Following the release of their fourth studio album ‘Watch Me Disappear’ in 2008, Augie March are booked as the opener for the highly anticipated Evening on the Green series with Leonard Cohen, coming to the Swan Valley on February 7. Here, Kiernan Box, the man behind the ivory keys, answers OUTinPerth’s burning question and provides some, uh, interesting advice.
With the summer festival season in full swing, what gigs are you most looking forward to?
That would have to be the Leonard Cohen tour. A staggeringly good songwriter. He’s 74 now, but most of his songs, even those written decades ago, have a melancholy that I suspect will suit a 74 year old very well.
Do you have a favourite Aussie festival?
Meredith Music Festival in rural Victoria. It has a very eclectic, but distinctive musical flavour. It also serves up an exciting and memorable bout of weather almost every year, ranging from near-Biblical flooding to potential bushfire situations.
What three things does every punter need to bring to a festival?
A ticket is a good start. Comfortable footwear helps… I vaguely remember smuggling a small bottle of vodka in my underpants to a big event many years ago, possibly not something I should be encouraging.
What’s your ‘must-have’ rider for a festival?
The bottle of red cordial sometimes raises eyebrows, but is a proven stagecraft aphrodisiac.
You have worked with a lot of industry names – Neil Finn, Joe Chiccarelli – what influence have those collaborations had on your style and direction with Watch Me Disappear?
Joe (the producer) had a big influence. Augie March have typically been fairly pig-headed about what they’re going to do in the studio and not particularly receptive to genuine collaboration. Though this time Joe arrived with a firm set of ideas and a formidable persuasiveness. I think he was especially good at helping us to focus on the actual sound, the actual texture of what we were playing. For this album Neil was just the studio landlord. He’d pop in for a chat and word of encouragement from time to time, but he didn’t really stick his oar in the water.
‘One Crowded Hour’ has been your mega-hit, particularly in Australia, do you get tired of playing that song?
There have been nights where we’ve become a little weary of that one. Not that I ever get sick of playing it mind you, it’s such a strong tune I can always find some good energy for it. I think the problem with it was that, for a while, quite a few people were coming to the shows just to hear that song and it made the rest of our show seem unnecessary. That’s changed over time. We still always play it, but it’s just part of the furniture now.
