Kurt Wagner is an incredibly affable man. I like this – especially when you consider the fact that he is one of the worlds most prodigious songwriters, he communicates just as easily over the phone as he does in one of his songs.

Talking like he sings, Kurt’s Nashvillian drawl is engaging and somewhat heart-warming, explaining that as the one person who does all the media for the 14 piece Lambchop it’s all about the ‘person-to-person communication, rather than the media rigmarole’.
“See when I am talking to you, it’s you – a person. I don’t think of it as like talking to the ‘media’ or anything. And when we go out to play a show we’re playing for people. I try not to think about it much more than that, and I really try not to think about it in any larger collective terms. It’s really about dealing with things one on one with people. Even in the concert situation, you know when you are playing for lots of people, I mean ultimately I am thinking of talking to each person as an individual, as opposed to this large collective glob of darkness out there.” Kurt says.

Refreshing isn’t it? Someone who actually relates interviews to personal experience and not a trial or artistic ordeal, but then again Lambchop is not your ordinary outfit.

Formed over 20 years ago, the 14 piece slide-show of players has been impossible to define, leaping classification the outfit has been helmed consistently by Kurt, believing that the revolving door of musicians has provided greater artistic freedom.
“It’s certainly… it’s happened in a way that’s been quite natural, and it’s really been due to what we’ve been capable of doing within ourselves, and what people want to do. And I think for the most part people are content with the way its worked out. People have had jobs and families and stuff, and obviously people were not willing to give all that up in order to run around the world…while at the same time the band was able to exist because of the people that were able to do that. So basically we have all benefited from that flexibility.”

Casual drift, creative energy and flow. Three key elements to maintaining a happy symbiosis amongst numerous members. All three elements utilised by three alternate acts: The Polyphonic Spree, Tortoise and Lambchop.
“I think Tortoise is a great example of that type of management of letting people do what they want to do, and yet at the same time remaining who they are. I think that’s a great example of that, I could see them being a band forever.”

Being in a band and maintaining such a stellar level of quality in your quantity is something which many find impossible to do – not so Lambchop. After completing the Aw C’Mon!/No You C’Mon! twin albums, Kurt turned his attention to writing the score for a silent film from 1927, called Sunrise – the same film which Lambchop will be performing when they play Perth this month, and as rehearsal’s are about to commence, how does he feel about returning to Australia?
“Well we’re starting to rehearse for the tour now. We had a great time last time when we were there [last time]. The shows were great, really, really nice and gosh – we just loved the country!”

But with so many members, surely the band can’t tour as a complete unit – and how do you tell those that have to stay at home in an icey winter that they can’t come to the summer sunshine of Australia?
“Well it all comes down to who can do what when. In this case it’s partially due to the fact that we’re coming down to do a film score in Perth, and certain members of the band know that score and have toured it, so they were obviously the ones that were going to come down and do it. It mainly has to do with financial logistics, about how many people we can afford to bring down.”

Ahh touring reality, how we love thee. However Kurt is realistic about it, all too aware of when to push the touring budgetary boundaries, Lambchop will play this tour with a seven-piece band.

Perhaps these boundaries have been extended somewhat after the success of Lambchop’s recent releases, and the numerous luminaries that now count themselves as fans. But all this is pretty ineffective for Kurt, who is knows what makes him happy when he plays-back a Lambchop album.
“You know what? I think it’s all a matter of opinion, and what means a lot to me is that we are still capable of making music together as a band – that’s the thing that’s most important for me. And to continue to make music, that’s always sort of been the goal – just to make records, and I am going to continue to do that, and hopefully we’ll be able to do that into the future.”

Lambchop’s twin album Aw C’Mon!/No You C’Mon! is out now, read the review here, and you can catch the band here, next month:

March 3, Perth International Arts Festival, Special Film Event
March 4, The Gaelic Club, Sydney
March 8, The Corner, Melbourne
March 9, The Zoo, Brisbane