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BHI Staff Profiles
Meet...
Mick Meagher
He/Him
I teach music across VET and HE. I cover a pretty wide range of areas, instrumental music, performance ensembles, music production, and music industry.
How did you get your start in the Music Industry?
A big moment was moving to Melbourne in 2000. Prior to that, I lived in Queensland, where I grew up. I attended the VCA, and while studying there, I made a lot of contacts and had many opportunities to play music, do gigs, work in bands, and freelance. At the same time, I worked in a guitar shop in Fitzroy. Moving from Queensland, from a pretty culturally void place, to Melbourne, I suddenly felt connected to something way bigger than anything I’d experienced. It was a super exciting time. It felt electric and inspiring. This is when it started to feel like I was working professionally as a musician.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
Yes, an album I co-wrote and co-produced with Emma Donovan is coming out in a few months. I’ve worked closely with Emma for over a decade, and this is her debut solo album. A pre-release album campaign began in October last year. There have been two single releases - "Blak Nation" and "Lovin’ Looks Like" - and a third single is set to be released soon prior to the albums release. With Emma, I just completed a national tour of Australia supporting country music star Charlie Crockett, and that was a lot of fun, except I had to miss two shows at the end of the tour because I got Covid. So that’s the biggest thing that I’m working on at the moment. As well as that, I always like to chip away at my own little creative projects which may or may not see the light of day. I hope they do; it’s always on the back burner because of everything else, but I always aim to stay engaged with something creative.
What's your favourite memory from being a part of the Music Industry?
It’s hard to pinpoint one memory, so I’ll go with a recent one. I was on tour through Jan-Feb, around Australia, and got to swim at the beach - Brunswick Heads one day, Byron Bay the next, and then Clovelly in Sydney. I do think that’s one of the great benefits of being a musician - you can be caught in the rat race, schlepping and feeling subclass, waiting around in tiny band rooms, but then you get to experience this other perspective, where you’re far above all of that. I don’t take that for granted.
What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
One of my bass heroes is Melvin Gibbs. Melvin is from Brooklyn, New York, and 5 or so years ago he put a call out online that he was open to receiving students. I jumped at the chance and approached him. I had a number of Skype lessons with Melvin, and from these sessions I received some great advice that helped solidify ideas about practise and making music.
The first piece of advice Melvin shared was ‘close enough is good enough.’ As someone who struggles with perfectionism, this was good advice for me to hear - not to get too bogged down by the detail, especially if it’s interfering with the act of doing and being creative.
The other advice I got was related to practise. Melvin encouraged me to systematise my practise - create my own systems, and to get the most from one idea. I learnt to turn an improvised idea into a scale, its related modes and harmony, which then becomes material for composing. I like the idea of creating music based off a scale that I created. It actually makes a lot more sense.
The last bit of advice was about time management. Melvin said ‘if you’re not doing it on a gig, then don’t worry about it’. The ideas here was to only focus practise time on what is relevant to the work and playing I’m doing. There’s not enough time, and no one can do everything, so stop thinking that you ought to.
What is your favourite song?
My musical tastes have evolved since I was a teenager, but I do still love the music I devoured when I was a kid. "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden is a fave.
Thanks for letting us learn a little bit more about you!
Check in next week to meet another BHI Faculty Member.