powderfinger – easily one of Australia’s most popular bands – is currently doing the touring thing, promoting their excellent album of last year, Internationalist.  After previous tours with English band Swervedriver and fellow Brisbane-ites not from there, this time they’re doing the rounds with Something For Kate, who are promoting their awesome sophomore album Beautiful Sharks.
 

In addition to having the song “These Days” on the Two Hands soundtrack, Internationalist has been re-released with a bonus limited edition five-track live recording, from a gig they did for the national broadcaster Triple J at the Opera House’s twenty-fifth birthday bash of 1998.  Guitarist Ian Haug explains: “It’s a live gig that we did in a sort-of acoustic vein, but with full drums and everything.  We got someone to play keyboards and someone else to play a cello.”

Powderfinger’s first album – Parables for Wooden Ears – failed to ignite fans and critics in the same way that the follow-ups double allergic (featuring the ‘smash hit’ single “Pick You Up”) and Internationalist have.  With these two more recent albums, powderfinger became household names for teenagers Australia-wide, and their new singles – such as “The Day You Come”, “Already Gone” and “Good Day Ray” – have actually achieved some level of success on more mainstream radio playlists: something which You Am I, Regurgitator and Spiderbait – along with silverchair the other big bands in Australia – are only finally beginning to realise.

It seems funny that there new tour is called the P2K tour.  I asked whether there was any significance in that?  “Well, I guess because of the pre-millenium tension, and all that sort of stuff.  But we’ve always had stuff like ‘p-rock’ or whatever on our t-shirts, and all that, so it was just and idea to keep it short.  It’s twenty-four dates or something like that, which is not that busy when you consider that Regurgitator are doing a forty-five date tour, which is insane.”

powderfinger’s record company – Polydor – recently merged with the conglomerate Universal Music Australia.  Several bands were culled in this merger, and powderfinger was one of the most obvious ones to survive.  Did it effect the band in any ways?  “I think it’s just that they’re in a state of disorganisation – no one really knows what the hell’s going on.  We’re sort of lucky in that we’re one of the priorities, but, who knows?  There’s been a whole lot of kerfuffle around the whole thing.  Probably it’s effected us more in that we haven’t really been able to push overseas so much.”

Has powderfinger had any releases overseas yet?  “We want to get a release over there, for sure.  We sort-of have a release [in Canada and eight European countries], but just because it’s technically released doesn’t mean that it’s on the shelves in shops – they don’t really actively market it or anything unless people come in and buy it, without it being an import or anything.”

But powderfinger had a fair level of success in the States at the 1998 South By Southwest festival.  Glowing reports came back to Australia of powderfinger playing packed gigs every time they came on stage.

“Yeah, they [the gigs] were great.  I saw loads of stuff.  I went and saw the Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev – there was lots of stuff on.  Tom Waits played while we were on, so we couldn’t go see that, so that was a bummer.”

Something For Kate seem like an inspired choice for support slot – how was it decided that they’d get the job?  “There was a few bands – bands that had been around for a fair while – and they were one that was available, and they had a new record coming out and it seemed like a logical thing to get them, to get a sort-of rock gig happening.  We wanted to get someone that was a bit known.”

Something that never seems to waver is a fan’s support for powderfinger.  Even when playing in boiling hot temperatures – as they did on their first Internationalist tour in December of 1997, they still managed to pull in sizeable crowds.  It seems to be fair to say that powderfinger have incredibly loyal fans.

“Yeah, I think so.  Well, so far.  I guess we’d find out how loyal they are if we did a record that was totally different or something, whereas I don’t think this [Internationalist] is that different to double allergic.  I don’t know.  There are people, I think, that have been to every gig we’ve ever done in a city, so I guess that’s loyal.”

Whilst Internationalist has been extremely successful, I’m intrigued as to what the band’s approach would be on the next record?  Are they going to move away from their popular sound, or will they keep on truckin’, so to speak?

“I don’t know – we’re good at that sort of thing!  Until we get tired of it, and we’re still challenging ourselves We’ll just have to wait and see.  We want to do it in about January [of 2000], or early next year anyway.  We’d probably just do it in Melbourne again hopefully [at Sing Sing studios].  It’s a lovely place – it’s got lots of different rooms that you can use, and there’s just enough space to hang out and keep you occupied when you’re not doing something.  I guess it’s [popular] because a few bands went there, and recorded.  When you’re there, as opposed to in Brisbane, you don’t get as many friends dropping through all the time, and it’s not as distracting.”

For a full list of P2K tour dates, check out the band’s official website.  The limited edition version of Internationalist with bonus disc is out now.