Excited about playing Splendour?
It’s gonna be great, we haven’t played for about five years but the few times that I’ve been up there we’ve always had a great time and because we’re playing two nights this time I am super excited. We’re gonna stay up there for the whole weekend and make a meal of it.
Checking out any other acts up there?
Definitely James Blake. I’m not really a Mumford and Sons fan but I hear the kids go nuts for them.
Tell me about the theatre-styled extravaganza you guys are doing this year
We’re playing the band’s second and third records back to back in June/July. Playing Hifi and Hourly from top to tail and then who knows, maybe covers, maybe other hits. It’s gonna be good value for money for the punter.
How was touring with Bob Evans, did you get up to much mischief on the road?
Ah yeah, I’ve been opening for him solo and then playing guitar for him, so two shows a night keeps me on my toes. And Kev is an old mate so we’ve had a good time catching up.
Even though you’ve been with the band for 14 years you’re still referred to as the ‘newbie’, how did you get in with the band?
I was 18 and helping a friend with the band’s website and I met them a few times. They proved themselves to be three of the most intelligent and funny dudes that I’d ever met and I played a few shows with them in Melbourne. A few months later Tim called when I was two days into a Uni course that I fucking despised and asked if I wanted to go on tour with them.
What were you studying?
Um, journalism. I don’t want to speculate on what could have been but I think I made the right choice (laughs).
Did you grow up listening to You Am I?
Yeah, well Sounds As Ever I missed as I was about 12 when it came out, I was in a bubble listening to The Kinks and The Who, but then I heard Hifi Way and it was kind of a revelation that there were bands making music in the same way those bands did in the 60s and 70s.
What has Tim Rogers taught you over the years?
Well Tim, Andy and Russ have given me more of an education than I got out of 10 years at school. They’ve taught me to try and be a better person, a better musician and a better drinker, I suppose!
What do you bring to the band as the youngest member?
Well I’m the youngest in age but I’m probably the one who whinges the most like, ‘oh I’ve got a sore throat’ so it kind of makes me the old granny of the band.
Triple J has been good to You Am I over the years. Do you think their support has attributed to the band’s success?
Yeah definitely, back when Triple J was a station that played indie rock bands. I never thought I’d become one of those guys who says ‘back in my day’ but I have to say Triple J was a different beast back when You Am I were up and coming, to what it is now. But going back and reliving the old albums and finding live stuff for the bonus disks, it’s amazing the amount of stuff that Triple J have recorded over the years – it’s immense. They were definitely out there supporting You Am I and their peers at the time.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I kind of go through phases listening to one particular band, almost to a nerdy degree, tracking down bootlegs and stuff. At the moment I am listening to Nick Lowe and Todd Rundgren. Especially Todd as he’s coming out to Australia and I’m supporting him. I am getting jazzed about his records again.
Are you working on any solo stuff right now?
Yeah my own record was meant to be coming out around now but with the You Am I tour it’s been pushed back a little bit. But my own record has been 18 months in the making so an extra couple of months won’t be the end of the world.
Catch You Am I in Hobart at the Dark Mofo Festival (June 19), Brisbane (June 26-27), Melb (July 3, 4 & 6), Adelaide (July 12), Perth (July 13-14), Sydney (Aug 1). Canberra (July 20), Newcastle (Aug 2), Wollongong (Aug 3), Darwin (Aug 9), Cairns (Aug 10), Mackay (Aug 11). youami.com.au
