Tex Perkins is Australia’s consummate rock musician. He doesn’t care for pretentious posturing; he’ll play in a pub and “fight the punters drinking beer for attention.” He’s fronted so many bands, there’s almost too many to mention – from melancholic rock band The Cruel Sea to pub rock combo Tex, Don and Charlie and many more, he’s won accolades from punters from all over Australia, four ARIA awards and a few international fans along the way as well. Releasing a DVD for the “Man in Black” Johnny Cash tribute tour, we talked from his home in Sydney, having a casual chat (though too early in the day or a beer) with us here at the AU Review.

Hey Tex, how’s it going?

Good, how are you?

I’m well. You’re releasing your Johnny Cash tribute show, "The Man in Black" that you did last year as a DVD. Why Johnny Cash and why now?

Well, Johnny Cash is one of the cornerstones of what became modern music. There’s probably a half dozen people that you have to mention in the formation of 20th Century or even 21st Century music and I think Johnny Cash is one of them.

Why now? Well I think Johnny Cash’s presence in the public’s mind hasn’t really let up. Ever since he did those cover albums as part of his comeback in ’94, with the Rick Rubin years in the final part of his life and then his death, then came the movie [Walk the Line] and posthumous albums that were released since, he really hasn’t gone away.

I think they’ve run out of albums to release – but the story of Johnny Cash is such a classic – all the elements there of one of those classic stories. And well, the classics never go out of fashion.

Now that Johnny Cash has unfortunately passed and through those Rick Rubin “American” recordings, do you feel that he’s found a second audience in the younger generation? People are actually going back to his classic records like “Live at San Quentin Prison?”

Yeah, absolutely. I think the older generation that was listening to him through the 50s and 60s – probably a lot of them – aren’t even aware of his last ten year period. That generation that he was sort of speaking to back then bought those Rick Rubin records and went back through his vast catalog. Not just the prison records but the Sun records as well.

Well yes – he’s timeless. I mean, you can put on Man In Black and the themes just from that song are so relevant to today.

Absolutely.

You’ve been described as the “patron saint” of pub rock. Are you disheartened to hear that all your churches in Melbourne are under attack?
Well, the Tote is back, but still, I think those laws were very hastily put thought up and thrown out. I don’t think the fight is over, either. I’m hoping good sense will sort of prevail in the end. I wouldn’t worry too much. There is a lot of pubs in Melbourne. Even if we lose half of them there’s still a lot more out there. I think those laws will be reviewed.

I definitely hope so. It's been said you’ve fronted a series of “non-serious” bands such as Dark Horses, TnT, The Ladyboyz, etc. Is that an accurate assessment?

Well, I’ve done some stuff that wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously. Probably TnT [Tex teaming up with You am I frontman Tim Rodgers] and the Ladyboyz are probably the most recent ones – they were done very quickly and were just cheeky excuses to have a lot of fun. Dark Horses I wouldn’t put in that category. If I ever had a serious band, that would probably be it. Even so, we still have a lot of fun.

When people find out you’re in so many bands they’re astonished. How do you keep up with them all? How do you get them started?

Well, you get a different group of people in a different room and you get another band. I’ve got another one, now that I’ve worked with the Johnny Cash people, the Tennessee Four that was playing the music for the Man in Black shows, they’re a great bunch of musicians and we really had a great chemistry. We’ve got something unique again and I plan to continue to work with them. I mean, bands pop up all the time out of all sorts of different circumstances and reasons. Some of them only last for a short period but the good ones you hang on to.

Is that because the musicians you’ve worked with are easy to get along with? There’s no egos running amok?

Well that certainly helps. There have been fragile egos in the past but I’m not with those bands any more. The Cruel Sea is very easy for me. They’re a great bunch of people that I’ve worked with for many, many years. We pull that out and dust if off every now and then just for the hell of it. Because you know, we like to be together.

It does get a bit hectic. I mean, in the next few weeks I’ll be playing in three different bands. I have to work out three different set lists, rehearse three different [repertoires.] It can get a bit like “Where am I today, who’s songs am I singing?” But that’s my nature; I enjoy working with lots of different people and keeping it fresh and interesting for myself.”

Talking about keeping it fresh, is there a style or genre you haven’t tackled yet that you would really want to?

Mmm…a genre I haven’t tackled… [contemplates] Well, I’ve got a little laptop that has GarageBand on it and when I’m whiling away the hours for something to do I’ve been doing quite a bit of techno.

Really?!

Yeah! But the thing is, I don’t think I should share it with the world. I think techno is like farts. You enjoy the smell of your own but you never like someone else’s. [laughs]

It’s the same with techno. Your own is fine and fun but anyone else’s is terrible. Unless someone begs me I’m not going to be playing anybody my techno.

We won’t see DJ Tex rockin’ the decks any time soon.

No. Well, I might release an album called “I enjoy the smell of my own techno.”

[laughs] Do you think pub rock and rock n’ roll in general is an artform unto itself? Do you think there’s restrictions on it or can you just take it anywhere you want?

Well, some music suits playing in pubs better than others. I’ve always found playing in pubs great – where would we be without pubs and playing music in them? You always have to deal with the fact that a lot of people aren’t actually listening to you in a pub. They’re there to get pissed and pick up somebody.

There’s an irreverence towards the music in pubs. It’s just something else that’s going on. Loud rock n’ roll is best suited for pubs because it just dominates the room. Anything more subtle, like acoustic music, you have to expect people to shut up and listen which is always a bit of a battle.

But to tell the truth, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with playing in theaters through the Man in Black shows because – get this – people actually sit down and listen to music! It’s fucking incredible!

The way you play, when you’re totally aware that everybody is listening to you, it transforms your performance. In a pub, you’re fighting. Fighting to get people’s attention. You can’t relax and work on the subtleties and the details of the music. You just slam it out there. In a theater, people are actually shutting up and going ‘Okay, play your music, I’m listening.’ You play far better when people are actually listening to you.

What was your take on the ARIA award ceremony debacle this year—

What was the debacle? What are they saying?

Well, where do I start? Did you watch it?

No, I didn’t watch it. 

Oh, good. Because it was complete crap. Jessica Mauboy pronounced debut as “day-butt”, Powderfinger didn’t know they won an award…it was just horrible.

[laughs hysterically] Well, I think that sort of stuff has a bit of a soul and a bit of life and a bit of reality. It’s very human. The worst thing I find about the ARIA awards, especially in the last five years is that, because it’s become such a television event, it looks and feels like Australian Idol. That’s the sort of audience they’re trying to grab the attention of. It seems to have progressively lacked industry credibility.

It’s becoming far less about the industry saying ‘Well, we did well here and we did well there’ and more about grabbing the attention of that mainstream audience that is used to music being presented to them in the context of Australian Idol and shows like that. Like I said, I don’t really watch it, it doesn’t really hold anything for me.

Except when you get nominated and win.

Yes, exactly. [laughs]

Well, it’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you Tex. Rest assured, I’ll actually listen to you when I see you next – you won’t have to fight me.

[chuckles] Bless you my boy. Thanks mate!

Photo credit: Rohan Thomson