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Australian Musician Reviews Melbourne International Guitar Night 0

Van Larkins

Australian Musician and the Melbourne Guitar Show in conjunction with the Australian production team behind the acclaimed music documentary Acoustic Uprising, supported by the Australian Music Association and NAMM launched the first Melbourne International Guitar Night last Wednesday night at the Toff in Town. Greg Phillips reports

The large opening night audience enjoyed wonderful performances from Janine Marshall, Van Larkins, Malcura, and Thomas Leeb. Marshall opened proceedings with a mix of originals and covers, owning the stage and displaying a command of her instrument. A highlight was her stunning version of The Doobie Brothers’ hit, What A Fool Believes with an inventive take on the song’s instrumental parts.

Brisbane based composer, Van Larkins opened his set bravely with a beautifully melodic, instrumental version of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice. Larkins, who heads to Nashville for performances next week, not only showcased his ample fingerstyle skills but also paraded his songwriting talent with fabulous versions of self-penned tunes such as Orion and Cold Fusion (See his performance below). Clearly Larkins was enjoying himself too, a vibe which was reflected back to him by the audience.

Melbourne based trio Malcura hit the stage next. Billed as ‘heavy flamenco’, it was more their gypsy flavours which really connected with the crowd. With Josh Voce on lead guitar and Steven Angell taking on more of a rhythm role, the huge sound this trio creates, really comes into full force once drummer and engine driver Simon Wood kicks in. Malcura is an emerging Melbourne act you don’t want to miss.

Californian based, Austrian-bred headliner Thomas Leeb finished up the evening with his amiable stage patter and an incredibly delicate touch on the fretboard. His mastery of harmonics tonight was something to treasure.

Many of the performers tonight including Larkins, Malcura and headliner Leeb played at The Melbourne Guitar Show and also toured together in a mini MIGN roadshow before this gig, so it’s not surprising there was a sense of bonding between the musicians. Show curator Drew Roller has done a fabulous job in putting together these shows with a mix of artists that really click. In one final encore, Leeb and Larkins came together off stage but in front of the crowd to perform a heartfelt farewell tune.

The grand plan for the Melbourne International Guitar Night is to become a leading destination for guitar music of all kinds in Australia and a place for international acts to come and perform. It will also be a great forum to foster and develop new guitar talent. Stay tuned for news on the next Melbourne International Guitar Night.

www.australianmusician.com.au

Albert Lee Interview at Melbourne Guitar Show 0

The Melbourne Guitar Show was honoured to present Albert Lee at our event on the weekend to kick off his Australian tour. Albert is not only one of the greatest guitarists in both rock and country music history, he’s also one of the nicest and most humble musicians you’ll ever meet. Included on Albert’s CV are performances and recordings with Eric Clapton, Emmy Lou Harris, Keith Urban, Tommy Emmanuel, Dave Edmunds, Willie Nelson, Bill Wyman, Carlene Carter, The Everly Brothers, Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Bert Jansch, Herbie Mann, Keith Richards and Dolly Parton. Albert counts Eric Clapton as a good friend, a guy who once said of Albert, “He’s the greatest guitarist in the world. The ultimate virtuoso. His skill is extraordinary, his ear is extraordinary and he’s gifted on just about every level.”

Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips sat down for a quick chat with Albert after his wonderful Melbourne Guitar Show performance.

