Soul-rock five piece, Tourist, launch their new single, Holding On To What Hurts, at YaYa’s this Saturday, January 7, with support from Dilp N’ The Davs and The Gypsie Howls. Tickets are $15 on the door from 8pm. We had a quick word with singer/guitarist Dave Paddon.
How did Tourist form?
We’ve been together for a long time, about 11 years. I met Luke Brown (guitar) through mutual friends at the TAFE music program and at the same time I was playing at a venue managed by Steve Richardson’s (drums) future wife, who suggested we get together for a jam. We started working on some stuff together in 2001 and went through a few bass options before Steve’s brother Mike (bass/vocals) returned from a stint in Melbourne. Once Mike was on board we never looked back. This album has been incubating for a little while and whilst we were on our downtime, we realised we needed another member to really do justice to the amount of keys and extra sounds that wound up on the recording. John Clark(keys/trumpet) had played a few shows with us over the last couple of years, and he came on board as a full-time member in mid-2013, as we started heavily rehearsing the album.
How would you describe your sound?
We’re a rock band, with hints and flavours of funk and soul. There’s a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars, big vocals, tight grooves, ambient keys and little bit of trumpet. Originally, we bonded over big bands like Dave Matthews Band, The Police and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We appreciate the way they can really play their instruments and create a great pop song that’s interesting to listen to on a lot of levels and played with excellent instrumentation. Other influences include Pearl Jam, Muse and The Tea Party.
Tell us about Holding On To What Hurts. What made it stand out as a potential single?
I originally wrote Holding On a long time ago on the acoustic guitar. It stayed that way for a long time and seemed destined to be just an acoustic song. But eventually we started working it up in the band, Luke came up with some really beautiful guitar lines and Steve and Mike locked into to that walking groove and it became something more as a band. Lyrically, it’s a song about moving on and making changes that starts off introspectively in the first verse and then takes on more universal considerations in the second. The chorus really focuses on remembering who you are and then letting go or separating yourself from the things that can weigh you down if you let them. I think the production really made it stand out as a possible single. It was on everyone’s shortlist after we got the album back from mastering, and it also shows a true reflection of where we’re coming from as a band. Plus, when the final chorus crunches down hard the song becomes something quite powerful.
