Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey have announced they will be taking their much-lauded musical collaboration, Fanning Dempsey National Park, on tour to regional Australia, and the next stop is a home town show for Fanning at the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay.
The show, presented by Great Southern Nights, brings their debut album The Deluge (that debuted at #3 on the ARIA Album Chart) to life on stage, the setlist will deliver surprises for fans with additions from their collective songbooks and record collections.
Seven caught up with Fanning before his weekend sets in Mount Gambier and Victor Harbor, South Australia for a chat about stuff.
I’m curious to know how two men who are very famously known for being front men, collaborate together and make that work as a duo – do you have to arm wrestle for who is going to sing?
Not really. I mean, we were sending each other song ideas, we’d have a song that was maybe two thirds done or completed, but no lyrics in part of it, or something like that – and the other one was just kind of finishing it off, or we’d write a bridge or write a chorus or whatever it was. So it was actually really easy in that regard. And because we like each other’s ideas as well, that made it pretty easy. And we just wanted to share the singing as much as possible, so I would sing a verse, and then Paul would sing the chorus, or sing the next verse, or whatever. It’s pretty easy to be honest.
It sounds like it’s relaxed, a relaxed section of your life. Does it feel relaxed?
No! Does anybody in the world feel relaxed? No chance. No one’s relaxed. I mean, everyone’s completely on edge, and with good reason. You know, it’s the weirdest the world has been for a long time. And then throw a little cyclone in there as well, just to add a little bit of stress to the moment.
What’s inspiring you?
Well musically, for this stuff in particular, we were kind of listening to a lot of things like Gary Newman and Hall and Oates, Tears for Fears, David Bowie and Talking Heads – those kinds of things. We kind of approached it by exploring, using synthesizers to write songs. So that’s kind of what we did, but still with a rock band playing, so it’s all live drums and bass and all that sort of stuff.
I was listening to the latest single Blackstar and when the drums came in I thought, ‘wow, this is very 80s’. Am I right?
Yeah, I think certainly that kind of ‘new wave’ period from the late ‘70s through to the pop of the mid-‘80s.
Is there more from this partnership in the near or distant future?
Oh, I think so. I think there’s definitely a future in it. Absolutely. But, you know, it was always a project that we were doing – we’ve both also got kids. I’ve got teenage kids, and Paul has kids that are kind of entering that stage as well. He’s already in a band, and so am I. I’ve got my own solid stuff that I do. So there’s plenty to do. But we were never planning for this to be like our forever, forever project. But, it was really an exciting thing to do, and we were really lucky to be in the position to do it, I guess – it kind of manifested itself while Covid was happening, and Paul was in Melbourne, and I was in Byron – we probably had the luckiest run of anybody around Byron. We were just sending each other songs by Dropbox. That’s kind of how we wrote it, and I’ve never done that before. It was just really exciting to do something such a different way.
What’s your current ear worm?
Well, it’s anything by Billie Eilish at the moment, because my kids just adore her. And it’s just going over and over and over. I mean, luckily, it’s good. She’s really a great writer, and her brother’s a great producer. We went to the concert in Brisbane and it was fantastic.
Are you having enough fun?
I am. Actually, we’ve been having a really great time doing this project. It’s been amazing – a lot of fun, and we got to do a lot of traveling as well, which was good. And we kind of recorded a little bit in Norway. We recorded a bit in America, and then we finished it at my studio in Byron, so we got to do lots of fun stuff while we were doing it, and meet lots of nice people and all that.
But, it’s just good to be playing in Byron. These are the last shows we’re going to be doing for probably a few years, because we both go back to doing our kind of day jobs (my main day job being a taxi driver for a semi-professional under-13 soccer player), so this is kind of the last part of the cycle for us, and this is the last show around Byron. So it should be fun.
Do you feel that as a musician, and professionally as you’re getting older, you’re feeling less ‘diva’ and more likely or more happy to collaborate?
Yeah, probably. I mean, Powderfinger was full collaboration anyway, you know. And then, since then I guess, and it’s been 15 years since we were together, I’ve been writing by myself, so it was really fun to do that again. It was a really interesting process too, you know, to be back in that kind of idea of compromise, where you are accommodating someone else’s ideas – whereas with my records, they’re kind of mine generally, along with a producer and whoever’s playing. I’ve never really had too big a problem with that anyway. There’s strength in numbers, I think in a lot of cases.
Do you feel that artists with a profile, such as yourself, have a responsibility to stand up for the causes they believe in?
I think that anybody should stand up for what they believe in, whether they’re an artist or a plumber, you know, like, it doesn’t matter who you are. Artists generally have a platform. I’m speaking to you. You’re in the media – yeah, I think absolutely you should say what you think. There has been a kind of climate of fear around speaking out over the last probably 10-15 years. That’s manifested in the kind of advent of cancel culture, so I understand also why some people are reluctant to speak up. I don’t think anybody’s obliged to. I think you just have to do and say what you feel. I always have and it’s sometimes got me in trouble, but I don’t really have any regrets about that. I think it’s important that people listen to each other, and their opinions, without this kind of ‘cancel’ element that happens. There’s so much division now politically that, you and I are a similar age, and I’m sure you remember a time when you could have a civil discussion with someone that you completely disagreed with, and that is becoming less and less possible.
Are you pumped for the Byron show?
YES! I’ve only ever played once at the Beach Hotel – that was after that cancelled Splendour mudfest…
I’m really excited about it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I mean, it’s a pretty great place to see a band – it’s got a fun atmosphere, because it’s indoor/outdoor. I used to go to the Beachy and see Bourbon Street back when it was the fibro pub, when I was camping at the First Sun caravan park before I moved here. I would really love to see the locals come along.
This is going to be a really fun show, and so worth it to see these two great fellas together, this Thursday at the Beach Hotel at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now from www.fanningdempseynationalpark.com.
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