ALBERT LEE & BAND – LIVE IN AUSTRALIA, AUGUST 2018

Wed 8– Melbourne – Flem-Ken Bowling Club, Flemington
Thur 9 – Melbourne – Thornbury Theatre
Fri 10 – Meeniyan – Meeniyan Hall
Sat 11 – Adelaide – Adelaide Guitar Festival
Sun 12 – Perth – The Charles Hotel
Wed 15 – Blue Mountains NSW – Blue Mountains Theatre
Thur 16 – Canberra – The Basement
Fri 17– Sydney – Brass Monkey
Sat 18 – Sydney – Sydney Guitar Festival
Sun 19 – Sydney – Sydney Guitar Festival
Tues 21 – Newcastle – Lizotte’s
Wed 22 – Central Coast – The Art House in Wyong
Thur 23 – Brisbane – The Zoo
Fri 24 – Gold Coast – Sound Lounge
Sat 25 – Gympie – Gympie Muster

albertleeofficial.com

AUSTRALIAN TOUR TICKETS: https://davidroywilliams.com/tours/albert-lee/

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Announces Upcoming Speaking Tour 0

IRON MAIDEN singer, BRUCE DICKINSON, today announces a special one-man speaking tour of Australia this October to support his autobiography, What Does This Button Do? Delivering compelling excerpts from the book, slides and a Q&A, fans will finally get the chance to ask questions of the heavy metal icon in truly intimate venues. An Australian first, and a must for heavy music lovers, Dickinson will make five East Coast Australian appearances, including a night at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on Thursday 18th October. Ticket purchasers will also receive a signed copy of the New York Times Best-Selling autobiography.

Bruce Dickinson is considered one of the world’s most storied musicians. Aside from decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in Iron Maiden, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, Bruce is, or has been, an airline pilot and captain, an aviation entrepreneur, a beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor and international fencer.

Over the last couple of years, during Iron Maiden’s The Book Of Souls World Tour, Bruce turned his unbridled creativity to writing his memoirs, longhand (in seven A4 notebooks no less). In What Does This Button Do? Bruce (a man who famously never gives interviews about his personal life) shares, for the first time, the most fascinating recollections, including his thirty years with Maiden, the early days, his childhood within the eccentric British school system, going solo, realising his dream of flying jumbo jets and his recent battle with tongue cancer.

Do not miss this unique opportunity to witness one of Rock & Roll’s most captivating icons when Bruce Dickinson tours Australia this October.

BRUCE DICKINSON | WHAT DOES THIS BUTTON DO? TOUR 2018

SYDNEY
Thursday 18th October – Enmore Theatre (All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

MELBOURNE
Friday 19th October – Palais Theatre (All Ages)
ticketmaster.com.au

CANBERRA
Sunday 21st October – Llewellyn Hall (All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

NEWCASTLE
Tuesday 23rd October – Civic Theatre (All Ages)
ticketek.com.au

BRISBANE
Wednesday 24th October – Eatons Hill Hotel (All Ages)
oztix.com.au

Melbourne International Guitar Night 0

Melbourne is about to get a brand new regular night of quality music celebrating the guitar. Australian Musician, in conjunction with the Australian Production team behind the acclaimed music documentary Acoustic Uprising, supported by the Australian Music Association and NAMM are proud to announce the Melbourne International Guitar Night

The night will launch at the Melbourne Guitar Show weekend but will actually take place on Wednesday August 15 at the Toff in Town, Swanston St Melbourne. The opening night will feature Janine Marshall, Van Larkins, Malcura, and Thomas Leeb. The Melbourne International Guitar Night will then occur on a regular monthly basis thereafter. Those attending the Melbourne Guitar Show on August 4 &5 at Caulfield Racecourse will get a taste of what the Melbourne International Guitar Night will be like, when Thomas Leeb and Van Larkins will be performing on the main acoustic stage, as well as making appearances at the guitar show booth. You can also purchase tickets to the Melbourne International Guitar Night from the booth at the Melbourne Guitar Show.

The guy who has been assigned to put the Melbourne International Guitar Night together is Drew Roller, who is no stranger to the local and international guitar community. Those who attended the Melbourne Guitar Show last year may have seen Drew’s wonderful movie, Acoustic Uprising, which is essentially a love song to the acoustic guitar. Roller is also a guitar player himself. “I started out like most guitarists wanting to be a rock god, grow the hair and do the poses. Over the years my playing has evolved and I’m now predominantly acoustic. I’ve been obsessed with modern fingerstyle for last 3 or 4 years. I remember when I first saw a performance by Jon Gomm, a leading player in the scene. I wanted to throw my guitar in the bin. It was like I had no idea what an acoustic guitar was capable of until then. The next day I practised harder than ever before. The Melbourne International Guitar Night will feature some of those amazing talents as well as players from a range of diverse styles.”

