you were deep inside that thought: April 2019

After we toured Northern NSW we returned to Melbourne to get ready for other current projects and the the next run of dates. Clare Moore is playing drums with our friend Stephen Cummings as he undertakes a tour around a new album and a collection of all his recordings and also before he retires from performing live.

They are playing large venues and completed shows in Brisbane and Sydney recently. The show in Sydney was at teh Factory in Marrickville and Dog Trumpet opened. Their drummer is our old friend Jim Elliott, formerly of the Cruel Sea.

Whilst Clare was in Brisbane and Sydney I played a show on bass with Harry Howard and the NDE at the Museum in Melbourne, a show curated by Mick Harvey. Mick was playing a Serge Gainsbourg set and it sounded wonderful. Other acts included Primo, the Ti Amo 3 ( who were actually 5 and were led by Dan Kelly and Dan Luscombe out front on beautiful lead guitar lines) and another instrumental act, Gemini 4.

Brett Poliness sat in on drums for the occasion. It was a great night.

There have been reviews of our album appearing.

Great review of ZIPPA DEEDOO WHAT IS/WAS THAT/THIS? in Your Music Radar by Brian Parker.
"Graney has always been a raconteur – with equal doses of smooth, smug and wit. They say rock ‘n’ roll is a musical genre on the decline – but with this unusually titled album Graney has raised the rock ‘n’ roll flag and wears his love for the genre on his sleeve, meshed with some blues and psychedlia.

An album title that will cause confusion, but a set of songs that remind us of what a maverick Graney is. Liking his music will make you feel smarter!

Proceedings commence with a snaky bass on the sardonic and catchy ‘Baby, I Wish’d Been a Better Pop Star’ – with Graney lamenting “I would have stayed in shape” and “picked my moments” – a humorous song that comes from experience, with Dave Graney having one top ten album in 1994 with his band The Coral Snakes with You Wanna Be There But You Don’t Wanna Travel and winning two ARIA awards including “Best Male Artist” in 1995. The mesh of mass appeal, pop stardom and Graney seemed like a weird mix at the time – but what could have been if he could have been a “better pop star“? I am glad he hadn’t!

With ‘Song of Life’ smooth Graney comes into fore. A track he apparently wrote after an appendix operation. With that American West Coast early seventies vibe, has Graney reflecting on life and the seminal decades “get real sentimental in your thirties/get awful mean in your forties/get even better in your fifties/then you better find somethin’ else to do“.

The Rolling Stones pastiche comes with ‘ULTRAKEEF’ a song that Graney says is about Keith Richards (Keef) and his image. A song that I am sure would get the two-fingered salute from Richards, with that distinct percussive feel of ‘Honky Tony Woman’. The song is pure Keef with Graney delivering a great vocal performance, singing “fuck you breakfast/fuck you food/fuck you meal time/fuck you bedtime” – Keef doesn’t need all those essentials when he has “dope”, “guns and knives” and his “Bentleys” – a little piece of musical history chronicling the loves and hates of Keef – and it is a bit fucking brilliant! The track exemplifies Graney’s love and knowledge of music – he has always been able to innately reference historical points of rock ‘n’ roll with such precision that his vintage feel never feels token, instead feeling intuitive.

The next song has a blues vibe with shimmering guitars – with a sparkling soundscape that is a tribute to forgotten American actress Gloria Grahame. ‘The Masters’ is a buoyant song that is slightly reminiscent of The Jesus and The Mary Chain – jangling guitars, summery vibe and a glorious guitar solo.

An eight minute opus called ‘Is That What You Did’ – psychedelic atmospherics with shades of Jefferson Airplane. Hazy, dreamy and reeking of dope. The album proper ends with ‘Where’s My Buzz’, with that psychedelic feel still in place- this time all Rotary Connection without Minnie.

Clare Moore’s drumming cannot be underestimated on this album, it brings the songs together, provides rhythm to Graney’s idiosyncratic vocals and proves that she is one of Australia’s best drummers and percussionists. Sitting next to my Devialet speakers, I was able to appreciate Moore and her drumming stylings – from powerful to soft, and sexy to disarming, but always providing the musical punctuation that gives life to these songs.

