“The dilettante aesthetic is if you have a passion and enthusiasm, you slyly and intelligently put it out there. And there’s the idea that art’s not a frivolous thing. It’s an inspiring thing. The appreciation of beauty is not an indulgence. It’s a privilege.” Tim Rogers
You Am I’s 8th studio release, Dilettante, finds the band in fine form and is possible their best release for over a decade. Kevin Bull spoke with guitarist Davey Lane about the new record, the upcoming tour and life on the road in the US.
If Convict was the angry scream, then Dilettantes is the feeling you have once the temper subsides. Is this a fair comment?
Yeah. I can’t speak for Tim in a lyrical sense but at the time Convicts came out we were all going through some stuff, personal stuff. I guess it was the byproduct of how we were feeling at the time. I think as a band this time around we were a lot more confident, a lot more relaxed. As a band we were more comfortable with going into the studio together, playing off each other and seeing what comes instead of just going in and thinking that we have to play as fast and as loud as we possibly can. I still love Convicts to death, (but) I think the songs on this record are a little more considered, the structures are a bit more sprawling and we let these songs mapping themselves out.
Did you have an idea that the album was going to sound different to Convicts before you went into the studio?
Yeah, I think it was kind of obvious from the first cassette that Tim sent around to everybody. Even though we keep in regular contact with each other while we’re doing other stuff, we hadn’t seen each other for a couple of months, I think it was pretty obvious from the first little acoustic guitar and voice demo that Tim sent that this was going to be something a little different.
I would imagine that the new songs would fit in quite comfortably in the live set. Are you finding this is the case?
Yeah, we won’t really know until next week when we start playing them, but these songs are a lot more challenging, there’s a bit more to them. I’m dividing keyboard parts with guitar parts but I’m up for the challenge.
What does playing with You Am I give you that The Wrights, The Pictures or Crowded House doesn’t.
Well, You Am I was the first real band that I was in. I’ve been playing with those guys for nearly 10 years now, they’re kind of like my big brothers.
The recording of You Am I albums appear to be quick and spontaneous. Is this out of necessity or is this the way to get the best out of the band?
A lot of the time it is necessity because we are paying for the record ourselves and we are under the pump to come up with stuff pretty quickly but I think it is in our individual nature as well. We all seem to have pretty short attention spans. We like to work pretty quickly. I like to be a little under prepared, I enjoy working under pressure. It’s usually pretty obvious If Tim brings in a song and we bash it out in the rehearsal room, it’s pretty obvious by the first or second run through if it is working or not, we don’t tend to labour on things. That’s the way Convicts and Dilettantes were both recorded. Even though in terms of instrumentation there is a bit more going on this time around, we did tend to play the song through a couple of times in the rehearsal room. What you hear on the record is usually the first or second take.
That’s great. I am sure that a lot of bands would hope to be able to do that themselves. That’s a great way of putting an album together if you can do it.
Yeah, it was just a matter of getting the right take. Usually the first take would be wildly different from the second one, and we would have a could there to choose from. It’s a good thing.
When ordering Dilettantes thru itunes, you get the ‘Live at the Budokan’ video as a bonus. Any chances of this video becoming available in the stores?
I think it will be just an online kind of thing. It was just shot on handycam. Even though as a document it is You Am I playing the fucking Budokan, it’s a pretty cool thing to have but I don’t think it will be released on DVD.
Whenever I hear of this venue, I think about Cheap Trick’s, Live at Budokan, and the history of the venue. Have you have played a venue where its history has given you a special moment?
Yeah, it wasn’t a You Am I show but I got to play with The Pictures at Festival Hall in Melbourne, that was a definite moment. Growing up with video of the Beatles playing there, standing on the same spot that John (Lennon) himself stood on, that was a definite a “fuck me, I’m standing here” moment. And also with Festival hall it’s not just the Beatles, it’s Dylan in 66, The Who and The Small Faces in 68, Pink Floyd and Neil Young
You spent most of 2007 over in the US touring, something the band has done a number of times. Are these extended trips away from home still enjoyable adventures?
Yeah, most definitely. Maybe when I am a little older I probably won’t have the stamina for it but as long as I can do it I will always jump at the opportunity. It’s always an amazing experience. Even though we love touring around Australia and doing the drive up from Sydney to Coffs Harbour, there’s always something new to be garnered from driving around the states. It’s really an exciting thing to do.
On a side note, just wonder what the future plans are for The Pictures.
We’ve had a record finished for about a year and we’ve found someone to put it out but it was kind of a little frustrating. We had a finished record and we were going around to everybody saying ‘We’ve done all the hard work, we’ve got the record done, please can someone put it out’, but we’ve found someone who going to put it out. It was meant to be late October but with You Am I touring it got a little bit difficult so I think it will be sometime in January. Straight after the You Am I tour we will probably be doing a couple of weeks of shows.