After 35 years, ARIA Hall Of Famers The Church are still making music and touring, with no signs of taking a vow of silence anytime soon. Whilst waiting for a rehearsal to start, drummer Tim Powles spoke at length to Glam Adelaide about the current tour and the latest offering from the new wave/alternative legends who are on the back of a hectic US and European tour, including a set at Primavera Sound.
The Further Deeper/The Blurred Crusade tour commenced in Sydney on Friday July 3 and will move throughout the major capitals in quick succession.
Powles, who joined the band in 1993 and has remained in the line-up since, insists that the band is not a retrospective band and that they’ve been on a kind of ramp since Ian Haug (ex Powderfinger) has been in the band. ”We started playing live with Ian last year which we hadn’t really done, so it was a new thing. We had a new record and decided that we should just play it at a few smaller shows throughout Oz, just to get ourselves comfortable. It was a brave thing to do, as it was no older songs and just the new record in its entirety.”
The Church then toured the US, who received the band exceedingly well, and was an opportunity for them to show themselves as a group that is as much current as it is iconic. “That tour was about showing people that we’re not a retrospective group, which was great.” Powles adds, “We kicked up our level with Ian and got constantly better, we had a 4 week break then hit Europe.”
Powles cites a recurring theme, or curse as he calls it, that the band had with each leg of the tour, in the US, and throughout Europe. “As we always do, we had transport issues, we seem to have the curse of something happening with the bus or van we use. On the first small Australian album only tour, the van broke down on the way to a campus show, so we missed a sound check/rehearsal. Next was in the US, where we couldn’t get the bus across the border into Canada, which made us late to start the US Tour. Then at Primavera, the bus had a wheel issue in France and had all our gear coming over from the UK, so we sat in Barcelona for a day and a half with no gear and nothing to do. It was tricky because we hadn’t decided on our setlist and have 25 albums of stuff to choose from, but we needed to rehearse.” But the show must go on as they say, and The Church gave their all, reinforcing their legendary status as an iconic Australian band and shoring up a legion of new fans in the process.
For a band to last 35 years albeit with a few modest line-up changes, one must ask what the attraction is to The Church, and what the gel is that binds this group together. Powles takes a moment to ponder the question, and this is what he responds with. “I think we’re all fiercely proud of our originality and there’s some kind of addiction, even in hard times, to the music. I know it sounds corny, but that’s essentially it. One thing about us though, despite being sometimes poor and seemingly small-time, we’ve made ridiculously good music. We love that! That’s something some other bands can’t deal with-being poor and small-time. Our fans have been incredible, particularly the US fans, and the Internet has been a saviour. We didn’t design it that way, we’ve just been very lucky.”
The Church have always been authentic and true to their own musical identity, never ones for following the mainstream and with ‘Further Deeper’, it’s the definitive Church. Some darker, broodier songs that showcase Steve Kilbey’s songwriting talents alongside a band that has evolved exceedingly, pay homage to that unpretentious and edgy sound that Kilbey and friends have developed over 35 years.
“We’re not answerable to anyone, so our music really is authentic to us. We can honestly say that our music is unaffected by the need to be validated by commercial or radio success. We’re either the biggest small band in the world or the smallest big band in the world, (laugh) I don’t know which one it is! Regardless of whether we’re playing a small stage or a stadium, we give it the same level. I think that some bands are too calculated and not authoritative enough now though,” Powles states.
Powles raises a valid point, with many a newcomer band not wanting to do the hard yards on the live circuit, and seem more obsessed with gaining approval than being authentic and ‘about the music’. We discuss current bands and the industry in general, delving into some of the rising stars that fit the ‘authentic’ bill. Kingswood and Tame Impala are two names that are mentioned as ones to watch as future legends.
Speaking with Tim Powles has been relatively easy, much like chatting with an old friend about music and a band we both love. The genuine passion for the music is obvious, and he speaks with such conviction that it’s impossible not to share his excitement. The Church are world class, and after 35 years are still making, as he says, ridiculously good music.
The Church will play The Gov this Saturday Jul 11 on the Further Deeper tour and will play the entire The Blurred Crusade album followed by the new album Further Deeper. Don’t miss out!
Interview by Darren Hassan
Twitter: @DazzHassan
More info www.thechurchband.net
http://www.thegov.com.au/index.php/gig_guide/gig/e51883
Sat Jul 11- The Gov Adelaide
Thu Jul 16 Settlers Tavern Margaret River
Fri Jul 17 Prince Of Wales Bunbury
Sat Jul 18 The Rosemount Perth
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