I caught up with Gavin Shoesmith to chat about The Groovesmiths album launch, Aussie accents and swapped embarrassing stories less than an hour before the local blues and roots man was due to have his wisdom teeth out. Strangely, Shoesmith wasn’t interested in speculation about the coming dental procedure, though he was willing to be drawn on almost any other topic.

Using the dentist to segue into what I thought would be a more comfortable discussion area, I ask how today’s nervousness compares to performing on stage, and I am surprised when he says he only gets nervous before big gigs like the coming CD launch, and I mention his past involvement with the John Butler Trio, thinking he should be used to big gigs and packed houses by now. Shoesmith however, steers me quickly away from the topic pointing out that it was seven years ago, and nothing he does now has any relevance to his past involvement with JBT.

Rapidly back-pedaling, I tried a different tack, observing that The Groovesmiths have a very indigenous sound – not just because of the instruments, but also because of his vocals. Shoesmith agrees that he has managed to attain a rather Aussie twang and explains;

“I made a conscious decision along time ago to not hide my Aussie accent, however I do put it on a bit and I’ve been told off for it, especially when it started becoming strong in all my vowel sounds.”

We discuss the way that many Australian pop bands put on American accents, and the frustration that there is even an audience for such a contrived style.

“I try to write about Australia – it’s what I know – I’ve never traveled overseas as an adult – except for a year ago when my old man paid for us to go to a Resort – I never really wanted to go backpacking at that backpacking age – I was more like – I wanna just play in a band”

Shoesmith lived in Darwin for 5 years where he met his wife, started a family, put together the band and “explored the whole Indigenous thing. ...I had the honour and pleasure of spending time with Indigenous Australians, and in one of our songs, Bushranger I use a Yulunga word”

I tell him a bit about my past, growing up in Lockridge with Noongar people. “I really wanna make some Noongar contacts here; when you are up in the top end, where you have a lot of traditional cultures still left, they’re (the indigenous locals) very inclusive – they have separate categories, what they call ‘Hippies’ and ‘Balandas’ or ‘White people’ and Hippies are different. I was considered a Hippie so they included me in their culture and they want to teach as much as they can.”

I ask whether this is an important part of his inspiration for song-writing

“Yeah it is, it really is, and also general political topics, I’m quite a political animal, mainly Australian and a bit of general politics as well. I don’t really try to write songs so much as they just come to me, I really try to write in metaphors, for example, there are songs on the album where the meanings are quite hidden in the metaphors”

He explains some more about his process of song-writing by discussing the inspiration for his retelling of The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, which he saw as a youngster and recalled later on tour, whilst listening to a 6 CD set, that a friend had recorded for him, for the mammoth journey from Melbourne, back to Darwin.

“Then I was up late one night in Darwin, I couldn’t sleep or something, so I whacked on the TV and it (The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith) was on, so I went back to my room and it was about 2am, and wrote that song”

Looking for another topic, I ask “Have you had an embarrassing moment on stage, individually or as a band?”

“Yeah, once when a crocodile skin belt that I was given came undone, and whilst my pants stayed up, it was embarrassing to have to adjust around my crotch region on stage, in front of people and all I could do was hide behind the bass and keep playing or excuse myself and admit to it”

He went on to tell me about an equally yucky experience he had whilst playing harmonica with the flu and sinus fluids shooting out of his nose because of all the sucking and blowing.

“I’m trying to be dedicated to the music which makes it hard to stop, wipe your face, and sing again”

They aren’t currently signed to any major labels but of course are more than willing to accept, should such an offer arise. He conveyed his frustrations in the lack of signings to major labels of blues and roots bands saying that indie rock bands stand more of a chance in Perth because certain national radio shows are more interested in giving airplay to indie or hip hop.

“I put in for grant after grant and all these other bands that have been around Perth for a lot longer end up with them. I’m not whinging, there’s money there, but you just have to get the ear of the right person and then you’re in”

Shoesmith explains that they may be a blues and roots band but they have a rock ethic when it comes to putting on a good show and agrees with me that one of these elements to a rock ethic is the obligatory standing-on-ones-double-bass-manoeuvre and adds that there is a lot of jumping around on stage as well.

“Of course none of this is contrived, it’s all honest, I genuinely feel the music, so I’m gonna rock it”

After their CD launch at Mojos, (which turned out to be a roaring, sold out success) The Groovesmiths will embark on a tour of Broome, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Coral Bay, back to Broome, then to Perth where they have some metropolitan shows. They are planning some East Coast gigs after that, and have been invited back to the Bridgetown Blues Festival in November and the Nannup Festival which they played earlier this year.

The new album that was launched at Mojos on Friday night is self titled, however Shoesmith admits that people are going to be confused because of the artwork on the CD, a picture of a person on the phone saying “Hello Operator – I’d like to report some unAustralian Activity.” Fans will probably be calling it Hello Operator. He says he has no plans to slow down; “I wanna start producing an album each year now, because, I’ve realised, as an independent songwriter, I have to, otherwise we’re just gonna stagnate so we have to just start pumping out the music”

Our time almost up, and his appointment looming, I wrap up the interview with some cheeky dental advice; “Ask for the gas mate, Ask for the gas!”

To see the photos from the CD Launch, click HERE