35 years since they formed, the legendary Hoodoo Gurus are still well and truly alive.
The Sydney rockers took the world by storm ever since their debut single ‘Leilani’ in 1982. From the start they’ve defied convention, bursting onto the scene as Le Hoodoo Gurus with three guitars and no bassist, all while fusing infectious pop with the punk vibes from their years in separate bands.
Despite changing their lineup quite significantly over the decades, the band’s energy and raucous yet melodic sound extends from ‘84’s debut release Stoneage Romeos, drawing huge attention in America, to latest record Purity of Essence (2010).
It’s no surprise that the Gurus were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame, and even after six years apart from 1998 to 2003, they couldn’t help but come back together again.
Fast forward to next year, and the iconic group are hitting the Melbourne Zoo Twilights series in February alongside fellow heavyweights The Living End and Killing Heidi, and a new generation of big names like The Rubens and Ball Park Music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzFKYHvkhVQ
Contemplating the show, frontman and founding member Dave Faulkner laughs heartily “Well we’ve never played a zoo before, and we feel like we’re in one ourselves sometimes.”
Yet it’s soon this year’s A Day on the Green, featuring fine wine and killer music in stellar locations since 2001, that Faulkner’s reflecting on. The band appeared alongside the likes of fellow legends Died Pretty and the Violent Femmes, and the vocalist has nothing but fond memories.
“The highlight definitely was the finale in Perth, and we basically decided to try and get everyone to jam on one song. So we all did Jonathan Richman’s ‘Roadrunner’, with Jeremy Oxley (the Sunnyboys) on guitar and Ron Peno (Died Pretty) on backing vocals… All my favourite people up on stage together. It’s an easy song, but also a great one to play with a lot of people.”
Rewinding further back to 2015, the Gurus’ show at the Powerhouse Museum during festival mainstay Vivid was a celebration of long-time drummer Mark Kingsmill’s last official show with the band. Having to retire due to medical issues, he’s been in and out of the group, and as Faulkner asserts, “It’s up to him how much he wants to play and for how long, but we’ll take whatever he’s prepared to give us.”
“That gig was kind of sad because we had all the old members back for that show, including James Baker and Kimble Rendall. So it was eight Gurus together at one point, and it overshadowed the significance of being Mark’s last show with us officially (luckily it hasn’t been since then). On the night I felt like it was a bit unfair to Mark that we didn’t get to make more of a fuss about him, because there was so much excitement around everyone else coming back.
“He’s just an incredible drummer.” The respect from Faulkner here is palpable. “The thing we relate most together on is our musical bond, and he’s got so much flexibility in his style. We can go from hardcore or thrash to country lilt, and Mark’s across all of it. We have played with other drummers after Mark pulled out for a while like Nik Rieth, and he’s a great guy and drummer. But our DNA is very intertwined musically with Mark. We feel different when we’re with him, that’s just the way it is.
“I only really discovered about this personally when we broke up for six years, and I started playing with other musicians. That was all fine, but some of the songs weren’t working, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with them. At the same time, I did an album with Kim Salmon (The Manikins, Beasts of Bourbon), Justin Frew and Stuart McCarthy (both of Southend) under Antenna. We wrote and recorded that during eight to twelve months at a home studio.
“About halfway through, there was this alchemical reaction where there was suddenly this dynamic that hadn’t been there before. It was almost like it owned us… seeing that happen was quite interesting. Then I came back and the Hoodoo Gurus played after four years away, when we were asked to headline Homebake Festival, and exactly that was happening. It felt like ‘Yeah, this is the Hoodoo Gurus’.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNNHEZzBDZk
Added to the band’s hefty achievements is the curation of their own festival Dig It up!, first coming together four years ago.
The highlight for Faulkner was getting to play with his idols like The Sonics and Blue Öyster Cult, and bringing them to Australia for the first time. It’s The Sonics that the Gurus have really bonded with though, leading to a song ‘Be a Woman’ penned by Faulkner himself appearing on their fellow rockers’ latest release This is the Sonics (2015).
“That is unbelievable to me as an absolute music nut, for them to record a song that I had written. I still can’t quite fathom how that happened (chuckles). They did a great version, and that’s the thing that I was most proud of. The Flamin’ Groovies did a cover of ‘Bittersweet’ way back in the ‘80s when they toured here the first time, and they had like a ring-in guy on guitar who sung it… It just sounded like a cover band.
“But The Sonics had Gerry Roslie singing it, and their incredible version sounds like them but also my song… I’m still excited about it to this day.”
As well as being a musician, Faulkner fell into writing after being involved with the Australian Music Prize. His commentary there, recommendations for and against prize-contenders was brought to the attention of The Saturday Paper in Melbourne, but his history with writing goes further back.
“To be honest, I always did it as a dare to myself. I had written a small review of an album for Rolling Stone; they asked a bunch of different artists to comment on their favourite record. When I read my review (it was only a few sentences), I thought ‘This is so lame, but it’s harder than it looks, you know?’ (laughs)”.
While having a technical insight, being highly experienced with recording technology and knowing just how music is constructed, the singer reflects on journalism as a challenge. “I was pretty good at English in high school, but I haven’t used those prose skills since then,” he says, chuckling.
“Also, it’s easier for someone who’s not a musician to draw images, and I find myself sounding really fake when I do that sort of stuff,” Faulkner admits. “You know when people start to get very poetic in their writing, like ‘It sounds like there’s running water in a brook’ (chuckles)… I can’t do that, because I’d rather write a song, and I can’t relate one bit of imagery to another.”
The chat suddenly takes a serious yet passionate turn with the mention of the vocalist’s powerful ‘Keep Sydney Open’ speech back in February. The gap between back when music venues like the Trade Union League Club and the Manzil Room were booming, and now when those artist communities have deteriorated due to the lockouts is larger than ever.
Here Faulkner sighs heavily “God it’s enormous isn’t it? Especially in Sydney unfortunately.”
“It’s a very cynical exercise with the lockout laws. They’re posturing it as a law and order debate and public health, when my belief is it was completely about real estate and getting money for developers, and contributing to a political party afterwards as a result. The real estate in King’s Cross had suddenly trebled in certain parts according to some people because it was sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and now it’s a ‘peaceful village’ (chuckles). Of course everyone was incredibly suspicious about how the Star Casino was given a free pass, and the boundary of it ended virtually at the casino door.
“It’s so obviously about something apart from what they’re telling us.”
Don’t miss the Hoodoo Gurus when the iconic rockers hit the stage next year at the Zoo Twilights on Friday February 3 at Melbourne’s Taronga Zoo, supported by Slowly Slowly.