Drew’s movie Acoustic Uprising has found much success both here and overseas. It’s a film exploring the innovative world of acoustic fingerstyle guitar, featuring interviews with many leading players including Andy McKee, Kaki King, Newton Faulkner and Tommy Emmanuel. Acoustic Uprising looks at the rich history of fingerstyle and the fusion of musical ideas the style has become known for. “We released online independently in December and it has gone on to sell in 37 countries,” Drew says of the film’s recent developments. “We are currently sitting on 9.6 (rating) on imdb.com. The film has screened around the world and is available on DVD, Blu-ray and download now. We will be releasing an education version of the film in August with an accompanying study guide.”

For Roller, the Melbourne International Guitar Night is an extension of what he’d already been doing and he’s put together a night of virtuosity that is as exciting to watch as it is to listen to. An absolute firecracker of a lineup to kick off the series.
“We have four acts in a range of styles, starting with Melbourne based blues/rock singer-songwriter and all round guitar bad arse Janine Marshall. We have a modern finger style player from Brisbane, Van Larkins, who has played with the likes of Phil Emmanuel and toured internationally. There’s Flamenco metal trio Malcura, who are a Melbourne based act, and also international virtuoso Thomas Leeb, a modern fingerstyle player with a world music, percussive approach.”

Drew’s grand plan is for the Melbourne International Guitar Night to become a leading destination for guitar music of all kinds in Australia and a place for international acts to come and perform. It will also be a great forum to foster and develop new guitar talent. As well as the main Melbourne International Guitar Night at the Toff, the MIGN showcase is also touring regional Victoria with events in Warrnambool and Belgrave preceding the official launch at the Toff in Melbourne August 15th”

Interview with Annie Clark 0

Prior to her performance at Dark Mofo in Tasmania last Friday, Greg Phillips caught up with Annie Clark on the phone for an exclusive interview.

Charting the progress of any successful artist, there’s a point in the graph which indicates a moment of real significance. For Annie Clark, aka St Vincent that moment is now. Sure, Clark has already delivered 5 albums under her own name, one collaboration with David Byrne and had a great deal of success in the last decade but there’s a sense that with her current album Masseduction and the associated Fear For The Future tour, that the global St Vincent vibe has kicked up a notch. The show, which has just played Vivid in Sydney and Dark Mofo in Hobart, is presently one of the most acclaimed, must-see performances in the world. As a consequence of her artistic credibility, major movie companies are now wanting to tap into Annie’s unique, wonderful creative spirit too by inviting her to direct their feature films, such as Lionsgate’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray, due to begin production next year. Additionally, in an era where guitar gymnastics have become passé, replaced by a more inventive, experimental, approach to the guitar, whether she knows it or not, St Vincent has become somewhat of a modern day guitar hero.

The folks at Ernie Ball Music Man were quick to recognise that fact in 2016 when they worked together with Clark to design her own signature model guitar. This month more models of the signature guitar were released, featuring new colours; Charcoal Sparkle, Blue Dawn and Sea Breeze (See our video preview of the models from Winter NAMM in January). The original signature guitar even featured Annie’s own, hand-mixed colour, St Vincent Blue. It was an element of the design process she enjoyed immensely.
“It’s so fun!” she says of the colour mixing process. “I mean you have to put on the mask and the gloves (laughs) or else you will pass out. There’s a big intersection of guitar colours and classic car colours. I kinda wanted it to look like a vintage corvette or something.” While the colours were important to Annie, they were only part of the focus of the design as a whole. “I think the most important parts were probably the neck feel, making sure the design was really cool, and that it was comfortable and lightweight,” she adds.

