Music

Interview

Augie March on music as an emotional outlet

Ahead of their show at Melbourne's Geddes Lane Ballroom, we chat to Augie March about remaining fresh, music as an outlet, and artists we should keep an eye on.

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Twenty-two years and six albums in, and on their latest release BootikinsAugie March sound as fresh as ever. Maybe even more so than ever before. As they prepare to host two nights at Melbourne’s newest venue, Geddes Lane Ballroom, we chat to the band’s keyboardist, and occasional accordionist and harmonicist, Kiernan Box about what has kept the band going for so long.

Augie March - One Crowded Hour (Official Video)

After all this time, how does Augie March continue sounding fresh?

I don’t think we worry too much about what has come before. Our singer-songwriter Glenn lives in Hobart these days, and the rest of us are in Melbourne. We don’t see each other as relentlessly as in previous times, so when we get together it does seem to generate something a little different. Everyone’s continually moving in slightly new directions that we’re not always completely aware of. When we do collaborate those subtle changes have to find a way to mesh together. Sometimes awkward and fractious, often new and ground-breaking – at least for us it is.

On your latest album Bootikins, there’s an experimental quality to the record, it almost feels looser or freer than what you’d released before. Was this intentional?

We started recording some new material in 2016, partly sparked by Glenn writing music to a Kenneth Slessor poem for a poetry/music compilation. At some point, a new album came into focus, but it was a fairly hazy focus. It was just pleasing to be getting together, rehearsing and recording again after a couple of years. There was perhaps a sense of having nothing to lose, and strange ideas were not crippled or derailed by commercial expectations. We recorded and mixed five tracks with the great Tony Cohen, who we dragged out of retirement to work with us. Tragically he passed away very soon after, we were his last recording. His tracks sound fantastic.

What is it that still brings you back to making music?  

We’re all males, and I’ve found music is one of the best – maybe one of the – ways that males are able to communicate emotionally with each other. That’s a good thing. When you’ve been listening to music and playing music as long as we have, it’s harder to find new music and ideas to excite you like it did when you were a teenager. But it’s always there. You can always find something new, you can always learn something. You just might have to look a bit harder.

With a song as universally loved as ‘One Crowded Hour’, do you ever feel pressure to continue sounding like that?

Not much. We don’t always play our biggest song. It’s certainly a tune that touched a nerve with a lot of people. It’s one of the most emotionally visceral songs we have, as well as being a brilliant piece of writing. It was funny though, we didn’t ever really have quite the same attachment to it as much of our audience did.

What can we expect from this upcoming run of shows?

We’re still arguing about the set list. It definitely won’t be a completely obvious best-of compilation. There will be some really great songs which haven’t been played live much ever. Some of them are spiky, some sentimental. We’ll have to practise.

Who are you currently listening to and what acts should we be keeping an eye out for? Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison, but it’s 45 years old, so no need to keep an eye out for it. Ro Wise is great young Melbourne singer-songwriter who will hopefully become huge.

What are your top tips for surviving and maintaining in the Australian music industry? Treat every show as if it’s your last, you’ll probably never know. Compromise usually doesn’t pay off in the long run.

 

Augie March - When I Am Old (Official Video)

Augie March will perform at Geddes Lane Ballroom on Friday 23 November with The Orbweavers and Saturday 24 November with Gregor. Tickets are available through our partner website, Ticketweb.com.au.