A wonderful album that seems to have been made with love. With his 33rd album, Graney remains in his own musical vacuum, and we are so lucky for it!"

ZIPPA DEEDOO WHAT IS/WAS THAT/THIS? is out on (Cockaigne)
Bandcamp: https://davegraney1.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/dave-graney-lym
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davegraney
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davegraneymusic

Great Review of the album in Music Trust by Noel Mengel.

You can dip in almost anywhere into the vast Graney catalogue and find something deeper and more satisfying than the pop fizz of the day.”

There’s more than one way to deliver a song, as anyone who has ever escaped the laptop to play with a band in the garage/loungeroom/rehearsal space discovers.

The one we finally get to hear often goes through various guises: instrumentation, rhythms, melodies, tempos, arrangements all fluid. Who’s to say which way is right? In the digital age when a release doesn’t have to fit on a vinyl package, there is more space to show the varieties.

That’s what’s going on here as suggested by that title and Graney himself, who describes the album as eight songs performed 13 ways.

It is the latest work from one of Australia’s longest-lasting and most prolific musical collaborations between Graney and drummer Clare Moore. That’s 33 albums and still rising, stretching back to the nervy, post-punk rock of The Moodists in the ’80s through Graney & the Coral Snakes in the ’90s (check out the splendid The Mercury Years box set on streaming if you can’t find it anywhere else) and more lately with the Mistly.

Some albums are more song-focused (solo album Fearful Wiggins is recommended). This one is all about stretching out, mostly with the band.

When a reviewer looks down at his pad after a few weeks immersed in the music and sees hesitant notes (Zappa, Grateful Dead, Amon Duul, Keef vs Mick, George Benson), you can be certain this is a big canvas to explore.

These are signposts, not comparisons. Graney has been immersed in rock’n’roll culture all his life and absorbed flavours from all the good stuff. If you want to be a great writer, be a great reader. If you want to make great music, be a good listener too.

Graney long ago found his voice, one-eyebrow raised, a twinkle in the eye. When he stepped back from the youthful energy of The Moodists he opened up the room for that voice and it is right at the centre here.

The form of the opener, Baby I Wish I Was a Better Pop Star, refers to Graney and the Coral Snakes at their best. This was an artist whose relationship with the machinations of the music biz was somewhere between uneasy acquaintance and ironic embrace. Here his character looks back on a missed shot at the title (“I wish I could have been a better pop star/I could have been dead by now”), as the band’s shimmering setting suggests the woozy effects of contact with the hard-to-grasp pop beast.

The song recurs later in a Darkly Blues version, all instruments played by Dave and Clare, more late-night slow jam, all the better to savour lines like “When it was my time to shine I wasn’t shining/I should have stayed on message.” Dave’s still here. The pop stars, mostly, don’t shine for long.

Song of Life is lightly funky, with silky guitar lines (hence the note about George Benson). It is followed by Ultrakeef, which moves from taut guitar riffs (and cowbell, it should be noted) into a chunky groove and a lengthy lyrical list of f— you’s and hello’s (“Hello Bentley, hello guns and knives”). It is both extrapolation on the power of rock’n’roll myth and a reminder of how little of it we have these days.

Gloria Grahame also dives into the world of showbiz myth. Gloria Grahame appeared in Hollywood films including It’s a Beautiful Life and The Big Heat, and I can imagine the Mistly set up on a soundstage before the screen improvising their own alternative soundtrack.

Your Masters is another glistening pop-rock gem. Originally written for a 1998 album in response to John Howard’s rise to PM, it remains undated in today’s febrile political environment. Graney concludes, “You know they’ll never let you in.”

The eight-minute Is That What You Did? moves in the direction of the epic, ever-changing space jams of the Dead, a band which, like Graney, knew there was no perfect version and that what’s important is the search for it. That’s part of what Graney reveals with this album and the alternative versions: the record is the record, the songs keep moving on and on.

