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.
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
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
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.
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)
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
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...
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
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