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ON THE COUCH WITH: Something For Kate

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: Hey Paul. How are you?
Paul Dempsey: I’m good Simon, thanks.

Access All Areas.net.au: Something For Kate is about to release it’s first best of, entitled ‘The Murmur Years’. How does it feel to look back on your career?
Paul Dempsey: It’s really surreal. I didn’t actually realise how quickly it had all happened. I found it quite surprising that we released five studio albums. It doesn’t feel like we’ve done all of that. I don’t remember recording all those songs (laughs).

Access All Areas.net.au: As you look back on it all, would you change anything?
Paul Dempsey: Yeah there is. Lots actually (laughs). I guess that’s what keeps us going though. We are always changing and I don’t feel like the same person I was at that stage. If we were to record those albums now, they would be very different.

Access All Areas.net.au: Something For Kate is touring to support the album. Can we expect any surprises at these shows?
Paul Dempsey: Definitely. We won’t just play the songs that are on the album. We will pull out a number of surprises for the shows. Our back catalogue has over 100 songs that we can choose from.

Access All Areas.net.au: The band has been around for 12 years now. What do you think is important in having a long career in the music industry?
Paul Dempsey: I think that slow and steady wins the race. Some artists lay everything on the line and put everything they have into their first release and end up burning out. They spend all their record companies money and make really expensive videos. Sometimes that can work, but most times it doesn’t really allow the artist to grow.

Access All Areas.net.au: Now on the Something For Kate website, there’s a section called S4K Recommends where you tell everyone what books and albums you are currently enjoying. Can you recommend us anything right now?
Paul Dempsey: Oh, well I just finished reading a book called No Country For Me by Cormack McCarthy. It was great and I think that the Coen Brothers are making a movie of it. They have a pretty good track record with films, so I’m excited about that.
The record I have in my car at the moment is Bright Eyes most recent album, Cassadaga. I think he is great. I have all of his stuff except for one album. I also have Nocturama by Nick Cave in my car.

Access All Areas.net.au: What is your most current single, ‘The Futurist’, about?
Paul Dempsey: In short form, it’s about how much you can compromise. The government keep people happy by keeping interest rates low. It’s almost a sacrifice. If interest rates weren’t that low, then the Government would be out of there. It’s almost like a trade-off. It also is about how fear plays a big part in everything.

Access All Areas.net.au: Do you have a favourite song from your back catalogue?
Paul Dempsey: It’s probably ‘The Futurist’ right now, purely because it’s the newest. The newest songs stick in your mind more. It changes all the time though.

Access All Areas.net.au: The band recently played at Humpty Doo for Triple J Gone AWOL. What was that like?
Paul Dempsey: That was really great. There were heaps of people there and it was just a great time had by all. Like, when do you get to do that in your lifetime? If it weren’t for Triple J, then some people wouldn’t ever see live music.

Access All Areas.net.au: Although this is NOT the end of Something For Kate, what would you like the band to be remembered for?
Paul Dempsey: Um, I don’t know. I guess that there is still a lot of music to make, so I don’t want to make anything final (laughs). I guess I’m proud that we do things our way. What you see is what you get and we’re proud that we have done everything on our own terms.

Access All Areas.net.au: What are the future plans for both Paul Dempsey solo and Something For Kate?
Paul Dempsey: Well concerning the solo stuff, it is still very early days. There isn’t really anything to say about it anyway. As for Something For Kate, I know we have more records in us. What it will sound like is anyone’s guess.

Access All Areas.net.au: Thanks for your time Paul.
Paul Dempsey: Cheers Simon. Take care.

Interview by Simon Finck

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Something for Kate formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1994.The founding members of the three-piece band were vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey, bass player, Julian Carroll and drummer Clint Hyndman.

After recording a 7 track demo in 1995,the band signed to Murmur Records, a subsidiary of Sony. Then in 1996, they released the 7 track E.P., "The Answer to Both Your Questions" recorded and mixed by Mr. Greg Atkinson of Sydney band, Big Heavy Stuff.

In November of 1996,the 3 track single, "Dean Martin" was released. Early in 1997,the band then released a 5 track E.P. titled "Intermission" as they recorded their first album, "Elsewhere for Eight Minutes" in New Zealand and mixed and mastered it in New York with U.S. producer Brian Paulson.(Brian had previously produced albums for amongst others, Wilco, Archers of Loaf, Superchunk and Slint) Something for Kate's first full length album was released in July of 1997. Bass player, Julian Carroll was then replaced by Toby Ralph who toured with the band for the release of this album.

Four singles were released from "Elsewhere for Eight Minutes". They were: "Captain(Million miles an hour)","Prick", "Working Against Me" and "Roll Credit". Bass player, Toby Ralph was then replaced by Stephanie Ashworth in March 1998. The band then wrote their second album, "Beautiful Sharks" which was released in April of 1999. "Beautiful Sharks" was recorded in Melbourne, once again by producer, Brian Paulson.

Four singles were released from "Beautiful Sharks". They were: "Electricity", "Hallways", "Whatever You Want" and "The Astronaut" When the band went on the road with this album they took on an extra touring musician, Wally Gunn to play the incidental guitar and keyboard parts.

In 2000 as the band were writing for their third album, Murmur released "Q & A With Dean Martin", a re-release of the bands first E.P. and single as they had since sold out of their pressings and were increasingly difficult to come by. Also released in 2000 was "Big Screen Television", a video collection of 12 of the bands music videos along with some bonus footage.

Then in June of 2001, Something for Kate released their third album, "Echolalia". Produced by the band and Trina Shoemaker whose other recording credits include Queens of the Stone Age, REM, Whiskeytown, Sheryl Crow, "Echolalia" was recorded at INXS bass-player, Gary Garry Beers' Mangrove studio in the Central Coast of NSW.

Four singles were released from "Echolalia". They were; "Monsters", "Three Dimensions", "Twenty Years" and "Say Something". When touring this album, the band then took on two touring musicians, Pip Branson and Simon Bourke, again, to play the increasing amount of keyboards and extra guitar parts featured on the album.

In 2002, the band released their first DVD, entitled "A Diversion" which is a document of the writing, recording and touring of the "Echolalia" album.

In 2003 the band recorded their fourth album, "The Official Fiction". Produced once again by the band and Trina Shoemaker at Mangrove studios, "The Official Fiction" is the bands current album (released in Australia in August 2003), and has so far spawned the singles, "Deja vu", "Song for A Sleepwalker", "Best Weapon" and "Moving Right Along". The album will be released in Europe and the USA in mid-2004.

After supporting David Bowie on the Australian leg of his 'Reality Tour', the band toured Europe in 2004 taking in Germany, France, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland and the UK before returned to Australia to release their first Double album, "Phantom Limbs- Selected B-Sides". This release is a collection of the band members and their fans favourite b-side tracks from over the years.

Upon returning to Australia in the latter part of 2004 the band spent the remainder of the year writing and demoing songs for their 5th album. After completing this demo process in mid 2005, the band then went to Los Angles to record album no.5 with U.S. producer, Brad wood whose recording credits have included everyone from Chicago post-rock band Tortoise, Red Red Meat, Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, The Smashing Pumpkins to Ben Lee. Emerging 4 months later with the finished album, the band then released the 1st single in on May 6th, "Cigarettes and Suitcases" from the forthcoming album, "Desert Lights".

"Desert Lights" is the current album released by Something for Kate on July 1, 2006.

www.somethingforkate.com

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