Event Horizon
Sun Herald
Sunday October 19, 2008
The difference between chaos and organised mayhem during the ARIA Awards proceedings is the hosts. James Mathison deftly walks the line, writes Angela Cuming.
As co-host of this year's ARIA Awards, James Mathison is going to try to steer clear of the backstage green room."As a frustrated musician I sometimes have to resist the urge to corner them and give them a demo tape," says the co-host of Australian Idol, who began his TV life with Channel V. "I love music, always have, and I have always wanted to be surrounded by music. I guess that is why I got into television, that was always my motivation, so I could always be around singers and bands."It's no surprise that Mathison says it is "awesome" he is back this year for another co-hosting gig."There is a pure joy surrounding the ARIAs and I love being part of it," he says. This year he will be joined by radio duo Hamish and Andy, who will be making their hosting debut.It is his fourth time on stage for the awards and he says it is hard to pick his favourite moments."But one standout for me would have to be when Ja'mie King (Chris Lilley's character) attended in 2005," he says. "I really love that girl."And he admits that there are big shoes to fill after Rove McManus hosted last year's ceremony."I have always really admired how well Rove pulled everything together when he was hosting."Mathison says his absolute highlight occurred in 2005 when David Hasselhoff lent his unique brand of talent to the ARIAs. "Without any doubt my favourite moment was when Missy Higgins went flying through the air into the arms of David Hasselhoff on stage.""If you watch the footage carefully you can see she actually headbutts the Hoff, but he being such a professional, and also possibly a bit hammered, he just shakes her off and gets on with things."Mathison has seen more acts up on the ARIA stage than he can remember, but there are a few that stand out in his mind."As far as memorable performances go it's hard to go past any of the Hall of Fame inductees that I have seen on stage."Mathison says he tries not to let nerves get the better of him on the night: "I get to be up on stage with some pretty big names in the industry so it's hard not to get sweaty palms sometimes."I figure that as long as I pronounce everyone's names right I should be OK. And sometimes I have seen a big star backstage and they look pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing, too, which makes me realise that an ARIA doesn't just mean something to me, but it means a lot to them as well.''It's a pretty special thing to be awarded one."This year Mathison says the fact The Presets are up for four awards is not only exciting for him, but for the music industry as a whole."When you look at past years and the singers or bands that have cleanswept the awards you are talking about your Jets and your Silverchairs and your Powderfingers. "Even Delta was quite pop-ballady so it's the first time an Aussie dance act is up for so many ARIAs."
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