Chuck Ragan: Out of Hot Water (lame band pun #43)

When I speak to Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan, he is at home relaxing. He assures me I am not interrupting anything, but I feel invasive. “We’ve been crazy, still a bit jet lagged from touring, we’re just catching up on everything, sleep and responsibilities. Me and my wife and my little dog, little choc lab Ella”

Nyaw. As you may or may not know, Chuck is briefly leaving his HWM comrades and embarking on a solo tour with Tom Gabel (Against Me!) in tow. “I had Tom on the Revival tour, I’ve known him for years, he’s wonderful, and such a fantastic muso, we really hit it off. We talked about doing more stuff, and it went from a thought to an action. Australia is truly one of my favourite places to go”

Though no rock star-like cargos of hats and haberdashery for Mr Ragan: “The way we travel, it’s pretty low maintenance. Most of the time it’s very simple, more simple than touring with a whole band with gear and stuff, we just bring our lovely ladies and having the time of our lives!”

So what can people expect from your solo shows?

“It’s definitely not as loud or in-your-face; all I can say, speaking for myself, doing the solo stuff is not a far stretch for HWM, other than the fact that I am standing there by myself, ethically and energy -wise it all feels the same to me. Playing shows, I put as much energy and drive as I ever did, so in that respect it’s not a whole lot different. It’s just totally stripped own and clarified and simplified, its raw and real, the way we like it”

“There are pros and cons , it is quite liberating, there’s a much greater sense of freedom. The way HWM did, we were a collective, we wrote individually but pulled songs together a s a whole, rummaged through, structured them the way we all felt. Doing it on your own, there’s not always the few people right there to tap you on the shoulder and say “that part there is terrible” (laughs), you write the best that you can and hope. If it feels right, it’s on the right path”

And what does the Ragan Familia do in non-rock time?

“My wife and I love the outdoors, we love to snowboard, I fish a lot, never enough. That has a huge impact on inspiration and writing. I grew up doing a lot of carpentry work; I still do, I will always have those trades, I love it, woodworking- I have just as much of a passion building something from nothing as I do songwriting and playing”

“I’m not worried about stardom or striking it rich. I may not be a rich man, but I’ll be damned if my family ever goes hungry. Everybody has the ability to figure something out, it can be hard but the fact o f the matter is, you will find a way” Chuck says elegantly.

What’s for dinner, sir?

"Pasta with vodka sauce, a traditional Italian dish”

Chuck Ragan plays with Tom Gabel:

7 May-The Zoo –Brisbane
8 May -Cambridge-Newcastle
9 May-Annandale Hotel –Sydney
10 May-Tuggeranong Youth Centre-Canberra
13 May-Corner Hotel-Melbourne
14 May-Republic Bar-Hobart
15 May-Enigma Bar –Adelaide
16 May-Hyde Park Hotel-Perth

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