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DAN HALL RETURNS WITH A PARTING SHOT
South Side Rebel. The name suggests a raucous rock record.
But Dan Hall's new solo album is anything but. Dan sings,
"I know I can't share this darkness with you", but listening
to A Parting Shot is in intimate experience, giving an insight
into Dan's demons. "It's just the sound of my voice on a
recording," he sings. And it's a powerful experience. "I
wanted this record to sound like I was sitting right next
to the listener, playing and singing to them, half a foot
away," Dan says. "I'd been listening to Whitley, Holly Throsby,
Bon Iver ... and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska was a big
one, too."
"I think this is the most honest and brutal record I've
made so far," Dan adds. So why isn't his name on the cover?
"I decided to use a different name because I felt it was
a very different sound to anything I'd done before," Dan
explains, "and I wanted to have a name I could go anywhere
and do anything with. Also, I wanted people to listen to
it on its own terms, rather than associate it with other
projects I've done before." So what inspired "South Side
Rebel"? "It stems from when I used to live south of the
Yarra, but was constantly on the north side of town, whether
it was doing gigs or just hanging out in bars in Richmond
and Fitzroy. I felt like an invader. Funny, I live in Carlton
now."
Dan often repeats a line, to give it emphasis, or maybe
to convince himself. "I could have done anything," he declares,
"I could have been anyone." A Parting Shot is released on
Dan's own label, Missing Presumed Dead. "That refers to
people in the music industry who burn brightly for a short
time before vanishing altogether. There's a lot of it around.
I've felt like that a lot over the years."
"There's nothing worse than the sound of a woman leaving
…" There's no doubt that A Parting Shot is a break-up record.
"The title has two meanings," Dan explains. "One is a final
word before walking away, and, on a lighter note, I like
drinking shots. Not as many as I used to though, they get
me into lots of trouble! I used to say, 'I'll have a parting
shot' to the bartender before staggering home." Dan was
living above Richmond's Nash Hotel when he wrote the record.
"It was a cold, rather lonely few months after my marriage
broke down. It was painful to write, but an absolute breeze
to record." Dan did most of it one afternoon at the studio
belonging to his old Taxiride buddy Tim Wild. He gave the
results to David Carr, "a sonic genius", to mix and master.
"I'm very happy with the results, for once."
"You should be proud of things you achieve," Dan sings,
"know when it's time to leave." Will there be more Taxiride
gigs? "Taxiride is definitely on the backburner at the moment.
Jason is doing a solo project and just had his second child,
Tim is busy working with other artists, and I've got this
album plus a new Airway Lanes EP due later in the year.
But as Justin Beiber says, never say never!"
Dan is launching A Parting Shot with a free gig this Friday
at Grumpy's Green, 125 Smith Street, Fitzroy. The album
will also be available at Pure Pop, Greville, Missing Link
and Polyester. Check out www.southsiderebel.webs.com for
more info.
ANDREW'S NEW HORIZONS
Dave Graney has a shot at critics in his brilliant new book.
"I've always seen their role as redundant," Dave writes.
"Those pencil-pushing, arse-shining sons of bitches should
just clear out." Brisbane's Andrew Morris hits town this
week to launch his great new single, Horizon (Pure Pop on
Saturday and Wesley Anne on Sunday). Does Andrew read reviews?
"Yeah, it's hard not to read them," he smiles. "If I had
the willpower, I wouldn't, nor would I smoke! If a reviewer
doesn't like my music and says so from a knowledgeable and
objective position then that's fine. Not everyone can like
and respect your music, unfortunately. What shits me is
if it's obvious that someone doesn't know what they're talking
about or if it becomes personal. One review of my last album,
Needs and Wants, said it could do without the studio trickery
- even though the record was recorded all live in one room
with no overdubs and on to tape! And one for my most recent
album basically said I was 'using' my well-known friends
by inviting them to appear on my record. Now, that would
get anyone's goat, wouldn't it?"
CHART WATCH
Not one Aussie single in the Top 30.
What Happened To Us JESSICA MAUBOY (number 36)
Rapunzel DRAPHT (38)
Drapht makes chart history, becoming the first Aussie solo
hip hop act to top the album charts. Drapht (real name Paul
Ridge) KOs k.d, selling 9300 copies of his fourth album,
The Life of Riley. The Perth star was about to go on stage
in Traralgon when he found out he had the first Aussie album
to go to number one this year. In fact, it's the first local
chart-topper since Bliss N Eso's Running On Air in August
2010.
The Life of Riley DRAPHT (number one, debut)
Like What TIM & JEAN (12, debut)
The Great Impression SPARKADIA (21)
Down The Way ANGUS & JULIA STONE (25)
Birds Of Tokyo BIRDS OF TOKYO (29)
The Experiment ART VS. SCIENCE (33)
Temptation THE WAIFS (34)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
This Darkness DAN HALL
Horizon ANDREW MORRIS
Glitter, Gold, Ruin BOY IN A BOX
Accidentally THE LITTLE STEVIES
Sing It (The Life of Riley) DRAPHT
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