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The Others
 45 years is a long time to be set with one task, especially in a musical sense. There isn't even a lot of examples of bands who have reached that milestone - the Rolling Stones are amongst the first that come to mind. It'd be a gross oversight to forget the prominent local example of such longevity, though: The Others are set to enjoy the milestone next year, but guitarist and founding member Ian Nancarrow is looking forwards, not back.
"The past thing's always a point of interest, because there's such a long history," he says. "But the two [recent] albums are talked about a lot, which is good, because I write the stuff and discussing it is of interest to me. People do talk about the history, but I guess they have to."
Nancarrow admits that he doesn't "think about the history all that much" himself. While he remarks with a laugh that the possible reason for this is simply because it's "hard to even think back that far," it's more likely to do with the fact that the band are still moving forward in a lot of ways. The Others released full-length album 'Hit The Wall' in 2004, and followed it up last year with 'The Devil Made Me Do It' and are constantly involved with festivals right around the country.
"Whether it's a new band member, or a new album, or we're going off to play a festival, there's always something happening," muses Nancarrow. "You stay focused on the current stuff. But it's handy to have the history we do with the style of music we play - we're a rock blues band, and with festivals like the [East Coast Blues and Roots Festival], that's of interest to them. We've probably been around longer than anyone else in Australia, and that helps us sometimes. Or, as someone said to us once, 'It's good because you guys can get in on the pensioner's tickets'."
Additionally, there's always the promise of a new goal to chase. Right now, the band plans to record again in the near future. "We're always aiming to make an album that we're happy with," Nancarrow comments. "For example, the last album we were much happier with the production. The one before that, 'Hit The Wall' probably had better playing, but it doesn't sound as good, if you know what I mean. And the next we want to make all around better."
There's also a date at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival coming up - the band's third in the past five years. Festival organiser Peter Noble first encountered the band in the '80s, booking them to support acts he brought through the country, including Canned Heat, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Climax Blues Band and Spencer Davis. Nancarrow got back in contact with Noble six years ago while looking for record distribution - unfortunately, Noble's previously owned label was no longer active, but he did ask the band to play at the festival, and asked them back the very next year, too.
"We all have other things aside from the band, and I think you have to in order to survive in Australia, but we play half a dozen festivals, and do a couple of Adelaide gigs. We probably play a couple of gigs a month when you average it out. And that's good, because the festival crowds are really receptive. They pay quite expensive prices to get in, and they might be sleeping in tents or something, but they're really just there for the music. It's really good to play to crowds like that."
An international tour is also on the cards, though Nancarrow doesn't see it as a pressing priority. After all, they've gone this long without making the trip. Nonetheless, he adds, "'Hit The Wall' and 'The Devil Made Me Do It' have got a lot of airplay overseas through a promotions mob in Western Australia" and rock historian "Glenn A. Baker has kept interest in The Others up a fair bit".
"So we've had a great response," he continues, "but turning that into a trip over there is another thing."
In any case, The Others are showing no sign of slowing down or losing interest after 45 years. "We just like it," Nancarrow grins. "It's almost like, we wonder what we would do if we weren't in the band."
Alistair Wallis
The Others play with Chris Finnen at the Governor Hindmarsh on Sun 16 Dec
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