For the record, the Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent signature guitars now feature premium roasted maple necks with rosewood, ebony or maple fretboards with two pick up configurations, including three Dimarzio mini-humbuckers or the all-new custom-designed Ernie Ball Music Man dual humbucking pickups. Both feature a 5-way pickup selector for a unique offering of tonal options. The SV guitars are available in St. Vincent Blue (the aforementioned hand-mixed colour by Clark), Tobacco Burst, Polaris White and Stealth Black, and now for 2018 in Charcoal Sparkle, Blue Dawn and Sea Breeze.

For any guitarist, being honoured with your own signature model by a major guitar brand is a career highlight. However, signature model guitars didn’t really appear on Clark’s radar until she used one on her debut album. “I first really got into a signature guitar when I played a lot of the Thurston Moore Fender (Jazzmaster) on the St Vincent self titled record,” she tells me. “I really liked that but probably from the David Byrne tour on, I was playing the Ernie Ball Albert Lee guitar, which was very cool. I more or less fell in love with that guitar and that was the first time I’d played Ernie Ball guitars. That really opened the door to first, a friendship with the Ernie Ball team and then I designed my own guitar with them. Now my guitar is the only electric guitar that I play. And Sterling (Ball) is so wonderful, he is such a character. He is funny and family … it really is a family company and basically I am one of the family at this point, which I love. I love having things like that”

Working with a guitar you are comfortable is one thing but to have at your disposal an instrument totally created to your own specifications must be a huge creative bonus. How different would be it working with your own designed guitar as opposed to maybe pulling a Strat or Les Paul off a wall and working with that? It’s a question I put to Annie.
“Strats and Les Pauls are great classic guitars but they really vary from guitar to guitar,” she offers after a contemplative pause. “Sure, there are some inspiring Strats and some inspiring Les Pauls but not just one that you pick up off the wall at a guitar store. Usually newer stuff is not inspired. With my guitar I can pick it up and still be excited about the design … the retro, future style and I get excited by all the little details. Even the tone knobs … they are triangular. We took everything about a guitar and thought, what is it currently and does it have to be like that? If the answer was no, then there’s no functional reason why this needs to be this shape or this way. I just thought, well great, let’s rethink it. I love playing my guitar. It’s really friendly. Some guitars are like well made suits, they make you look better than you are sometimes. They make you look good… a well designed guitar makes you look good and you play up to it.”

Would Masseduction have been a much different album without your signature guitar? “I don’t know because I honestly don’t know what guitar would have been my go-to,” she states. “I think I would have been constantly fishing around and in that way, I think I would have lost some force of inspiration just because I was hunting for the right guitar on every single song. In this case I could just pick it up and it is perfect.”

Clark views her signature model guitar as a work in progress and looks for to continuing the relationship with the Ernie Ball Music Man team. She already has some new design ideas in mind. “We have a great first couple of models which will get to evolve. Hopefully we’ll get a lefty version and get a bass in there too. I think the scale of it and everything would be great to make a bass out of.”

Being Ernie Ball family doesn’t end with just the guitar either, Annie has been a longtime user of their popular Slinkys range of guitar strings as well. In regard to recording guitar parts, musicians generally come into two categories; those who like to use fresh new strings for a bright sound or those who prefer a well worn in set of strings. Annie associates more with the latter. “Well I think my strings were pretty worn in when I was recording … I didn’t change them!” she says with a laugh. “I have been playing with Ernie Ball Slinkys since … I mean my uncle plays those, he’s a great guitar player, Tuck Andress (of Tuck and Patti fame). So it wasn’t even a question with him, it was like, you’re going to play Ernie Ball Slinkys!”

