The Waifs

Tue 17th Feb, 2009 in Features

“That’s what you get for rolling around naked on ant hills!” I hear the unperturbed Aussie voice that belongs to Vikki Thorn laugh down the phone, followed by the screams of a crying child in the background. “Sorry, my kids being bitten by ants,” she says, realising I’m on the line.

Josh Cunningham, Vikki and her sister Donna Simpson make up the three-piece that is The Waifs. “Donna and I were brought up around music, so from a young age were always listening to records and jamming,” recalls Vikki. “When I was 13 and she was 17, I started to watch everything she did, and copy everything…we shared a room together, and she used to listen to a lot of Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd, so I started listening to all her music.”

“It was her idea to play music together,” she confirms. “It was her idea to sing together and go travelling. She got us the gigs, the camper van, and I was just along for the ride thinking, – œThis sounds like fun – I love my big sister!’”

From starting off travelling around local bars singing Bob Dylan covers, to touring Australia and America with Dylan himself is an amazing journey. “Yeah, it was pretty special!” agrees Thorn. “When we were on the [Australian] tour he asked us, – œWhat are you doing in a couple of months, you wanna come to the States with me?’” she imitates in her best Dylan voice. “Donna was smart-arsed enough to reply, – œWe’ll have to check our schedule,’” she laughs.

“When we were on tour, he had said three weeks earlier he might get us up to sing. We had been rehearsing a bit, but weeks had gone past and he hadn’t called us on stage so we thought, – œOkay, it’s not gonna happen.’ So when he called us on stage it was the last thing we expected – we were both in our PJs, had a bit too much to drink…I actually ran into a pole getting up there.

“Strangely enough, it never really sunk in until it was all over,” she recalls, more seriously now. “It wasn’t until I was sitting in front of the TV with my baby watching a Dylan doco on SBS when I thought, – œOh my goodness, I toured with this man!’” she chuckles.

As the popularity of The Waifs increased, they had to adapt to the lifestyle of a constant touring band. Vikki agrees that going from the laidback Aussie existence to that of a travelling band opens your eyes a little more. “In Oz, recreation is high on the list of everyone’s priorities,” she laughs, the Aussie tone more noticeable in her voice. “America is so full of hussle-bussle so when we come back to Australia it feels so laid back in comparison …the Aussie laxness is instilled in us wherever we go.”

“We decide where we tour; we decide when enough is enough. It got to the point where on tour now we have every Friday night off to do family things. Such a thing is pretty unusual for a band these days.”

“We choose when we want to make albums, when we want to tour. Our career isn’t our top priority ‘cause we all have families; we enjoy it more when the pressure isn’t there. The success we had with Up All Night were the hardest years of our life,” she pauses, trying to find the right words. “Our relationships were breaking down. Although we might have been more successful than ever, it was at that point we wanted to take some time off. We agreed it’s not making us happy anymore, so we have learnt where the balance is, and we enjoy it much more.”

On the trio’s current Australian tour, the Waifs are letting the fans decide the show set-lists for their tour. Vikki admits it has a lot to do with the band wanting to connect with the audience, and give something back. “For us, we have a very loyal following. Most bands tour to promote a new album, so you play the songs off those albums.

“A lot of our fans are very familiar with our early songs, and our new fans have only caught onto our new stuff. So we have a whole back catalogue of songs we don’t play anymore for various reasons – mainly ‘cause we outgrew them. But the people who are supporting us and are buying our albums have a strong connection with those early years – they are probably the songs some fans grew up listening to.”

The Waifs have a handful of shows left on their Australian tour. You can catch them at the following venues.

Tues 17 Feb – A & I Hall, Bangalow
Wed 18 Feb – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Sat 21 Feb – Townsville Civic Theatre, Townsville
Sun 22 Feb – Cairns Civic Theatre, Cairns
Wed 4 Mar – Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart
Thurs 5 Mar – Saloon Bar, Launceston