Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Andrew! You’re in the middle of a brief single tour – You played the Old Museum last week – how did it go?
IT WAS GREAT THANKS, VERY ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE AND ITS A COOL VENUE – BIG CAVERNOUS HALLS AND OLD SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE – ITS GOT QUITE AND INTERESTING HSTORU TOO AS A MUSUEM – HOPE TO SEE MORE GIGS HERE- THE ONLY DOWNSIDE ABOUT THE GIGS IS I LEFT MY CAR KEYS INSIDE AND THEY GOT LOCKED IN – OOPS – MY BACKING BAND WERE ON FIRE, DANNY FROM THE WILSON PICKERS AON GUITAR, DAN MANSFIELD FROM THE GIN CLUB ON KEYS, MYKA WALLACE FROM LANEOUS AND THE FAMILY YAH ON DRUMS AND FATHER DAVE GILBERT FROM DENVAR ON BASS – SWEET BAND
It was on April Fools Day – did anyone get you with any gags this year?
NO APART FROM LOCKING THE KEYS IN THE VENUE, THAT WAS THE ONLY JOKE ON MYSELF
You’re of course playing and promoting your new material – your fifth album Shadow of a Shadow – and in particular the new single “Horizon” – is it an enjoyable album to play live?
ITS REALLY SATISFYING TO PLAY LIVE – ITS COOL BECAUSE ITS NOT AN UPTEMPO ROCKER SO ITS NOT THE SORT OF TRACK YOU GO AND BASH PEOPLE OVER THE HEAD WITH IT – ITS MORE OF AN EMOTIONAL PULL – BERNARD FANNING SINGS ON THE RECORDED VERSION, BUT HE IS OS, SO DANNY SAND HIS PART BRILLIANTLY
How does it compare to your earlier material in that respect?
WELL I THINK FOR THE FACET THAT ITS DOWNTEMPO AND MOODY IS A DEFINING POINT – MY PAST SINGLES HAVE GENERALLY BEEN PRETTY ‘UP’ (LET IT ROLL, LOVER) – AND ITS THE FIRST TIME IVE USED STRINGS IN A RECORDING
You bring a lot of special guests onto the album – The Gin Club, Bernard Fanning, Washington and Clare Bowditch to name a few – who fulfills these parts at the live show? I understand you have a fantastic ensemble…
AS ABOVE
In general, for the album, how did these special guests get involved in the project?
I PERTTY MUCH BRIBED THEM WITH FOOD – I LIEK TO COOK – AND THEY ARE ALL MATES SO THEY WERE VERY GENEROUS TO CONTRIBUTE TEHIR TIME AND TALENT TO THE RECORD – A FEW BEERS WERE THROWN IN THE MIX TOO
How long was the album in the works for?
ABOUT A YEAR, I PRETTY MUCH START WORK ON A NEW ALBUM ONCE THE LATEST ONE HAS BEEN RELEASED – I RECORDED IT AT HOME THIS TIME WHICH WAS A NICE WAY TO WORK – THERE WERE A COUPLE OF SINGS I RECYCLED FROM MY LAST ALBUM NEEDS AND WANTS (EXILS AND MOTHER/BROTHER) – THEY DIDNT SUIT THE SOUL FLAVOUR OF NEEDS AND WANTS BUT I THOUGHT THEY WERE STILL WORTHY AND I THINK THEY SCRUBBED UP WELL
You recently received the Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship – have you been to Berlin yet or is that happening later this year?
NO VERY EXCITED TO BE GOING THIS MAY-AUG – AND THEN MY SIDE PROJECT THE WILSON PICKERS WILL DO OUR FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR AFTERWARDS
Berlin seems to have become ‘the place’ for creative types to go and hone their craft in the current decade – what have your experiences been on that level (either in action of by hearsay)
WELL IT OBVIOUSLY INSPIRED GRANT MCLENNAN WHO THE FELLOWSHIP IS IN HONOUR OF – I ALSO LOVE THE BOWIE/ENO STUFF MADE THERE – MAYBE I’LL COME BACK WITH A TECHNO RECORD!
What can Melbourne fans expect from your shows next week?
ITS GOING TO BE A SOLO ACOUSTIC SHOW SO I’LL PRETTY MUCH COVER ALL MATERIAL FROM ALL ALBUMS, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE NEW RECORD SHADOW OF A SHADOW – ALL STRIPPED ABCK AND INTIMATE
Will you be touring further in 2011? (What does the rest of the year hold for you?)
NOT SURE WHAT I WILL BE DOING AS YET, APART FROM MAKING A NEW ALBUM, SO PROBABLY WONT TOUR MUCH – THE WILSON PICKERS HAVE A PRETTY HEFTY TOUR SCHEDULE IN AUG/SEPT SO THAT SHOULD KEEP ME BUST TIL THE END OF THE YEAR
