Something solo for Paul Dempsey

Wow, I am actually nervous. Even after the countless interviews I have done, some with whose fame I would consider quite shining, I am jittery as hell to speak to Mr Paul Dempsey, songwriter extraordinaire, Oz rock top dog via frontmanship of Something for Kate and co-creator of one of my all-time favourite records (the amazing, the beautiful Echolalia).

Let us not dwell on girlish fandom, shall we? Paul Dempsey is venturing out into the musical world sans his Something for Kate cohorts and flapping his solo wings.

“They’re not gonna hear a lot of Something for Kate stuff...I mean, I’m sure I will play some Something for Kate stuff...” Paul says on his upcoming solo shows, “...but it’s gonna be mostly stuff from the new record, just me and a guitar. It’ll be quite intimate, just me and the audience; everyone will be able to hear everybody else. There’ll be no hiding behind the wall of sound!”

On the upcoming album, Paul says, “The writing took a while: I am a slow writer. I wish I wasn’t but it took me quite a while to finish. I made the decision early no to do it in a proper recording studio; I wanted to keep it simple and loose, and I ended just dragging a bunch of recording equipment to a friend’s house. Wayne Connolly [producer, Dallas Crane, Youth Group, Josh Pyke] came along and engineered. It was a bit ramshackle. I wanted to be forced to adapt. Once it was all recorded, I went to a proper lovely studio for the mixing process”

I ask Paul if he has found any pressure, considering the major success of SFK.

“I guess there is pressure, but the biggest I feel comes from myself. Our record company and manager, everyone, we all would have liked it if it came out a year ago but it wasn’t ready, it’s ready when it’s ready. If you force it, it won’t be as good as it could be. Not through lack of trying, but some things just take time. I could write quickly but it won’t be good” “

"You could write a song right now” I mention.

“It’d be a song about cheese and crackers”

Though I hate to disrupt this jaunty bout of conversation, I feel inclined to ask gingerly about Paul’s longstanding battle with depression.

“I’ve been much better in the last two years than prior to that, which is great...” he says. “...but it’s one of those things that’s always there, it can be there when I least expect it. I never intended to become a sort of spokesperson, I just decided to talk about it a few years ago, it just seemed like it couldn’t hurt. So many people- one in five- deal with major depression, so the more people that they can point to and identify with, the more they feel it’s not something they should keep inside"

"Plus, the fact that it’s not a character flaw, it’s a chemical imbalance that is beyond your control. I have been through some really bad phases, but things do change. I’ve been really good for a while, then it’s surreal when I think where I was at, I was a completely different person”

“I read a lot” he says on how the man keeps himself busy. “I try to swim a lot, just being active and doing anything busy and occupied is the most important thing. It’s one of the biggest things that helped me, was just keeping busy and not allowing myself the time to sit and focus and analyse and think too much about everything. Physical activity is good as well. It makes your brain work better! Every single person is different, though”

So, onto new beginnings. Never fear, Something for Kate fans, Mr Dempsey’s solo ventures does not mean the end of your beloved band. “It’s only just beginning, the record doesn’t even come out for a couple of months. Something for Kate are already planning to get together and work on new stuff. There’ll be many more Something for Kate records to come! I just wanted to explore this other thing that I do as well”

Paul has also busied himself with producing; namely Melbourne’s Brendan Welch’s latest record, The Gleaner. “He’s a really amazing songwriter” he says on Mr Welch, “it was a pleasure to work with him. He just writes these incredible songs!”

Who else do you like, then?

“The Drones” he answers quickly, “they are pretty much the best live band in the county at the moment. Their shows are without fail. Raw and exciting experiences”

Paul Dempsey's single Out the Airlock is out now (available as a free download off iTunes) with album soon to come.

Paul Dempsey plays:

3 June - Northcote Social Club, SOLD OUT- Melbourne
4 June - Annandale Hotel - SOLD OUT-Sydney
10 June- JIVE- Adelaide14 June- MOJO’S - SOLD OUT - Fremantle
23 June- Troubadour - SOLD OUT - Brisbane
24 June- Troubadour - SOLD OUT-Brisbane

Head to http://www.myspace.com/pauldempseysolo or http://pauldempseymusic.com/ for more deets and goodies.

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