You can dip in almost anywhere into the vast Graney catalogue and find something deeper and more satisfying than the pop fizz of the day. But if you are starting out, this album and attending a Graney gig on an extensive Australian tour in the next few months is an excellent place to begin".

satisfying than the pop fizz of the day. But if you are starting out, this album and attending a Graney gig on an extensive Australian tour in the next few months is an excellent place to begin".
Noel mengel - MusicTrust.com

"Excellent writing on the album by Bob Osborne at Analogue Trash Radio".
“Time for a new album from Dave Graney and Clare Moore
The opening slinky blues pop of “Baby I Wish I’d Been A Pop Star” marks another leap forward in the Dave Graney and Clare Moore canon. This time with the two Stu’s – Perera and Thomas – collectively as The MistLy – they have produced a classic album for the end of the second decade of the 21st century. An album of eight songs in thirteen versions takes elements of the previous album and run of digital singles and develops them into something recognisable, but also uniquely modern, and, of course “Graney”.
The autobiographical “Near Death Experience” (in joke) of “Song Of Life” gives you the typically gnomic album title as you drift into Graney lounge jazz territory, an effortless “velvet fog” performance, with intricate guitar patterns. The omnipresent cowbell of “Ultrakeef” with more “fucks” than Malcolm Tucker on a bad day (beating “Death by A Thousand Sucks” by a long way) is a mini-biography of Mr Richards in typical Dave story-telling mode, picking key elements from a complex life history, over a Stones-like blues romp which wouldn’t have been out of place on “Eat A Peach”, and which makes Lofgren’s “Keith Don’t Go” feel a little anodyne in comparison.

The remake of last years “Gloria Grahame” single is a triumph. Morphed into a loping languorous blues it becomes even more sexy/sultry/sweaty than the original version, little additional sound forms skitter across the cinematic landscape, slide guitar in full effect, sprinkles of keyboards from Robin Casinader, a little like the subject matter it is both alluring and dangerous. The track is built up from a live track recorded at Smiths in Canberra in October 2018.

The remake of “Your Masters” (originally on The Dave Graney Show album) is a necessary action in the context of the political world we find ourselves in 2019. As relevant lyrically now as it was twenty one years ago – which probably indicates that either nothing changes or we are in some sort of Groundhog Day/Matrix loop. Perera provides a searing guitar line as a bridge and the song is refreshed and refreshing.

As trailed on various You Tube/Facebook live recordings last year the dreamy psychedelia of “Is That What You Did” is all about interlocking guitars as Clare and Stu hold the rhythm whilst Dave and t’other Stu trade licks, many pushed through various digital delays and other such things, to create a rich tapestry of sound which echoes Micky Jones and Tweke Lewis trading licks on “Back to the Future”. The sound is taken down to a simple rhythm pattern as bottle necks scrape lower strings and then builds into louder passages as chittering bridge noises echo into the night. Exceptional.

“Where’s My Buzz” – another lengthy track, has that effortless dreamy vibe of parts of “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” – those chord changes! Probably the most “Dave” track on the album but incorporating many of the elements present in other parts of the set, the delicate filigrees of guitars dancing around in the background.

The slight revision of “You’re All Wrong” – a single from 2018 – extends the song slightly and gives it more body/space….another lounge blues – ends the formal part of the album after that there are five alternate versions of some of the preceding.

“Pop Star” is delivered as a slow blues, Graney a laconic narrator, some tasteful guitar tones underlying a dreamy, almost sad, reflection. The melody line from “Is That What You Did” subliminally making it’s way into the closing section makes for some sort of conceptual continuity. The revised “Song Of Life” is a remix and longer with occasional little synth motifs and slightly busier percussion which is more to the fore. The alternative of Gloria Grahame is the “original electro glitch” which is essentially a metronomic snare and cymbal rhythm from a drum machine underpinned by various synth sounds and was a released as a single in 2018.

he album concludes with alternate versions of “Is That What You Did” and “Where’s My Buzz” which will require further examination from this listener to compare and contrast, suffice to say after a couple of listens they add to the overall enjoyment of the album.

