Jeremy Marou, guitarist for folk-country duo Busby Marou doesn’t particularly consider the music he makes to be political or advocational, yet he’s used his knowledge and love of music to help those who need it and, in day to day life he takes issue with examples of prejudice and racial insensitivity.
“We’re as drunk as a thousand Murrays.”
That was a description slipped into casual conversation by a friend of Marou’s.
It was intended as a joke, just as thousands of similar derogatory, but unchallenged asides are intended. But Marou, an indigenous Australian, says that jokes like this aren’t as innocent as many people think.
“To me, that’s racist. If you’re saying you’re as drunk as a thousand black fellas, that’s racist,” he says firmly.
Marou reminds us that what might be a bit of harmless off-colour humour for some is a stinging sign of prejudice for others, regardless of the context. We’ve all heard jokes like these, and we’ve all laughed them off – but it really isn’t that hard to have a conversation with your friends without touching on racism.
Marou’s friend and manager Josh Jones provides the blueprint on how to do this.
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“Josh brought up that he would say he’s not racist, but the friends he knocks around with would say a racist joke, or say ‘abbo,’ just use that sort of lingo, and he might just go ‘ha ha, yeah good one,’” Marou recalls.
“[Music] is something that I want to put back into the area that I’m from.”“So, is he racist, just because he laughs at them?” he questions. “Or should he say ‘hang on a minute, that’s not good. Don’t say that. And if you’re going to use that kind of language, crack those sort of jokes, don’t do it around me.’”
“It’s only been the last couple of years that he’s actually started pulling his mates up – saying ‘keep me off your racist emails, I don’t want to see them.’ It’s not until he starts doing that that he feels that he’s not a racist.”
It’s a fine line to tread, and something that not many people probably think about. There might be a media shitstorm at the slightest controversy when it comes to people in the public eye, but in informal conversation, it seems that the way our language may affect others is often left unconsidered.
“Racism can be the slightest thing you say,” Marou reiterates. “Even though it’s meant in fun, it is racist, and unless people start pulling their mates up about it, it’s going to exist.”
That’s not to say that Marou sees himself as some sort of social justice crusader. As anyone who has listened to his music can easily tell, this is one chilled out guitarist.
The issues are important to him – he mentors indigenous kids looking to break into the music industry, especially around his home turf of Rockhampton and central Queensland. “It’s something that I want to put back into the area that I’m from”, he explains.
However, when it comes to his own songwriting, his background is not something he generally dips into. On the contrary, Busby Marou’s recently released second album Farewell Fitzroy plays like a romantic, nostalgic dream.
Chock full of folk-tinged country ballads and guitar that is in turns powerful and delicate – with a couple of cheeky whistle solos thrown in for good measure – it’s evocative of lazy days on sandy beaches, and downing beers next to a campfire. Sweet and simple, songs like ‘Luck’ and ‘Get You Out Of Here’ are hard to listen to without a smile creeping across your face.
The sound on the new record is richer than that of their debut, thanks to their decision to use a full band this time round, in order to capture their renowned live atmosphere. They even flew their regular backing musicians all the way out to Nashville to do it. As Marou learnt, recording an album in the Tennessee country music mecca is a cliché for a reason.
“When you’ve got someone like Al Perkins – the pedal steel player who played on all the Beatles records – pop in and play on your album, you know you’re heading in the right direction.”“To be honest, when they first had the first idea of Nashville, I was kind of like ‘aww’…you know, I’ve got a young family here in Australia,” he remembers. “If I have to travel I will, but I prefer not to. So I was under the impression that it might be a bit of a cliché, just to say that we’ve recorded in Nashville.”
“But after doing it, I can definitely see the benefits of why we recorded there, it was a really immersive experience. We had some amazing people pop into the studio and record on tracks, that you wouldn’t get in Australia,” he enthuses.
“When you’ve got someone like Al Perkins – the pedal steel player who played on all the Beatles records – pop in and play on your album, you know you’re heading in the right direction.”
However, while recording in the States was an “amazing experience” for Marou, he’s grateful he was born where he was. Touring in a band has given him a rare opportunity to travel to every pocket of the country, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“To be honest, Australia’s better than anywhere in the world,” he says. “There are places I’ve seen in Australia that I never knew existed. Up in the Northern Territory, some of those places.”
“Especially after being in the States, you come back home and you just go ‘I’m glad we live in Australia.’”
Now that he’s back, he’s just going to keep crafting quality songwriting and playing across the country (you can catch Busby Marou out on tour this month.) He’s not entirely happy with the way things are run here, but he hopes that change will come through people like him leading by example.
“If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when I go to a festival where Busby Marou are playing and we’re on the indigenous stage,” he says. “Well hang on, we get more airplay than what that band on the main stage does, why are we on the black stage?”
“For me, it’s about not focusing on it. We feel like we – Tom and I – can lead the way. We’ll go and play on the main stage, and it people ask “what’s it like being an indigenous artist on the main stage?” Well, we don’t see it like that. It’s about not focusing on it, and to appreciate the music for what it is.”
Busby Marou is out now through Warner.
Watch the video for ‘Get You Out Of Here’ below.
Busby Marou Australian Tour 2013
THU 24 OCT | THE SOUNDLOUNGE, GOLD COAST QLD
Tickets available from www.soundlounge.com.au
FRI 25 OCT | THE HI-FI, BRISBANE QLD
Tickets available from www.thehifi.com.au | 1300THEHIFI | All Oztix outlets
SAT 26 OCT | THE SPOTTED COW, TOOWOOMBA QLD
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
THU 07 NOV | ZIERHOLZ @ UC, CANBERRA ACT
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
FRI 08 NOV | THE SMALL BALLROOM, NEWCASTLE NSW
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
SAT 09 NOV | THE STANDARD, SYDNEY NSW
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix outlets
SUN 10 NOV | THE HERITAGE HOTEL, BULLI NSW
Tickets available from www.heritagehotel.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
WED 13 NOV | MECC NORTH FOYER, MACKAY QLD (ALL AGES)
Tickets available from www.mackayecc.com.au | 07 4961 9777 | From the MECC Box Office direct
FRI 15 NOV | FLINDERS SOCIAL, TOWNSVILLE QLD
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
SAT 16 NOV | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS QLD (15+)
Tickets available from www.ticketlink.com.au | 1300 855 835 | Cairns Civic Theatre Box Office
FRI 22 NOV | REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART TAS
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix outlets
SAT 23 NOV | CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC
Tickets available from www.cornerhotel.com | 03 9427 9198 | Corner Hotel Box Office
FRI 29 NOV | FOWLERS, ADELAIDE SA (ALL AGES)
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix outlets
SAT 30 NOV | FLY BY NIGHT, FREMANTLE WA
Tickets available from www.flybynight.org | 08 9430 5976 | From Fly By Night Box Office direct
