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Karma County.
Karma County remain one of my favourite live bands but it's been some time since they brought they're own special acoustic groove to town. However, with new album 'Pacifico' tucked neatly under their collective belt, they're just itching to come share some tunes with us again.
"We've been getting a few posts on the web site and it's all very positive," says Karma County front man Brendan Gallagher of the new album and tour. "It seems people like the tunes and are glad to have us back, which is good. The new songs are going down well live, but we're still mixing it up with a lot of the older stuff and having a bit of fun each night digging up different tracks. We're also getting a few audience requests for different songs."
You may find Karma County's willingness to throw a few audience requests into their live sets a little unusual, given many bands find calls for favourites about as appealing as drunken hecklers or loud SMS beeps during songs.
"Actually someone called out for a tune the other night," adds Gallagher, "and I had to actually think about it for a while because I couldn't remember it. It's not good when you can't remember your own songs. Which one was it again? Oh yeah, from 'Olana,' Cleavage Town." But with five albums of songs to select from, the occasional memory lapse is to be expected. "Yeah, there's at least sixty songs, plus b-sides and others," Gallagher agrees, "so there's a lot to know.
"This tour we have been having a bit of fun with the audience," adds Gallagher. "Stuey [Stuart Eadie, drums] upbraided this woman in Canberra the other night. She came in, sat at the front and kept talking. He said to her, 'come on, you're going to upset the big feller if you keep that up.' We had this conversation between songs with her and eventually she and her boyfriend started texting each other because we wouldn't let them speak. So we had a bit of fun, breaking out a few gags and adding a bit of levity to the show."
Recording their new album 'Pacifico' saw Karma County recruit actor Bryan Brown to provide the spoken vocals for Dexter & Sinistra, a story to music. "I e-mailed the lyrics [to Brown's production company] and he called me the next day and said 'Sounds like a bit of fun. Let's do it for the fun of it. If it doesn't work it doesn't work, but if it does, then great.' He was a real trooper."
Although Brendan Gallagher enjoyed the opportunity to approach a song in a different way, he admits there aren't yet any further plans to involve actors or speaking parts on any future songs.
"Although, are you familiar with our song The Men Who Ran Away From The Circus?" asks Gallagher, getting an idea. " I'd like to remix that and get someone to do the spoken word part, someone different, like Paul Keating. That might shake things up a bit."
The title track of Karma County's 'Pacifico' is an instrumental that typifies the new album's balance of acoustic arrangements, flamenco flavourings, quiet piano, dub grooves and Tex-Mex electric guitar. It clearly shows the album's influences.
"I'd been listening to a lot of Calexico," admits Gallagher. "Are you familiar with them? Michael Galeazzi [bass] came up with the tune and I put a melody over the top, and it was our homage to Calexico, but we wanted to call it something that was a bit closer to home, hence Pacifico - which I've since found out is a great Mexican beer," he adds. "I'll have to get a six pack sometime.
"On this album, I can't help but hear a bit of Californian West-coast sound as well," Gallagher continues. "It reminds me of Fleetwood Mac for some reason. A lot people probably wince when you say Fleetwood Mac, but they did some great stuff. And there's something about some of our new tracks that remind me of that West-coast seventies thing."
Quite timely then, given a resurgence in that style of music.
"Well it's very amusing for us to watch this rash of acoustic artists like Donovan Frankenreiter and Jack Johnson come out of nowhere," says Gallagher.
"We've been doing it for ten years. But it suits us that it's now popular because it's better than trying to fit in with industrial hip-hop metal fusion."
Steven Hocking
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Karma County play Fri 5 Nov at The Gov and 'Pacifico' is out now through Vitamin.
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