This is described as a “rock and roll” album and in that it reflects music from the late 60s/early 70s (pre-punk if you will) that is a reasonable description but i’d say it goes beyond that basic description as there are modern elements, nods to jazz, the use of current technique, and of course the unique Graney/Moore stylings all present. It adds to and enhances a formidable body of work.

I commend it to you without reservation".

Bob Osborne. Analogue Trash Radio - Salford

above is FROM THE AUSTRALIAN - 14-4-19

"With ZIPPA DEEDOO WHAT IS/WAS THAT/THIS?, Graney set out to make a BAND album this time around and the MistLY revel in the creative freedom of tracks like Is That What You Did?, an eight minute-plus opus executed in the spirit of the great jam bands such as The Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead. Credited to all four band members, there’s a sense of space in the song which allows the band to explore some wonderful musical ideas, taking great advantage of the opportunity to lay down some tasteful, complementary licks.
Where’s My Buzz? is another stretch out exercise, a cruisy, yacht-rocker clicking in at over seven minutes in an orgy of guitar chords. A lot of chords, a lot of questions marks. Could Dave have been a Better Pop Star is another question he ponders in the album opener Baby I Wish I’d Been A Better Pop Star. (see video clip below) What is good pop star etiquette? Where’s the rule book?
Dig deep into Zippa Deedoo and you’ll find various rock ’n’ roll culture nods and winks. However, a more conspicuous homage is the track Ultrakeef. (see video clip below) A Honky Tonk Women-style cowbell beat propels the track along as Dave bullet-points the life of Stones’ legendary guitar hero Keith Richard. Your Masters, a track originally written and recorded in 1998 is re-recorded and mixed this time by Henry Wagons and features a warm 70s west coast flavoured guitar-jangle and includes an equally sweet, old fashioned, genuine guitar solo. Song Of Life contains the album’s title within its lyrics and is a luxurious, lounge-style groove, another track which the band are looking forward to riffing out live.
Eight new songs are offered on Zippa Deedoo, with five of them repeated in re-imagined form totalling 13 tracks in over an hour and seventeen minutes of classy, MistLY fare. Dave, Clare and band head out on the road over the coming weeks to give this album a workout on stage, where I can see some of these tracks taking on a life of their own".
Greg Phillips Australian Musician

Interview with Dave Graney at the Byron Shire Echo.

Then we did an opening set for Stephen Cummings show Friday April 12th in Melbourne at memo Music Hall. We played for 40 minutes - which is short for us. Clare then did Stephens set as well. TCB!
The next day was Record Shop day and we got up to do some songs with Adam Rudegeair (keys) at Rathdowne Records in High st Northcote. In the corner of the small shop there was Flora Carbo on sax, Adam on keys, me on guitar and Monty on double bass. Clare Moore played eggs. (It sounds like a band made up by Enid Blyton). I sang ULTRAKEEF and the Stones' Time Waits For No One and Fred Neils Dolphins. Henry Manetta got up for a squawk (musical term) and I sat on my amp and noodled on my guitar. then , to my horror, Adam called for me to solo and they all turned and nodded. Here is a picture of that moment.

It was a blues in Ab and I had a reasnable tone and hit a few octaves and hammer-ons and worked my way out of a tight corner.

Wednesday 8 May - Brass Monkey Cronulla Thursday 9 May - The Bunker Coogee Friday 10 May - Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville Saturday 11 May - Metro Social, Katoomba Sunday 12 May - Dangar Bowlo.NSW
Friday May 24th - Tanswells Commercial Hotel - Beechworth (Graney and Moore)

Saturday June 1st - The Railway Club Darwin (Graney and Moore) Saturday June 15th-Major Toms, Kyneton(Graney and Moore)
Sunday May 26th - Northcote Social Club (afternoon) ZIPPADEEDOO album launch show.
Special guest DAVID COSMA

Friday June 21st the Bison Bar, Nambour. Saturday June 22nd- Sunday June 23rd - the Bearded Lady, Brisbane. Saturday June 29th - The Caravan Music Club - Bentleigh

July 12th - THE GOV - Adelaide.

Special Guests THE SUNDAY REEDS

A friend posted this online. An almost comprehensive collection...