertoire and I’ll do songs from Wicked and Carousel too.”

While Lucy has loved her time on the stage in a big musical, she also missed smaller intimate venues and the chance to write some of her own material.

“It has been really great to have a chance to sink my teeth into this kind of show and have a bit more of a creative hand in writing as well. You don’t have much of that when you do a pre-packaged musical. Learning a whole new collection of songs and doing only a handful of performances really keeps you on your toes. That makes those nights really special.”

While here, Lucy has found time to work on some of her own songs for possible recording, something she has had more chance to do as her schedule isn’t so hectic.

“I think in this industry you have to end up becoming so many things – doing concerts, film or television – so there’s more chance of being employed. At the same time it’s really fun and I’m never bored with nothing to do.”

Lucy’s relaxed pace won’t stay that way for long because after her Perth engagements, she heads back to Sydney to start rehearsals for Legally Blonde. That will include spending time bonding with her on-stage Chihuahua, who’ll play the cute Bruiser.

“The music in this production is really clever and they have done a great job. It sounds catchy, contemporary, fun and smart.

“I’ve seen the movie a gazillion times before I ever knew about the musical. It has always been a favourite. It has froth and bubble but there’s also a smart story about a girl who stays true to herself. I’ve always loved that; it can’t be any more feel-good.”

Lucy will swap her bedazzled Wicked clothes for plenty of pink when she steps into Elle Woods. Luckily pink is her favourite colour.

Lucy Durack appears in Opening Doors DownStairs at The Maj from June 20 – 23 and Musicals in Concert with Lucy Durack and Friends at the Concert Hall in two shows on June 10. Legally Blonde opens in Sydney on October 4. Tickets for all shows are now on sale.

Cabaret Soiree:  Image by Blueprint Studios