In Part II of our chat with Dave Faulkner, he reflects on the year that was with BOB GORDON. The Hoodoo Gurus are joined by You Am I, The Whitlams, Dave Graney & The Mistly and Rainy Day Women for an Evening On The Green this Saturday, November 16, at Kings Park & Botanic Garden.
Ending off 2013 with a run of Evening On The Green dates, Hoodoo Gurus singer/guitarist, Dave Faulkner, takes a moment to reflect on the year that was.
“It’s been a relatively quiet year for us,” he notes. “We started off the year playing a concert in Hobart to benefit the victims of last summer’s Tasmanian bushfires. After that we set out for a second round of Dig It Up! concerts around Australia. In Townsville we performed as part of the V8 Supercars event there and we even played a gig in South Africa for the first time in our history. We weren’t very busy, but we had some interesting experiences, all part of a day’s work in Guruville.”
As mentioned, the Gurus took their second Dig It Up invitational out on the road this year. It’s meant a lot to Faulkner to gather together bands that mean so much to him.
“We are all huge rock’n’roll fanatics so obviously these shows were a dream come true for us,” he says. “Last year we brought our old friends The Fleshtones and Redd Kross with us to Perth and this year we managed to get The Flamin’ Groovies and Peter Case to join us. All of these artists command huge respect around the world and they’ve always made music we enjoyed, if not outright worshipped, for many, many years.
“The feeling of camaraderie and mutual respect among all of the musicians on the tour was incredible and there was magic in the air at every show. They were easily the best concert experiences I have ever had.”
You Am I are also playing on the bill of Saturday’s Evening On The Green show. In the ‘90s Faulkner referenced them in the song, Why?, at a time when they were young guns. Now like the Hoodoo Gurus, they are also elder statesmen.
“We go back a long way with You Am I,” Faulkner says. “They opened for us and Redd Kross in the early ‘90s on our Crank concert tour. As you mentioned, I gave them a tip of the hat in one of the lyrics on the next album we did (1996’s Blue Cave). Any band that has been around as long as they have must know a thing or two about good music and putting on a great show. The fact that they have survived and thrived is living proof of that.”
While he’ll never say never, Faulkner says there are no plans for a new Gurus album at this stage.
“I have my doubts about there being another one anytime soon but you never know. We took six years between albums last time and we came up with one of the best ones of our career (Purity Of Essence). It’s only been three years since then so I’m not in any rush.”
So, we’ve done 2013. How’s 2014 look?
“In this band we never know where we’re going until we get there but I will say that we have got a couple of ideas we’d like to explore. There won’t be another Dig It Up! this year – it was never intended to be a regular event – but I do have a little scheme I’m trying to cook up for later in the year. Don’t touch that dial!”
