Ten years ago Waiting for Guinness blasted onto the scene with their wildly satirical songs, multi-instrumental musicianship and explosive live performances. The band never formally broke up, instead had bit of a hiatus and cherry-picked gigs, with Dave Stephenson, trumpet player trombonist and vocalist relocating from Sydney to Lismore seven years ago.
Even with the geographical challenges, the band has retained the same lineup they had a decade ago.
‘We have an even better show 10 years on,’ says Dave. ‘Offstage is like a dysfunctional family, but onstage it’s really easy. It feels good. A lot has changed.
I gave up drinking 10 years ago. I thought I was going to lose all my natural charisma and daring. It took a couple of years to get my timing but now I am a much better performer than what I was then. Actually everyone’s drinking in the band has slowed dow a bit.’
For Dave one of the strengths of WFG is the dialoguing between songs. It’s something he crafts for each show.
‘I am not a standup comedian but five per cent of the audience laugh at what I say. I spend weeks, or months in this case, before a gig thinking of something different to say for each gig and craft something for each of my songs. I think it’s an important part of presenting a gig. There is actually nothing I hate more than seeing artists at folk festivals saying yeah thanks and then giggling and going into the next song. I want to throw something at them.’
Everyone in Waiting For Guinness is a songwriter. It helps give the band such a great eclectic bunch of songs to draw on. Dave doesn’t write love songs.
‘I’m happily married. I have been in a relationship for 14 years. I don’t go near the love-song genre; I think it’s impossible to avoid cliches, but maybe the real reason is I am a second-generation Brit.’
Politics is what floats Dave’s boat.
‘I love responding to politics. We have a song Why did you get a Southern Cross tattooed to your arm?
‘Writing that song I think was the closest I came to Leonard Cohen. I did five drafts. My wife would say it’s alright. I got rid of the vindictive stuff. I learnt one thing from one of my bandmates: to ask questions. I thought that was good.
There are a lot of questions in the song. I pretend to be humble and not to know the answers…’
Dave believes that giving up drinking really helped his songwriting.
‘I was a very self-indulgent person when I was a drinker. I write about one or two songs a year. Luckily the other five guys in the band are songwriters. We meet about three times a year and because we played all those gigs 10 years ago the playing just comes together. One person writes a song and we all get in and play it. We are all quite strong willed and egotistical. My philosophy with a song is that it should work with just voice and guitar.’
Waiting For Guinness play the Star Court Theatre this Saturday with a band called The Magnificence, a band that Stephenson also plays trombone in.
‘It’s a contemporary New Orleans jazz band. At 46 I am the oldest one in the band,’ laughs Dave.
Dave is pumped about this gig.
‘I think it’s going to be one of the best live gigs to play the Star Court Theatre. I think we are at our best now.’
Waiting for Guinness with The Magnificence at the Star Court Theatre, Lismore, Saturday 24 March.
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