These Machines Cut Razor Wire

Political activists armed with their weapon of choice descended on inner Melbourne on Sunday 15^th April, 2012, discontent and dissatisfied by the Government’s treatment of Asylum Seekers in detention.

However these musically inclined activists channeled their frustration artistically; brandishing fiddles, double bass’, banjos or the crowd favourite, acoustic guitars, venting through song, as many have done so previously. Country and folk tunes loaded with a political sensibility reminiscent of the 60’s reverberated through the Thornbury Theatre, as social justice and musicianship joined forces under the banner of the second annual “These Machines Cut Razor Wires” – a grassroots non-profit organisation founded to raise funds and assist the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

‘We raised $3252.65,’ exclaims founder and musician Les Thomas, who recalls the figure proudly from memory, exactly to the cent. Rightfully so too, considering Sundays event raised far more than the previous year. ‘The year before we raised $750, so it’s a massive jump in terms of the amount raised and the scale of the show as well,’ he says.

“These Machines Cut Razor Wires” (TMCRW) is a reference to 1940’s revolutionary singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, who commonly performed with the slogan, “These Machines Kill Fascists” on his guitar, demonstrating his opposition towards fascism as Les does towards mandatory detention.

‘Woody Guthrie revolutionized song writing in a couple of ways, but he was somebody who I believed saw the world from the bottom up,’ says Thomas admirably, ‘He changed our understanding of what it is to write songs and what it is to observe the world through songs, and there is still a lot of that tradition alive,’

It seems entirely appropriate that an event so directly influenced by Woody Guthrie takes place in the year of what would be Guthrie’s 100^th birthday.

‘It’s great to see that there are still musicians around who can understand that connection,’ says Thomas, possibly a nod to the musicians he’s placed on the TMCRW lineup.

This year’s event saw the addition of eight artists on top of last year’s three, performing in front of roughly 200 paying punters. TMCRW showcased eleven of Melbourne’s local country and folk artists, including Les himself, and was headlined by the reputable and iconic Jeff Lang, a longstanding musical role-model for Les. His admiration and high regard for Jeff Lang is not hard to comprehend, as Jeff, alongside drummer Danny McKenna and Grant Cummerford, seduced the Thornbury Theatre through their musical proficiency.

‘They’re all the highest order of musicians and all of them are really refreshingly down to earth, sensible and willing to generously give their time and they’re happy to be there,’ says Thomas, ‘I really see him as a role model, because he has this community mindedness and sensibility about what he does that I think a lot of musicians can take a huge amount from,’ he says.

Such generosity was abundant too, with all proceeds donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre; an independent and non –government funded human rights organization which broadly assists Asylum Seekers released from detention.

‘I felt that an organisation like the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) would be a great group to help out with a music event because I know they’re extremely effective the way that they use their money,’ says Thomas, who praised ASRC at the event for, among other things, providing nutritious meals for as little as 50 cents. To put this in perspective, TMCRW raised enough to put 6505 meals on the table.

Les Thomas performs at TMCRW

The ASRC received the $3252.65 the following day, personally delivered by Les Thomas to Head of Fundraising, Robyn Gould, previously a volunteer at the centre. The ASRC refuses Federal Government funding to avoid obligation issues and 95% of the centre’s funds come from community donations and philanthropy, so it’s no surprise that Gould was singing Les’ praises.

‘People like Les are absolute gold,’ says Gould,  gratitude evident in her voice, ‘The thing about the centre is we deliberately don’t accept Federal Government funding so that there’s not any kind of  being beholden to the government or those sorts of issues… It’s a real grassroots community funded organization, so as I said things like Les’ event is absolute gold for us, without that we wouldn’t be here,’ she says.

It seems that Robyn Gould is not alone in praising and supporting Les’ musical and political endeavors, she is joined by local roots artist Jed Rowe, who was also involved in TMCRW. The pair met in April 2011 at a music management workshop in Melbourne, where Les mentioned the first TMCRW, which was to held at the Wesley Anne in Northcote.

‘I could see that he was motivated by his passion for music and social justice, so when he asked me if I’d like to be part of the next event I said yes straight away,’ says Rowe, ‘He’s made some great contributions to the Melbourne music scene… I’d call Les a great facilitator. He helps musicians make connections with each other, helps musicians connect with new audiences and provides a focus for the music community in Melbourne,’ he says.

TMCRW aside, Les organized a Towns Van Zandt tribute gig in 2011, “For The Sake Of The Songs”, raising $500 for the “Housing For The Aged” action group, and simultaneously launched his own music website, “Unpaved” last September to document Melbourne’s country and folk scenes.

‘I started the ‘Unpaved’ website last September,’ says Thomas, proudly adding that it’s received over 100,000 page views, ‘ Because there is so much happening in just the country and folk music scenes… it has to be documented in some way,’ he says.

Les’ TMCRW army will continue to expand each year, introducing fresh artists to the benefit scene, however hopefully the message will be received, and events such as TMCRW won’t be necessary.

‘My ultimate hope is that there won’t be a need for ‘These Machines Cut Razor Wire’ events because I would like to see changes in the law that will overturn things like mandatory detention,’ concludes Thomas, who undoubtedly will continue to brandish his guitar for the benefit of those less fortunate.

‘Just try to communicate with new people all the time because you need to get your ideas out beyond limited circles of friends and start talking to new people in order to make a difference’