Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes
Parramatta's got a lot going on for Sydney Festival
First published on . Updated on 6 Jan 2012.
Slowly, but surely, a sixties musical resurgence is happening in Australia. After the recent high profile success of Lanie Lane, and other strong home-grown acts such as The Field Brothers, the next champions of all things swingin’ are Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes.
Having celebrated the release of their debut album ‘Baby Caught The Bus’ with a series of live dates on the East Coast last month, the nine-piece ensemble are in good stead to build on their recent success. Taking a quick break from writing Christmas songs, the band’s front woman tells us about the story so far.
“We’ve been working together for the past two and a half years. I gathered some friends who were in to early r’n’b, Northern Soul and blues. It was the kind of music that we wanted to listen to live when we went out,” she explains. “We started playing covers then we started writing in that similar vain and it just went on from there.”
After much writing of material and playing the circuit, they squeezed into the studio earlier this year to lay down their debut in just over a week.
“We worked really well with the producer [Steve Schram],” Clairy explains. “He knows what he wants, had some great ideas, and took us under his wing because he has a similar love for our kind of sound. He knew the result that we wanted, so it was a nice combination.”
The smooth running of events in the studio is evident upon listening to the album, with the album’s energetic opener ‘Love Letter’ setting the precedent for the remaining ten tracks. A plethora of ideas are evident, but are they all in homage to artists of the sixties?
“Our musical influences are pretty wide as me and the core songwriters have different backgrounds. We listen to anything from Tom Waits to Little Richard, from Bruce Brown to Aretha Franklin, from Erykah Badu to Tina Turner & the Ikettes,” she lists. “We also like Cee Lo Green and Aloe Blacc – a lot of contemporary stuff. We’ve always got a record spinning – we have amassive collection.”
With three backing vocalists, a guitarist, bassist, pianist, saxophonist and a drummer all crammed onto the stage together, it’s impressive that Clairy has managed to keep everything under control.
“It has its pros and cons, I guess. The paycheque split is not the best, but that’s what you get,” she laughs. “Because there are so many of us there are lots of different creative pools to draw from when it comes to writing. But our project isn’t solely about the music, it’s also about the show,” she continues. “The choreography and the costumes - all that sort of stuff is a big part of it.”
The band’s live shows are truly a step back in time: sequined outfits and attentively groomed hairstyles all help recreate a dancehall atmosphere which doesn’t allow for non-participation. It certainly gives those boys with guitars and glazed expressions something to think about.
“I wanted to bring back that whole ‘Shindig!’[60s American musical variety show] showmanship. Before the band formed I used to watch a lot of You Tube clips and think ‘How did they create that beautiful vibe?’” she reflects. “You don’t get that with the indie bands. The music might be good but it’s not necessarily something that people go to and say ‘I danced my arse off and I had a really great time’ afterwards. It’s just a different experience, and it does help having that old school feel.”
The band’s eventful year included the Falls Festival in Lorne, followed by their upcoming appearance at Sydney Festival. But what will the rest of 2012 bring?
“We’d like to go overseas, but nothing is set in stone yet. We’ll probably go back into the studio at some point and get back on the road too, but we’ll just see what happens for now,” says Clairy. “I like the fact that things are open-ended at the moment. It’s exciting.”
Words by Stuart Holmes
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