Australian rock and roll is a high commodity, especially in parts of the world where it matters. It’s lore. Sydney band Radio Birdman created music between 1974 and 1978. A loud gun-shot of rock and roll was heard around the world. Followed by about eighteen years of silence. Importantly, they formed a platform for those who followed (other Australian independent bands and record labels), those bold enough to venture far from a land down under, and raise the high stakes abroad. DANIEL SALTER had a chat with guitarist and songwriter Deniz Tek ahead of their Perth show this Saturday, June 17 at Capitol with Died Pretty and The Volcanics.
The well-versed history of Radio Birdman has, at last, been officially bronzed in the revitalised media format of a rock documentary. Called Decent Into the Maelstrom, it screens at Event Cinemas, Innaloo on July 20. At length, and not without the airing of all the mythicised rifts that became the legend of their demise, viewers learn the angles of its fundamentals – directly and forensically – from those present parties inside and outside the band.
What does being in Radio Birdman right now, give to you and the rest of the band?
Being in Radio Birdman is something that we are supposed to do, and luckily, we can afford to do it.
Can you describe the feeling that makes you want to get up on stage and be a member of Radio Birdman, especially given it was forty years since the initial ascent?
Playing live with Radio Birdman is like the same feeling a surfer feels when he catches a big wave, or a driver racing a really fast car – especially right now with this current line-up. It feels closer to the original, than actually the original was. It’s high energy.
How about the legacy of Radio Birdman?
I’d like to think Radio Birdman were a band that drew on it’s influences, added their own style to it, and passed it on to the newcomers to do the same thing.
If you’re gifted with the knowledge of, or are able to know exactly what it is that you are here for, then there’s no doubt that you will want to keep doing that one thing for the rest of your life.
Given we received the 2006 album Zeno Beach 25 years after it’s predecessor, Living Eyes, what’s the forecast for a return to the studio for Radio Birdman?
Does the world need a new Radio Birdman album?
I don’t want to say the world “needs”, but I do think that it would be well received…
I guess, we’re not decided. It’s something that we’re unsure of at the moment. If it seems that writing and releasing a new album is certainly the right thing to do, then we will do it. But it’s completely different, and I would say not as enjoyable an experience as touring and playing live shows.
