Dead Letter Chorus

Mon 1st Dec, 2008 in Features

Cameron Potts answers the phone sounding slightly dazed and confused. The Dead Letter Chorus national tour had only just started when FL caught up with the band’s multi-talented frontman, yet he was already wary of the arduous schedule ahead.

“We’re kind of working towards the festivals that are coming up, including the Woodford Festival for New Years. It’ll be a busy little period of kind of playing and flying and trying not to lose our minds! The tour so far has been amazingly good. Everyone seems to have gotten along. Maybe we’ve figured out how to deal with each other. I think being kind of hungover actually really helps because you don’t have to talk too much!”

However, having to face his other four band members every morning has hardly affected his relationship with them. “In other bands, sometimes, spending that much time with each other gets a bit much. But we’ve all been friends of years and years before we started. So, spending this much time with each other is not a huge issue. We see each other’s good points and flaws. No one’s really precious in the band either, so we can say what we want and no one’s going to get offended.”

Throughout the inception of Dead Letter Chorus’ debut The August Magnificent, Cameron and the band took the bold move to evade a recording company during the album production process. Aside from writing, recording, playing and producing every song, the band also went out of the way to construct their own studio.

“We started using it as a rehearsal room before we converted it into a fully-functioning studio. We decorated it the way we wanted it to look and the way we wanted it to sound and the way we wanted it to feel. We built a space around us where we were always comfortable and there’s no pressure at all.”

At this early stage, Cameron’s sense of pride in his work is evident. When asked whether they’d trade the control they have for opportunities to garner a wider audience, he responds hesitantly. “We make the music to get the stories out and play, rather than aim for any type of success. I guess we always want control over the project and to know what we want from the band. But we’re open to working with producers and whatnot in the future, though it might be a bit of an adjustment process.”

Musically, however, Dead Letter Chorus have managed to create a sound that blends the best assets of indie rock with some of the more visceral aspects of Australian music. “It’s got a little bit of attitude in it, I guess. I didn’t realise it at the time, yet I was doing an interview the other day and it was mentioned how we had a bit of progressive rock element and a little bit of anger. Something that, let’s say, Beasts of Bourbon have or what not. Just a little bit of extra energy and power in our music.”

Conversely, centering Cameron’s musical influences becomes a chore for even the man himself. “I’m not really sure. I just listen to too much music, maybe, to have a specific influence. Neil Young, when he’s with Crazy Horse, is something I really like and listen to a lot. All kinds of new stuff as well – The Dodos and Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket.”

One question that has to be raised though: What trouble, if any, does the band get into sharing a similar name with a certain Brisbane punk group? “I think when we first started we did a gig in Newcastle where they had the name up in the lights as the other band. But for us it’s been pretty good. We haven’t run into any issues. I know they’ve run into a few issues in Sydney, with our photo being put in instead of theirs but with their name. I’d like to meet the guys one day and see what’s going on. No-one’s turned up to a gig yet and gone, – œAw, shit! Wrong band!’”

The possibilities that other genres of rock provide, nonetheless, intrigue Cameron. “We’ve been talking about doing a post-rock record or a completely instrumental record. What that consists of, I don’t really know…I see this band as a band that can change and move in different directions. I don’t think we’ll ever become the Presets or anything but we’re open for trying different things.”

Dead Letter Chorus star at two of summer’s best-loved festivals.

27 Dec-1 Jan – Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland
29 Dec-1 Jan – Peats Ridge Festival, Glenworth Valley