About S.L.A.M.

S.L.A.M. (Supporting Local Alternative Music) is a Perth organisation that supports local talent by professionally organising gigs and events to showcase Western Australia's original artists.

Formed by Stevie D, S.L.A.M. was created to promote local bands through gigs as well as through all forms of music media such as internet and radio. Since its beginnings, S.L.A.M. has become known as a supplier of excellent quality music events for both the audiences and the up and coming local artists.

"SLAM kinda started out of frustration from me personally playing on poorly run gigs and getting together with some guys from other bands and throwing some positive ideas around," says Stevie D (in an interview at the WAM website). "It also was a way to promote my own original band and to help some of the other original acts who I thought were being overlooked at the time."

S.L.A.M. deals with all types of musical performances and artists. A whole variety of genres have been embraced and presented at S.L.A.M. gigs across Perth, maximising opportunities for local artists from differing genres and catering for the diverse tastes of Perth audiences.

Besides organising gigs for local artists, S.L.A.M. has also released two CDs and a video, all of which provide a great showcase of the local talent from the west coast of Oz.

The S.L.A.M. CD releases are compilations of recordings from Perth bands. The track listings are compiled to deliberately show the diversity of our local talent. "We chose the songs that were the best in both songwriting and recording quality," says Stevie D. "We also took into account the bands overall appeal and originality."

S.L.A.M. is predominantly a self-funded organisation, with many volunteers helping out with their efforts and support. Local artists often also volunteer their artistic talents and compositions to contribute towards cover designs, posters and so on.

Since the beginning, S.L.A.M. has expanded and grown. The same could be said for the future of the organisation. S.L.A.M. will "grow, branch out and put on bigger and better events," Stevie D says with enthusiasm. "Who knows, maybe we will start a SLAM record label."

One thing is for sure. S.L.A.M. has developed a reputation of aiding local talent have the opportunities to have their music be heard - and this will certainly continue into the future.

Article by Greg Davies
January, 2003

Interview quotes source:
West Australian Music Industry website