You Am I guitarist, and now solo artist in his own right, Davey Lane has been hard at work of late, releasing onto the world his debut solo record Atonally Young. But for the music-obsessed artist it’s been a labour of love.
At the tender age of just 33 Davey Lane has amassed an attractive list of accomplishments in the industry. Aside from his work with You Am I, he’s shared stages with the likes of Todd Rundgren, the now defunct Beady Eye, Wolfmother and Bob Mould and has played with Crowded House, Jimmy Barnes, The Wrights and his own group The Pictures.
It not only fellow artists that have thrown their support behind the in-demand Australian musician, fans too are in on the action. Lane launched a crowdfunding campaign, on Pozible, to help cover the cost of recording and manufacturing Atonally Young. Setting a target of $15,000, fans surpassed Lane’s expectations, pledging over $18,000 towards the record.
With the record now out and Lane and his band, made-up of Eagle & The Worm’s James Fleming and drummer Brett Wolfenden, gearing up to hit the road for a five-date national tour in support of Atonally Young, Music Feeds caught up with the man of the hour to find out exactly how his solo debut came together.
Watch: Davey Lane – Komarov
Music Feeds: Davey, congratulations on the release of Atonally Young. You’re no stranger to debut release, how was the creative process different as a solo artist?
Davey Lane: I guess different only in that the weight of the songwriting and singing rested entirely on my shoulders for the first time, I’ve been boffining about in my bedroom studio like a fuckin nerd working on my own stuff for a while so I’m pretty used to it now!
MF: Take us back to the genesis of Atonally Young. When did the album begin to take shape and how different is the final product?
DL: I wrote all the songs over December and January (the one exception being She’s A Timebomb which has been lying around for about 4 years). Just struck upon a creative purple patch and luckily I had the time to pursue the songs as they came to me.
The finished product is not that different from my demos, I had everything pretty well mapped out as I demoed everything. In a lot of cases they’re just better recorded versions with a proper drummer and keyboard player replacing my sloppy parts!
MF: Your adoring followers responded well to your crowd-sourcing campaign for the album. How did you find this process? Is it something you would recommend to other artists
DL: Yeah I was pleasantly surprised and genuinely humbled by the positive response. I was reluctant to jump into the Pozible thing as I don’t have really have many fans of my stuff, and I was absolutely terrified of it being a dismal failure. That’s my greatest fear, failure. That’s why I’m still on my learner’s permit after 15 years.
Anyways I digress, and it went great. I absolutely would recommend it to other artists, as long as you keeps your aims realistic and try to offer rewards that are as unique as possible. Anyways, I was broke and I wanted to make a record, and I’m thankful that in this day and age there is a way to facilitate it that doesn’t involve begging some asshat from a record company to even listen to your demo.
MF: You’ve clocked many a studio hour in your career. Were you surprised at how much you learned during the making of Atonally Young?
DL: Not to sound like a complete jerk, but there wasn’t that much involved in the process that I hadn’t already learned, I think anyways. It was, however, possibly the most joyous recording experience I’ve ever had the privilege to be involved with. All good people, and good times.
MF: You’re soon to be hitting the road in support of the release, what goes into translating Atonally Young into a live set?
DL: No juggling or interpretive dance this time around, I’m sorry to say. Just a really good 4-piece band playing, with their instruments, the songs from the record.
MF: What’s the plan of attack for the shows? Which friends will you be bringing with you?
DL: My band is made up of Brett Wolfenden on drums, James Fleming on keys and Zac Crozier on bass guitar. Bloody legends the lot of ’em. They make touring a joy.
MF: Will there be a national run of tour dates on the horizon?
DL: I really hope so…but realistically, probably not in a headlining capacity. I’m not so great at getting crowds to my gigs (in the words of Ian Faith, the manager of Spinal Tap, my music has selective appeal) so we can’t really afford to take the band to places like Brisbane and Perth when it looks likely we’ll be playing to near-empty rooms.
I commented on this predicament at greater length on your recent “national tour” map via Facebook. Having said that I am a glass half full kinda guy so I live in hope. I’d love for some friends who are better at getting people to their gigs to take us on tour as a support if anyone’s offering?!
MF: I can’t see Davey Lane slowing down any time soon, what’s on the cards for the start of the 2015? More music, mayhaps?
DL: Heaps more music. A lot of/all of the musics. I’ve already pretty much written the next record, I’m just waiting for the green light from my long-suffering manager to get started. He argues that hopefully there’s still a bit of life yet in my current record yet, that and the fact we’ve still got hundreds CD’s and LP’s to sell!
I’ve also struck upon an idea to collaborate with other bands using vinyl records, the stereo sound field and the panning knob on your amplifier. I’m hoping to get some friends to join me on that li’l project.
Davey Lane’s string of Australian tour dates kicks off on Thursday, 30th October at Karova Lounge in Ballarat. See all the dates below.
Listen: Davey Lane – Witch In My Mind
Davey Lane Australian Tour Dates
Thursday, 30th October 2014
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Tickets: via Oztix & DaveyLane.com
Friday, 31st October 2014
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Tickets: via Northcote Social Club & DaveyLane.com
Friday, 7th November 2014
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Tickets: via Bigtix & DaveyLane.com
Saturday, 8th November 2014
Newtown Social Club, Sydney
Tickets: via Newtown Social Club & DaveyLane.com
Friday, 21st November 2014
The Brightside, Brisbane
Tickets: via Oztix & DaveyLane.com
