Johnny Vanguard

By Kathryn Dimitriadis.
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Harold, March 2010.

Four-time ARIA Award winner Johnny Vanguard has entered into a heated debate with Tropfest officials after they found that Vanguard – who will be a judge at the 2010 Tropfest short film competition – has composed and played a music score for his nieces film entry.

 

Vanguard, 43, who was lead guitarist and vocalist for the Adelaide based band Underlife, has offended directors and judges by telling them to ‘Sod off’, in relation to the music composition he wrote for his 17 year old niece’s Tropfest film. ‘My music won’t put Frances’s flick in front of those other entrants’, Vanguard said in a statement yesterday.

Tropfest founder and Creative Director, John Polson said yesterday Vanguard's 'niece’s film might have to be pulled from the competition unless she dispossess of the composed music’,  ‘It will give Frances Smithton an unfair advantage as most entrants have a limited budget.

Mr Polson said; 'This is an amateur film competition and with her decision to use a professional soundtrack by her Uncle; a judge, will clearly make her film a cut above the rest and, not to mention, it will be favoured by Mr. Vanguard.’

Vanguard was clearly unimpressed and angered by the founders’ comments, as he made clear heading out of his Sydney mansion this morning. ‘That’s not right’ Vanguard said as strolled to his red 1973 Datsun, ‘If they wanna get rid of Frances’s film then they are ... well they're idiots and they can sod off.' ... Unfair advantage: what a stupid excuse. Just because I’m her Uncle and I wrote the music they wanna chuck her movie out! I’ll be fair on judging it, I swear but it’ll be hard to find a better film. Creativeness obviously runs in our family and they just can’t hack that concept.’

 

Vanguard hasn’t had the best of luck with business associates in recent years. In 2007 he threw a brick through the windscreen of Mark Holden’s vintage Holden Monaro after a much publicised argument. Vanguard also left his former band Underlife in 1992 after having reported disputes with band member Spencer (Davis) Lees.

  

The singer/songwriter, who  is about to release his current solo album “Sunsets and Scrapheaps”, may be asked to step off the judging panel due to his actions. As past judge, Nicole Kidman explained this morning, ‘Johnny is a well-renowned musician and is very respected by the Australian artistic community, but has assisted where he is not allowed to and has therefore gone against certain rules.’

The fate of Frances’s short film, titled ‘Spring Time for Hilder’, and the fate of Vanguard’s position on the judging panel will be decided in the next few weeks with meeting to be held between Polson and officials of Sony Tropfest. ‘We will need to assess this situation further’Polson said today. Tropfest entries close soon.