There was a time in rock and pop music history when faster and longer seemed almost de rigueur in regard to guitar parts in songs. However, If you listen to the radio currently, you would note that the role of guitar in contemporary music is changing dramatically. It’s now more about textured sounds, heavily effected, layered guitars, to the point that you may not even know that the sounds you are hearing are from a guitar. Of course there are always going to be rock bands featuring traditional guitar solos and riffs but you’re not going to hear a lot of that over the airwaves, not at the moment anyway. St Vincent is certainly one of the agents of change in that regard. Her unique, creative approach to her guitar  is a large part of her music’s appeal. “Yeah, I think we’re kind of inventing and reinventing it,” is her response to the topic. “Things will come in cycles. Twenty years ago popular music was all about guitar. Now things are more beat driven. With this record I was hoping to make things like programmed beats which were not so far off from the hip hop world and conjoin it with guitar and see what happens. I think the main things is that people need to be creative with their approach to guitars and approach to guitar in song.”

St Vincent’s current album Masseduction was released in October 2017 and while she has certainly been writing, her busy schedule has not allowed the time to make any real decisions or concrete plans about locking in another one. “Yes I have been writing but I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write another record. I’ve been working on a couple of films, producing some records for other people, writing … really I’ve been all over the map. I just made a children’s record with my aunt and uncle, Tuck and Patti. I don’t think I can say yet who I am producing but I am getting a lot more into producing, which I love. I have a couple of remixes coming out that I did. I was nerding out in the studio making beats and it was really fun.”

Being such an imaginative soul in relation to the sound and vision of her recordings and shows, I wondered if she agonises over lyrics and sits with them for a long time…
“Yeah I do,“ Annie says without hesitation. “I know some people don’t listen to lyrics at all … I have recently found this out … but for me, if I am listening to a song and I am liking everything about it, the singer, the beat … a song can live and die by bad lyrics. A bad lyric for me can take me out of a song completely, so yeah, I agonise over the words.”

Like many songwriters, Annie’s inspiration can come from anywhere. For example, other artists that she is listening to. “Anything I hear eventually goes in and will come out in one way or another. You can’t help but do that.” She’s also a hoarder of ideas. “Hard drives for thoughts and ideas, voice memos and notes. I have such bad memory, if I didn’t things might be just completely in the ether forever,” she says of her creative process before make a concluding point. “I think more than anything, I just try to write the best songs that I possibly can. At the end of the day it really does come down to the songs and songs that people can see themselves in.”

Old Man River New Album & Tour Interview 0

It has been a long eight years since Ohad Rein, aka Old Man River released his last studio album ‘Trust’, a disc which Triple J span on high rotation. There was a b-sides compilation six years ago but ILOVEYOUSORRYPLEASEFORGIVEMETHANKYOU, to be released on June 15th, is the first one in that time in which Ohad sat down intentionally to sift through a vast collection of songs he’d written to create a new recording, one that he could tour behind. It’s an eclectic batch of tunes composed in different cities with different projects in mind for the songs at the time of writing. “The album is like a patchwork blanket,” Ohad told me. “If you were to analyse it, there are about three or four different eras.” They emerged out of writing and recording sessions in New York, Tel Aviv, and Sydney with various other musicians and it was all finally pieced together in Byron Bay, where Rein has his own mixing and production facilities.

Ahead of album launch shows in Mullumbimby, Melbourne and Sydney, Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips caught up with Ohad on the phone for a chat about the new album.

Ohad, it’s great to have you back with a new album but I guess the question most people will ask is where have you been?
Good question. I’ve been trying to put the pieces together and figure it out. Long story short, I think Trust my second album came out about 8 years ago. My oldest daughter Lela is going to turn 9 in about two months. When I look at her, I think … uh that’s what happened! So I have been working on projects and having a family, which changed a lot of my priorities. Also during those years we relocated twice, moving between countries. We had a go at living in Israel for a few years to be close to my wife’s family. That’s a whole other box full of stories. Then we decide to come back to Australia, left the city and decided to come up here to Byron and that’s another story.

