Several e-mails, one transatlantic flight and a couple of late night phone calls finally put me in contact with Darren Middleton, guitarist for Australia's latest rock sensation, Powderfinger. Both of us were exhausted, he from the flight and me for much more mundane reasons, but after a few minutes of pleasant small talk the conversation began to flow smoothly. "I just spoke with your flatmate." is the first thing Darren says to me. Later I find that my roommate not only commended Darren on Powderfinger and their latest album, Odyseey Number Five, but also held him responsible for the greatness of the entire Australian continent. Thankfully Darren absorbed all this in stride, much in the way that Powderfinger has taken all of their fame and critical success.
After the release of their fourth album, Odyssey, the Australian Record Industry Awards committee presented Powderfinger with nearly every national music award in existence including Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Song of the Year. Yet through it all tJon Coghill, John Collins, Bernard Fanning, Ian Haug and Darren Middleton have remained the humble gentlemen they started out as when they were playing covers back in the early nineties.
They've been together almost a decade and still their cohesion hasn't diminished. On the road as the itinerate tourers they play poker; "It can end up getting pretty feisty," Darren says. Only in his Australian accent can he get away with saying feisty and not sounding like my seventy year old grandmother. "Strangely enough we can't seem to get enough of taking the piss out of each other,"
The five have been called the most ordinary blokes in Rock n' Roll, raising the question of how they will fare in the glam culture dominating American music. "I'm generalizing here," says Darren. "But the States are so dictated by fashion and what looks in at the moment. We do dress up occasionally," he protests to me. "Who knows, maybe on our tour here we'll put on some of our funky old outfits and surprise everyone."
Darren has little to say about the boy band phenomenon that dictates a lot of the superficiality on the music scene. "Its a little bit schmultzy," he says after considering it for awhile. "It isn't their fault really. A lot of them can sing well, but they have people writing all their lyrics for them." Which is the truth. A lot of what sets Powderfinger songs apart are the stunning and soulful lyrics, all of which the band writes themselves. "Most of the things around you are reflected in your songs. Everything in your life naturally plays a part in your creativity," Darren says, musing on the power of the band's words.
The land down under has produced its share of rock legeneds. Darren sites a few: Crowded House, Midnight Oil, and AC/DC ("I don't know how Australian they are these days, but back then they did live there for awhile.") as his Australian influences. As for his American influences, Neil Young is mentioned, as are Led Zeppelin and Ben Harper. In his "every guy" style Darren even admits to falling prey to the lost decade. "I went through a bad eighties stage. Bad glam bands. Twisted Sister. Some really bad punk."
Darren yawns. I am reminded that he flew in from Australia only a few hours before. Somehow it is contagious even over the phone and I find myself in the midst of a viscious yawning attack. I still manage to ask my final questions and we chat a bit about Powderfinger's Philly show coming up next Friday. Live shows have always been the cornerstone of their success. No matter the venue size, the five electrify an audience with their enthusiasm and awesome stage presence. When I ask Darren how they manage to get so fired up before every show on the road he replies very matter of factly. "We really love what we're doing. We still love playing music together. I think there's a whole philosophy with our band. When you know there are a couple thousand people who paid money and just want to have a good night out, and if you think about that for a minute before the show, you get really fired up. It's quite a nice job we have, and a great lifestyle." Yes it is, and somehow none of it has gone to their heads.
