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MEET PETE SOUNDS
Howzat! will never forget hearing Dallas Crane for the first
time. There was something deliriously original about them.
They sounded distinctly Australian, but there were snatches
of Split Enz and Tom Waits and Talking Heads. A few albums
in, they were unfairly tagged as simply pub rock. Models'
sax man James Valentine declared: "Apart from The Beatles,
two songwriters in any band is too many." Dallas Crane's
Pete Satchell was Tim Finn to Dave Larkin's Neil. Both capable
of genius, but with Pete perhaps more wonderfully erratic
and unpredictable. Pete has now delivered his solo debut.
It comes under the name "Pete Sounds".
"Quite some time ago, while on tour, we were talking about
what we would call our solo records," Pete explains. "Myself
and our road crew (The Long Hairs) came up with the name
Pete Sounds, much to our amusement." It stuck. Both the
album and Pete's band is called Pete Sounds. "Unless," he
laughs, "lawsuit-happy Mike Love tries to put a halt to
it!"
As the avant-garde album artwork suggests, Pete's palette
has many colours. His mate Fish (Peter Salmon-Lomas) came
up with the cover concept after listening to the record.
"We both agreed that the art represented the anonymity of
what I wanted to achieve," Pete explains. "I wanted people
to wonder: 'Who is the guy in a suit with his face covered
in paint splotches? What and who is Pete Sounds?'"
The Pete Sounds lineup for this Friday's launch at the Northcote
Social Club includes Dallas Crane's Pat Bourke on bass and
Shan Vanderwert on drums, as well as Louis Macklin (67 Special,
Jet) on keys, and Davey Lane on guitar. Friday is the Pete
Sounds live debut, and, who knows, it might be a one-off.
"I mean, it's a band," Pete says, "but it'll probably have
15 members in it. Interchanges and emergencies. Kind of
like an Allman Brothers/Grateful Dead footy club." What
was it like working with Pat and Shan outside of Dallas
Crane? "They're both great friends and have been champions
of my songs for years. I guess we enjoyed being free from
the Dallas expectations. Pete Sounds was, in essence, a
blank canvas for us." What is the future of Dallas Crane?
"I knew this one was coming," Pete smiles. "I never say
never. We did some shows this year and they went very well.
It was good to play and I'm sure that we'll do some more
shows again." Dave is getting set to release a second Gun
Street Girls album, while Shan and Pat are helping to run
a new bar in Coburg, The Post Office Hotel. "So we're all
too busy to make Dallas a full-time thing again," Pete says.
"But I kick the footy with Larko every week and we always
entertain the thought of another album, when the planets
align."
The Pete Sounds album is available through petesounds.com
and iTunes, as well as at Greville Records, Pure Pop, Basement
Discs, Missing Link and Polyester.
THE AMAZING DAVEY LANE
Davey Lane is part of the Pete Sounds band. He's also a
member of Charles Jenkins' The Zhivagos, plays with Jimmy
Barnes, fronts The Pictures, and, of course, is in You Am
I. Howzat! recently had a chat with Barnesy about Davey.
"He's just got an enthusiasm and a swagger," Barnesy said.
"With my new album [Rage And Ruin - out August 27], I had
a lot of very slick LA players and I wanted Davey there
to balance that. He brought a rock element to the record.
I wanted him to get across what I do live. Also, he's a
gem to be around." Pete Satchell adds: "Davey, to watch
on guitar, is a psychotic pineapple. He has a spiky, almost
punk exterior, but the most tasteful playing comes from
within."
DEPARTED SOUNDS ARRIVES
Record companies are under siege, but some braze souls continue
to fight the good fight to bring us some fine Australian
music. Publicist Ash Sambrooks and musician Andrew Keese
have teamed up to start a new label, Departed Sounds, which
they're launching with gigs this Friday and Saturday at
the Northcote Uniting Church. Friday's lineup includes Gaslight
Radio and Andrew Keese & The Associates, while Saturday's
bill features Amaya Laucirica and Tobias Cummings. More
info at departedsounds.com.
CHART WATCH
Art vs Science land at 14.
Magic Fountain EP ART VS SCIENCE (number 14, debut)
Love The Fall MICHAEL PAYNTER (19)
Plans BIRDS OF TOKYO (23)
We No Speak Americano YOLANDA BE COOL (25)
iYiYi CODY SIMPSON (27)
Choose You STAN WALKER (33, debut)
Big Jet Plane ANGUS & JULIA STONE (39)
The Bum Song TOMMY TRASH & TOM PIPER (40, debut)
Bliss N Eso spend just one week on top as Eminem returns
to number one.
Running On Air BLISS N ESO (number two)
I Believe You Liar WASHINGTON (four)
Birds Of Tokyo BIRDS OF TOKYO (five)
Down The Way ANGUS & JULIA STONE (seven)
Aphrodite KYLIE MINOGUE (eight)
Immersion PENDULUM (21)
A Beautiful Exchange HILLSONG LIVE (22)
April Uprising THE JOHN BUTLER TRIO (26)
Conditions THE TEMPER TRAP (30)
Golden Rule POWDERFINGER (31)
Cinema THE CAT EMPIRE (32)
Melinda Does Doris MELINDA SCHNEIDER (36)
We Are Born SIA (39)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
See You For You PETE SOUNDS
Sunshine CORDRAZINE
Pieces Of The Story MARDI LUMSDEN
Your Wedding Day PRINCESS ONE POINT FIVE
Climb Up High AMAYA LAUCIRICA
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