Were you writing songs all that time?
I was writing. I wasn’t sure where they would end up. A lot of the songs that ended up on this album … when I started them, they were intended for other projects. That’s why the album sounds so varied … it’s very hard to pin-point a genre. One track is disco pop and the next a reggae track. In that time, creatively it really helped me to not define what it is that I am doing. As soon as I made it, I knew it was going to be a different project altogether that would allow me this freedom which allowed me to express in ways I hadn’t seen.

Would you say that there is an underlying theme connecting the songs?
Well at the end of the day it is my voice. I’m singing on all of these tracks and I think what really glued it together was the production and the mixing … which I ended up doing .. which was like this acquired skill that came about purely out of necessity. Normally I would have got someone else to do it but I was like, ok times have changed. When I was working on the second album, following a very successful first album, it was with a major label and we’d send a track out to LA to get mixed by these top mixers for a few grand but that’s not possible anymore. I just had his urge to get things finished and to get it done I had to teach myself how to do it. I think that is part of why it took a while as well, I had to learn how to do it.

Do you have a dedicated studio space at home in Mullumbimby?
I do. I have a beautiful little home studio and it’s amazing. It’s amazing that you can cut albums in a little room. So most of the production and mixing was done here and there are many beautiful studios around here that you can get out to if you need the bigger things like drums or you need a proper microphone, things like that.

Did you have a hell of a lot of songs to choose from?
Oh yeah, so many. The album is like a patchwork blanket. If you were to analyse it there are about three or four different eras. They are connected to different places. For example there are the New York sessions. These are songs I wrote in that city with a bunch of fellow producers and songwriters. We had a beautiful connection and in a few days we ended up writing about 20 amazing songs. There are also songs from my time in Israel and the cooperation I had there with some producers, then there’s the reggae project. We’d go under a different name to Old Man River and we were using these amazing reggae musicians and playing with the idea of what John Lennon would have done if he was jamming with Bob Marley. So yeah, there were all these different things.

With such an eclectic bunch of songs, was the sequence in which they appeared on the album important to you?
It’s funny I guess people these days don’t really listen to albums anymore unless you’re one of those unfortunate people who still has a CD player in their car. But yeah a sequence is important because it tells a story. When you decide on the sequence, it is probably the final decision you make for the album and it is a matter of sitting back and feeling it. The album starts with a song called Urban Daydream and I always knew this one would be the opener for the album. Then it immediately jumps to a different era with a song called Downtown, which is a happy disco anthem and then into a ballad … It jumps around and it’s kind of like putting your Spotify on shuffle. That’s how I like listening to music. I know it is probably wiser to make an album in a really cohesive way and all the songs sound the same and people get it but unfortunately or fortunately if you are one of those people who likes to get constantly stimulated and surprised, this album is an eclectic box of different delights. You don’t know what you are going to get. That’s what I like when listening to music, I like to be stimulated.

The track Downtown … is that from the New York sessions? I really like the groove of it.
Thanks man. You can really imagine someone walking along the street, grooving along the city streets. That song was actually written while I was living in Tel Aviv. It’s a collaboration with Ori, a local producer there. It is pretty amazing what he has done from the original demo. Downtown is a bluesy song and I wrote it in two seconds as a parody of all the those old blues singers sitting on the deck singing ‘goin’ downtown baby’, jamming it on one chord. When I recorded the demo back in Sydney it had a very dirty bluesy Led Zeppelin feel to it. When I played it to Ori, at the time he was really excited about that Arcade Fire album Reflector. It’s less my cup of tea to be honest but then we just tried it and it worked. It became this infectious disco pop thing that we created.

I love the funny little piano intro to Til We Become One. Where did that come from?
That’s Cameron Bruce, who plays piano with a lot of amazing artists and is an amazing artist himself. He was in the studio putting down piano for a few tracks for the album and that’s just something he came up with. I don’t think that he thought it would end up on the album. It was like a few seconds of boredom before the song starts.

