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Rob Clarkson.
 Rob Clarkson is an awfully nice fellow who grew up in Hobart and developed an interest in music during early adolescence, which in turn led him to begin writing and performing his own songs. After making the move from Tasmania to Melbourne in his early twenties, Rob maintained his solo output with gigs supporting the likes of Weddings Parties Anything, and until 1996 released a small number of solo recordings (compiled in 2003 by Candle Records as the 'Shirts And Skins' double CD).
After disbanding with himself in the mid-late nineties, Clarkson became a member of band Ruck Rover and had been recording and performing with said band up until now. 2005 sees him returning to solo performer mode after nine years with his release 'Zone One'.
"By the time I'd finished [solo] last time I'd got really uninspired by the process of it. I think when you're not exactly looking at an income in Elton John-type figures your motivation does have to stay pretty pure; if you're not into it then it's not like there's a small industry around you to keep you going. Stanley [Paulzen] and I got Ruck Rover going and we did an EP and three albums so that was a good body of work. But just of late, the last 18 months or so, I've just been seeing solo acts doing their thing and instead of thinking 'I used to do that,' I've started to think 'gee, I wouldn't mind doing that'. Also the style of songs I was writing was becoming more conducive to that sort of way of performing."
The title of the new record 'Zone One' refers to Melbourne's public transport categorisation of the CBD and inner-city suburbs. In geographic terms, the entire album was "written, is set and was recorded there." In more conceptual terms, 'Zone One' refers to, in Clarkson's own words, a "mind-set. It's about inner cities or people who like inner cities, people who aren't buying the house, getting the mortgage, having the couple of kids. There are subcultures there, but by that I don't mean people that just live in towns; you can drive through Lismore and see five goths sitting on the corner, and they've got their 'zone one', you know. It's sub-cultural."
References to culture (and sub-culture) abound in Clarkson's songs and in many ways the songs on 'Zone One' could refer to a more generalised understanding of the globally shared experiences of everyday life. One of the more apparent aspects of Clarkson's songwriting is his playfulness not only with lyrics but also with the everyday situations he writes about. Over the course of 'Zone One' topics such as the odours found on public transport, inane conversations about babies and being unable to escape hearing the moans of a housemate's shag are all lovingly attacked with his trademark word-smithery.
"The vast majority of my favourite songs are about relationships or falling in love or getting your heart broken. But also I think that there shouldn't be any topics that are out of bounds. Films and literature look at the mundane and the inane, I just think that anything is fair game for a song lyric really."
I put forth that there is an unmistakable "Australianness" about his music which comes through particularly in his singing. Was it a conscious decision to come across as such?
"I loved hearing Lou Reed sing about New York, I loved hearing Morrissey sing about Manchester, you know, a lot of my favourite songs were about places I'd never been but they still meant something to me. I guess I have written Australian songs. I know, it's terrible," he laughs. "The cultural cringe is still alive, we still much prefer to hear songs about London and New York than about ourselves really."
A sobering tone to end the interview on, but then he invited me to have a beer with him when he comes to town. Such a nice fellow.
Jack Wilde
 | 'Zone One' is out now through Candle and Rob Clarkson plays at the Grace Emily on Thurs 8 Dec. |
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