I'm not fond of jumping on the bandwagon and criticising just for the sake of it, which is why I have been biding my time before publicly commenting about the €20K contract awarded to William Mangion to "identify a space for bands to rehearse". 

It's been a year since the initial briefing was given to the ex-Eurovision hopeful, I believe, so I found my patience wearing extremely thin lately. Today's press conference - which comes about eight months too late and leaves us none the wiser as to what, exactly, Mr Mangion has been playing at since we handed him 20K - unfortunately has only served to justify my initial belief that this is nothing more and nothing less than a cash handout to someone who is very evidently out of touch with the realities that bands and artistes face today.

Today's press conference (read all about it here: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150207/local/rehearsing-space-for-bands-to-be-built-with-carnival-village-in-marsa.555139 ) raised even more questions than it answered and has done nothing to satisfy us that those 20K were well-spent. Telling musicians that a location has been identified for a Carnival Village that will include rehearsal space and an amphitheater where bands can perform only served to make it more obvious that those who were involved in Mr Mangion's appointment have zero knowledge about the current music landscape in Malta and what it lacks.

Most bands, even the newest ones, already have their own rehearsal space which they have secured at great personal cost. Which leaves us with more unanswered questions.

Which bands will this new rehearsal space benefit? 

Will it be offered for free or will bands be charged a fee?

Should a fee be charged, how exactly has this whole contract been of benefit to musicians and where is the logic in moving them away from current rehearsal spaces?

Will each band be required to share its rehearsal space be shared with other bands/artistes?

If yes, will equipment need to be vacated while this rehearsal space is being used by someone else?

If not, will the bands be guaranteed security in order to ensure equipment is kept safe at all times?

What are the specifications of the performance space that has been promised?

Will it be made available for free or will commercial rates be charged?

Will the space be offered on a 'plug and play' basis, a facility that is sorely missing in Malta?

Will it be limited to larger, already-established bands or will it also cater for the younger/up-and-coming/solo musicians?

We are owed €20,000 worth of answers. Detailed answers, as opposed to the vague outline that has been offered up till now, especially since a contract renewal for Mr Mangion has not been ruled out.

Without wishing to hurt Mr Mangion's feelings, the truth is that taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest 21 years ago does not automatically make anyone a sudden expert in the Maltese music scene. Particularly if, as happened in Mr Mangion's case, a good chunk of the intervening years are spent residing in the US. 

I can't help but wonder, how many gigs has Mr Mangion attended in Malta in these past years? The massive events that were recently organised on a national scale, which see all VIPs populating the front row, do not count. 

I'm talking about the gigs featuring musicians who are not yet household names - and who, indeed, might never become thus, simply because their talent goes beyond that which the majority clamours for. 

I'm taking about gigs featuring those youngsters, bursting with passion and promise, who go out of pocket to organise their first gig in some small bar. 

I'm talking about the musicians whose field is so underground that they are unlikely to ever end up on the bill of a national event, but whose talent can be nonetheless mind-blowing.

I'm talking about those bands whose music is too challenging, too uncomfortable for the tastes of the majority. 

I myself have never seen Mr Mangion at any such grassroot event, although I would be very happy to stand corrected on this. The facts are simple enough; if you really want to help Maltese bands and musicians, at the very least you need to be familiar with their work and with the hoops they had to jump through in order to produce it. Half a dozen email exchanges and a couple of face-to-face meetings will not cut it.

When all is said and done, any Random Joe would have been perfectly capable of pointing the government towards the first obvious big plot of vacant land. The difference is that Random Joe would not have charged €20,000 to do so.