'We Need You': Augie March's Glenn Richards On Why Artists & Venues Must Have Your Support Right Now

“B-but, Mr Jimson, I w-want to be an artist.'
'Of course you do,' I said, 'everybody does once. But they get over it, thank God, like the measles and the chickenpox. Go home and go to bed and take some hot lemonade and put on three blankets and sweat it out.'
'But Mr Jimson, there must be artists.'
'Yes, and lunatics and lepers, but why go and live in an asylum before you're sent for? If you find life a bit dull at home,' I said, 'and want to amuse yourself, put a stick of dynamite in the kitchen fire, or shoot a policeman. Volunteer for a test pilot, or dive off Tower Bridge with five bob's worth of Roman candles in each pocket. You'd get twice the fun at about one-tenth of the risk.'"
Joyce Cary's The Horse's Mouth, published 1944

One of my six thousand favourite quotes from that masterpiece which I will finish one day. There are very lucky ones, kissed on the untalented pate ones, and very occasionally complete, out of the womb, forces of nature that cannot fail but just as often flame up before they can succeed.  

But most of us, 'musical artists' that is, live hand to mouth, scrape a living - yes, even the ones who win an occasional award and get to visit Molly's house and drink gin and look at seriously heavy Beatles paraphernalia. 

The poverty line is a limbo pole you need a ladder to fetch from the attic storage. And the attic storage is your whole house. 

No real surprise there, it's always been thus, lots of pay to play before you could even play for your supper. Except for Ireland where all the songwriters are rich and make movies about being destitute, this is likely a quaint hangover from medieval times.

You've seen the episode of that documentary re-enactment Game Of Thrones with Sigur Ros, they're one poorly pitched made up word from getting gouged in the eyes as well as the coin pouch. Of course for a good while now there hasn't even been much in the way of sales to prop a bard up so it's largely about getting out and taking money from people in return for wailing at them or activating artfully moused loop packs with your iPad.  

Don't have to mention the plague, you know what an impact it's had on everything, you've heard and lived the sob stories. There have been, are, and will be worse things. 

But the opportunity to get out there and make a bit of a living, and for those weirdos who really love exhibiting themselves and playing notes, who cannot live without it, and those who work in the industry, those who operate venues, all of us, it's monumentally important that punters fill the seats.  

Have you ever spent time in an empty venue? 

I have, many times. Woken up in them usually. Which allows me to shoehorn another Cary quote from that great book with a timely paraphrasing - an empty venue is "as dark as the inside of a cabinet minister". 

So let's reclaim the gaslight, fire up the hurdy-gurdy and make the old exchange. No, not the dollar one - actually, yes - but more importantly the human one. We need you and you better believe you need us.  

Richards is one of a number of artists sharing intimate shows at Melbourne's Forum Theatre in the coming days and weeks. Head to theGuide for more info on his show tomorrow night, Saturday 13 March.