There’s a lot happening sonically in this album, perhaps more than any of your other releases. How will the songs transfer to the stage?
It’s a good question and this happens to me with every album I make. I am really focussed on the music side of things, a bit more of a Sgt Pepper kind of approach. When The Beatles locked into Sgt Pepper, they stopped touring at that stage. It kind of gave me this liberty to do whatever with this album. When I make an album I have that approach, just full imagination, the sky is the limit, and then when I am done it’s like, oh shit I have to play this album live. It happened last time where I had Indian instruments on the album and all of a sudden it’s hard to find Indian musicians in Australia. Some people listen to an album and then expect exactly the same sound live when they go to the show. Some people get disappointed if they don’t get that sound. To be really honest I have never liked going to see live shows. I am a sound snob. I really like good sound. In a live show it is not really about the sound, you’re never going to get a perfect sound when you go to a live show. You’re always best hearing an album in the comfort of your home and listen to stuff which was produced in pristine studios. What you do get at a live show is that immediate transmission that is happening right now in the present. If you can deliver that as an artist and the punter can receive it, you know that you are getting a special experience … something that is never going to be repeated. It’s kinda like going to a Grateful Dead show because they never played the same show twice. When I play live, the intention is to stay very true to the moment and that’s why I always make sure I have amazing musicians with me that can hold whatever comes up. There’s a lot of jamming and improvisation and they are going to sound different to the album. We don’t really even have to rehearse because I trust where they are going to take it.

Tell me about the main tools that you use. What about your guitar? Have you had it a while?
I used to be a lot more sentimental towards gear but now I am not really. However, there is one guitar that has survived the whole journey and I have had it since I was about thirteen. It’s a simple nylon string guitar and I have abused it so many times. It has travelled with me everywhere. It went through India and when I got back it was sounding like a sitar, it started buzzing … I think because I dropped it a few times. That added a lot of charm to it. Yeah, I guess I do enjoy picking up that guitar and knowing that it is the same guitar that my fingers were attempting to play Stairway to Heaven on it when I was learning guitar at thirteen. There is something nice about the history and how it sings. I’m just comfortable with it. But generally with gear… I actually like playing with new things. If you throw some instrument at me that I don’t even know, I’ll jam and play with it. I find that it is a great tool for creativity because you don’t know it, you are expanding beyond your comfort zone and interesting stuff comes out.

Having been 8 years between albums, has this reinvigorated to to make more?
Who knows. I don’t want to sound dramatic but I have been telling people, this could be the last tour of Old Man River. I don’t know. It is equivalent to the saying … this could be your last day but then you wake up the next morning. It’s always the last day until you wake up the next morning. So yes it is the last tour, the last album until there will be another one. I definitely have the intention that it shouldn’t take as long next time. I believe that the tools I have acquired on the way of being able to create albums myself, record and mix myself, that will help the intention. I am also helping a lot of other artists, producing and mixing for their stuff. It would be great to release more stuff faster. We are on this planet for such a short while and what stays after you go?. Nothing is eternal. You think that Van Gogh’s paintings are going to last forever … no! In a thousand years, two thousand years, 20 thousand years who is going to remember him? Everything is relative but I guess compared to our lifetime of 90, 100 years or less, art can stay a bit longer. It is like plastic. So while I am healthy, have a voice and can play, well yeah … as much as possible.

You are playing a launch show at Melbourne’s newest club, The Fyrefly? What have you heard about it?
It sounds really exciting. It’s had different incarnations that space. They have invested in good sound and expanded the stage and made the whole thing have a really good vibe and people who have already played there are really raving about it so I think it’s going to be a perfect space for my launch.

ILOVEYOUSORRYPLEASEFORGIVEMETHANKYOU is out June 15