Jeff Fulton grew up inspired by the Flying Nun music scene and playing drums in a ‘crude version’ of the White Stripes with his twin brother. After doing the band circuit, he decided that a career in music was just the ticket – taking him to Auckland and SAE, then the NZ Music Commission, Neil Finn's office, a short spell at EMI, and on to Christchurch to help start CHART.

Read on for Jeff’s advice about making your way in the NZ music industry, what CHART has to offer, the Christchurch music scene and what to look forward to at CHARTFEST 2010, on May 28 at the Christchurch Town Hall Complex.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

Definitely first thing in the morning after a strong coffee

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

A curious clash of street style meets the Canterbury hill country!

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

Working in such a positive field, there is goodwill for music, its creation and promotion around every corner.

How does your environment affect your work?

I love living in Christchurch, close to the beach yet mountains up the road. The wide open spaces and hill views are a nice respite from the office.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

I guess I’m driven by the bigger picture, which is helping make Christchurch a better place to enjoy music.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Persistence  - it takes a lot of drive and dedication to pursue music/arts as a career. Business wise, its very much organising your time, maintaining networks and promoting your business effectively.

Tell us a bit about your background and current role.

I grew up inspired by the Flying Nun scene and played drums in a crude version of the White Stripes with my twin brother. After years playing in bands, I decided to pursue music as a career and studied at SAE in Auckland. Then worked for the NZ Music Commission, then Neil Finn’s office for 3 years before a short spell at EMI then moved south in 2005. I was exploring opportunities in ChCh and got together with a few like-minded heads and started CHART – Christchurchmusic.org.nz. I volunteered for 18 months and now am its only full-time employee.

Tell us a bit about CHART - when and why it was established and who is involved?

Some open public sessions were organized in 2005 to discuss what was needed by the Christchurch music community. Lots of issues were raised including a lack of national representation. We established an independent industry board with people with a desire to help the local music scene including Richard Bell (internationally renowned video producer), Cath Anderson (NZMC), Neil Cox (Southern Amp/Theatre Royal), Jody Lloyd (artist), Jamey Holloway (Phantom) and many others. Our trustees are profiled here.

How has it evolved since then and what are your plans for the future?

CHART started in 2006 and originally we focused on collecting the community in our directory, then built our team of trustees and concentrated on small projects including live music showcases, seminars and promotion and support of music events and the music community. The website is grown with growing visitors with around 80,000 page views per month. Our trustees are all volunteers and do an amazing amount of work which directly benefits the music scene here. Plans for the future include working with venues closer to promote music across the city, syndicate with online partners and keep providing opportunities for ChCh music industry.

How has the Christchurch music scene changed since then?

There is definitely more midweek performance opportunities here in Christchurch now with more venues opening their doors to artists performing. The music calendar is a lot busier with more touring bands coming which means more support opportunities for local artists. We have several key large music events now in Christchurch… SOUNDAY in Hagley Park in January, CHARTFEST in May and SOUTHERN AMP where CHART has supported a local stage. Band competitions (eg. RoundUp, UCSA Battle Of The Bands) winners are receiving more national attention and our monthly Featured Artists also receive a lot of interest.

Tell us a bit about CHARTFEST

CHARTFEST was first staged in 2008 and the aim was to showcase the artists and music organizations in Christchurch to the NZ public. With the incredible support of the Christchurch City Council were we able to stage a festival on a grand scale, accessible to all ages in our prestigious Town Hall Complex. Its in its third year and has grown to be nationally recognized and one of the largest indoor multi-stage festivals in the country. With the awesome assistance of CPIT and our dedicated media partners, expo standholders and the hundreds of people involved behind the scenes it’s become an annual focus for Christchurch music.

What are some of the highlights this year, what are you personally looking forward to?

There is so much in the programme this year, with the ukulele orchestra competition and the attempt to break the World Ukulele Orchestra Record of 1120 (set in NZ in Nov 2009) . The massed orchestra in the James Hay will be playing NZ’s unofficial National Anthem ‘Why Does Love Do This To Me’ by The Exponents. Also this year we have expanded our band competition to a Band Team Search where we are encouraging not just musicians, but managers, graphic designers, web designers, journalists and photographers to join together and build a Myspace profile. The winner gets to open the festival which is a great opportunity.

What combination of people and resources are required to put on CHARTFEST?

I’m the festival manager but have huge support from the CHART trustees who micro-manage different parts of the event. We also have a production manager overseeing 5 different crews on stages. Our model is based on sponsorship and in kind support to make it a cheaper ticket so the whole music community can attend, so without CPIT, CCC, The Eureka Trust, SmokeFree and our various stage, prize and media sponsors it couldn’t happen.

In what ways has it expanded this year?

We also have added a 5th stage this year, the MAINZ TahuFM City Roots Stage showcases the city’s urban styles and started at 1pm to incorporate all the added activity/madness… all for under $20!

How does CHARTFEST generate opportunities for musicians?

CHARTFEST is a rare opportunity for musicians to access some industry experts first hand, ask questions and talk to other musicians and industry reps 1 on 1. The artists performing are receiving national media attention.

Tell us more about the expo and clinics.

We have clinics on bass, guitar, drums, vocal styles, music technology, songwriting and are run by such high profile people as Pat Pattison (John Mayer’s songwriting partner), Nick Wilkinson (The Pretenders), Harry Harrison, etc. The panel discussions will be interesting covering topics such as PPNZ and APRA’s Making Music Matter, MMF and NZMC’s Getting heard In the UK, Online music promotion and the Future of Music with luminaries such as Roger Shepherd (Flying Nun) and Graeme Downes (The Verlaines) providing their gems of experience.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

Start with being realistic about what you are trying to achieve, decide which path to go down and make a plan with some milestones. Then it’s about gathering together the tools to promote yourself effectively, in a way that’s meaningful to YOUR audience, starting with fantastic songs, faultless performance and quality recordings. We have a page that expands these ideas. Also if you are coming to Christchurch please check out our page on promoting shows here first (so you don’t book a show the same night as CHARTFEST or any other large event)

In your view, what challenges and opportunities does the music industry face?

The internet has produced new challenges for the recording industry but the wider music industry seems to be full of new opportunities. The challenge to be met as I mentioned earlier is to enable music consumers to have immediate and widespread access to music in different formats with added value services like referrals, playlists and varied price offerings.

Why do you think NZ Music Month is important?

It’s important as it creates opportunities for NZ music to be heard by new audiences in different places. It provides the industry with more outlets to promote music and gives sponsors and supporters a valid reason to get behind initiatives. The timing is perfect in May with many of our larger acts touring Europe too.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Its all about flexibility and immediacy. That’s where the music producers, owners, suppliers need to focus on. I prefer full audio quality songs for my iTunes/iPod. Or vinyl for the most pure listening experience.

What’s your big idea for 2010 and 2011?

Syndication of websites and social networking using tools such as ping.fm… using the net to access new opportunities quickly and easily.