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Ben Kweller.
 Talking
to Ben Kweller is much more a casual chat than an interview.
In Newcastle on a whirlwind Aussie tour (that sadly didn't include
Adelaide), the affable young Texan constantly brings up his
own topics. He interrupts at points, asking about the Big Day
Out, who might be playing, and if his good friends The Kings
Of Leon are going to come back. After his finishes his current
US tour, he's keen to come back and play the festival.
"It would be a dream come true," he says.
Having already spent all of the year so far touring on his newest album, 'On My Way', I ask Kweller if he's starting to get sick of his setlist. "Well actually, no. See I toured for two years playing 'Sha Sha' songs. And then after the two years I was just starting to get sick of those, so man, 'On My Way' music is real fresh for us," he drawls.
In recording 'On My Way', it was always his intention to try to keep things fresh. He and producer Ethan Johns went into recording sessions last year with little pre-production, and a raw approach, recording without headphones. Instruments were often recorded in the same room with little separation between them. Another technique that was used was 'hard-panning' where Kweller's guitar parts were separated into the right channel, with guitarist Mike Stroud panned to the left.
I tell Kweller that this last technique made quite an impression on my car stereo, which has a bad habit of dropping the left channel. "You know what song you should really check out then in your car? Space Oddity by David Bowie," says Kweller, immediately bursting into song. "Ground control to Major Tom... That's such an amazing song to listen to and like fuck around with left and right, because he put certain harmonies on the left and certain harmonies on the right."
His easy nature means that it's hard to avoid the 'cute guy' image. He jumped atop a giant strawberry in the Wasted And Ready video. Then there's his obvious love for his wife Lizzy, whom he married last year. "She's actually in Australia right now. She's just the best, you know. We are such good team mates. Man it was the best thing I ever did, was get married to her. I feel so lucky."
His newer album reveals a slightly different image, not afraid to hang out with wolves for his cover shoot, and a dark, gritty video for new single, The Rules. But he's not really trying to change his image, he insists. "You know there's all different sides to me. You know, somedays I'm that kinda cute guy, on other days I'm like, I don't want to be seen by anybody, you know?"
Something else that intrigues me, apart from the obvious references to Lizzy, were words like feeling and power that seemed to pop up frequently throughout 'On My Way'. "Yep that's true. Like, you know, I believe that there's all different kinds of powers and energies. Personal power, and fuckin', like corporate power, which is evil." It would be obvious then that Kweller takes a strong anti-Bush stand. "Oh my God, I can't stand the guy! He's just an embarrassment to the USA."
I recount what was the news of the day, that Bush had inadvertently declared that his administration would "never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people."
"Oh my God, he's such a buffoon," Kweller laughs. "I wish you could print 'fuck George Bush.' If anything he's been good for the country, strictly for the reason that more young people are getting involved now. Maybe they'll be like, 'oh God, this guy's terrible. Maybe we should be involved with who runs our country.' Maybe George Bush is the best thing to happen to America!"
And as we end our conversation, again he proves just how nice a guy he is. "I'm going to find out why I'm not coming to Adelaide man, that's bullshit. I'll be out there soon, I promise. "
Eddie Chan
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'On My Way' is out now through BMG.
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