If music is the soundtrack of the world, football is the world game. On the back of ARIA Week comes Musica Copa, a five-a-side charity football event featuring a feast of musical (and perhaps even sporting) talent. The BRAG caught up with organisers Paul Stix from Modular and Martin Novosel from Purple Sneakers ahead of the big day.
How did the Musica Copa idea come about?
Paul Stix: Martin and I are lifelong football fans and we’ve been playing together in various five-a-side teams for the past few years. We play in teams with other music industry guys so we always knew there would be a lot of interest if we put something together. As it turns out, Musica Copa is an idea we had both independently wanted to do for many years, and over a few beers the tournament was born. It was also very important to us to add the charity component, giving all the players and teams that extra incentive to compete and raise awareness for their chosen charity. And beyond everything else, we felt that the music industry was lacking something on a real grassroots social level. Hopefully, Musica Copa will bridge that gap and the event will become a key fixture on the annual calendar.
Is there a special link between football and music?
PS: Absolutely. Modern day players are held in a similar regard to rock stars and DJs. There’s something very cool about being involved in either football or music, and most bands support a team, and every football player loves music. You’ve only got to look at all those (mostly) terrible football songs through the ages for more evidence – however, noting that, New Order’s ‘World In Motion’ is a brilliant song… John Barnes showing Kanye how they rap in Liverpool!
Who are the big attractions behind the decks on the Musica Copa Soundsystem?
Martin Novosel: We’ve recruited some of our best buds who also happen to be gun party-starters from around town to make triple sure every genre is covered! Step forward Purple Sneakers DJs, wordlife, Lancelot, Slow Blow, Astral DJs, Frames, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Moonbase Commander and LUEN – plus some special guests, you never know…
Who are the favourites to win the big prize?
PS: That’s the million-dollar question! We know that many of the teams have been training hard for Musica Copa, which is good to hear. At the end of the day it’s a fun event, but with a large chunk of money up for grabs for the winning team’s charity, there’s a lot to play for too! Some of the star names include Sir Bob from The Bloody Beetroots, Jamie Jones and Tommy Trash, plus What So Not, Van She and Movement! It’s gonna be an epic day…
Musica Copa at Fraser Park, Marrickville on Thursday December 5 from 11am-5pm.Open to the public via cash charity donation. Capacity limited. See musicacopa.com for more.
