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PETER GARRETT GIVES BLUESFEST THE NOD and having artists that have contributed to where music finds itself today – but particularly on the blues side of things, has always seemed to me to be one of the features of Bluesfest itself.
If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit.
You said that the new album’s a little bit about where you are at now. What is your approach or your motivation for performing and writing now? Has it changed a lot from when you began? Are there different reasons for doing music for you now?
Garrett is a classic and not because he is a septuagenarian – it’s because he is absolutely unique, and he’s embedded in our musical psyche. The Echo spoke to Garrett, on the tail end of his current tour and his prep for Easter in Tyagarah, in Sydney on what he described as a ‘halfway day. It’s cloudy but not raining.’
That’s a really good question. There’s not a straight-up answer for it. Music is so mysterious. It comes and goes on the wind.
Can you tell me about the music you’re bringing to Bluesfest this year? So I’ve just finished a new record, The True North, which will be out by Bluesfest. We recorded in Sydney – with Martin Rotsey from the Oils and Heather Shannon from the Jezabels, and a group of other musicians who were in town. It was organic, open and really just reflecting exactly what I think, and where I am at this point in time. We’ll play a fair bit of that I’m hoping, with some special guests with a bit of luck, alongside some of the older material. I’ll pluck a few Oil’s songs out of the ether and give them a run probably and we’ll just make it the biggest, bestest, most full-on wonderful night we can. It sounds like things aren’t necessarily set in concrete, but do you have an idea of how many people will be on stage? It depends a little bit. My daughters Grace and May will be on stage singing which will be fantastic. I really love that.
And maybe apart from The Alter Egos (including Martin Rotsey, Heather Shannon, Evan Mannell and Rowan Lane), we might have another one or two. Grace also did the design for the album cover and all the artwork this time around. She’s a designer, so that was nice. Bit of family synergy as well. Is there anything in particular about Bluesfest that you find different from other festivals? I think the strength of Bluesfest lies in the adherence to the traditions and the backstory of popular music really. It’s not just about the moment, although there’s plenty of that that goes on, it’s also about how we got to the moment,
You know, I spent such a lot of time in a band that had very strong songwriters, Rob (Hurst) and Jim (Moginie) – there was never a shortage of material. We always had plenty of stuff to chew on and work on. I was very involved in political activism, the environment, and then, of course, ultimately, in that interregnum [don’t worry, I had to look it up too!] in the early 2000s, in formal politics. As much as I can tell, because I’ve not particularly spent a lot of time navel-gazing, I think that I’ve just created enough space around me, with the charge of coming off two very big tours with The Oils, to find the songs were just starting to spring out of the ‘place’, and you’ve got to grab them when they do and go with them. It’s a very organic thing. It’s not something that you really should overthink in my experience, you just have to sort of almost go with the muse, as it were.
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March 27, 2024 The Byron Shire Echo 21