Joel Smoker ponders the human condition

Joel Smoker & The Red Dirt Band will perform songs from his 2013 album, The Human Condition, at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on Saturday, April 26. Smoker chats to BOB GORDON about the background to the album and the forthcoming performance.

When Joel Smoker released his last album, The Human Condition, in 2013, little did he know what would follow.

Following its launch Smoker suffered a crisis of consciousness that left such a dent in his confidence that the lifelong singer/songwriter didn’t perform for 10 years.

With steely resolve, however, Smoker is back to showcase The Human Condition album onstage at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre at a time when he is also close to completing his next album.

“It’s been a long journey back,” he says. “I’ve called it ‘The Journey Out Of The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death’. I’ve moved to Bunbury. We’ve got a nice house and I’ve got a great studio. I do my art here, and I’m much better. And so I want to basically say, actually, this album pretty damn good, and so I’m going to perform it with the guys who have played with me over the years. so it’s kind of like a reunion, really, on stage. They’re lovely guys, so there’s just that personal aspect to it for me.

“I will also be telling stories with the songs, and my stories can be confronting, they can be funny, so there’ll be that added dimension. That’s why I’m doing the concept.

“My parents’ mission was in the Kimberley so I grew up with traditional Aboriginal people. I have an Aboriginal skin name and I have the perspective of growing up with people who lost their land and have had a hard time. So some of my songs, and maybe a story or two, will also reflect that.”

Smoker’s album examines all aspects of, literally, the human condition via a  court jester persona. It’s a unique process allowing a different freedom of expression.

“The court jester is this character that I I’ve had in the back of my head about five years before we did the album,” he explains. “I also produced a book of the sayings of the court jester, so that’s out there in the public arena as well.

“The theme of the album, and of the show, is about power. I’ll break it into how we use power, how some people abuse power. Also it will be about speaking to power, and my stories will be around that theme.

“There’ll be stories from my life, experiential stories, and I hope people are engaged and maybe learn something from that. I was a primary school teacher, then I went back to art school and I was a high school art teacher. So I guess that’s built into my DNA, the motivation to teach, and if people want to come and listen, that’ll be great. And if they don’t want to listen, that’s cool. I can live with that!

“I’m basically saying in regards to the human condition, ‘So this is what we’re like, what are we going to do about it?’”