“I think I’m ready to claim what’s mine, rightfully.” A sequence of nine words has never fell more honestly from the mouth of Kurt Vile in his ‘KV Crimes’ confessionals, part of the almost 70 minute sublime Kurt-Kaleidoscope Wakin On A Pretty Daze, Vile’s fifth LP released in April of this year.
With such a stellar release heralded by critics and fans alike as a frontrunner for album of the year, 2013 has been the year of The Vile.
Vile with his band The Violators have shared the open road with the likes of The Black Keys, Lee Ranaldo And The Dust, Real Estate, Beach Fossils, Merchandise, and Swirlies. Throw in all the festivals including Coachella, FunFunFun Festival, Primavera Sound, Festival Corona Capital, FYF, Outside Lands, Forecastle, Best Kept Secret, and Field Day, and there could only be a child’s handful of ears not to of heard this Philadelphian’s enchanting drawl.
Despite extending his catalogue exponentially, Vile has collaborated with Sore Eros to release an EP entitled Jamaica Plain. Still not satisfied, Vile has managed to squeeze in unique covers of ‘Down On It’ by Nine Inch Nails, and the reggae rendition of The Clash’s ‘Guns Of Brixton’. True to their originals yet enriched with the Vile tone, two further classics have been added to the 33-year-old’s repertoire.
Oh, and how could one forget that the cheese-steak city of Philly has now crowned August 28 “Kurt Vile Day”. Clearly, this man is not just ‘all talk’.
“I love putting out EPs in general as an art form and a piece of product.”“On Tour” is where we caught Kurt, having lowered anchor for a night in New Orleans. A little dishevelled and under the weather, Vile is nonetheless genuinely stoked for his first visit to the Big Easy with The Violators.
“I’m already digging the cosmic night vibes. I think after I play a show and get some adrenaline pumped in me, we’re gonna wreck havoc into the wee hours.” The next day however, it’s all business as the band traverse further west.
Vile’s excitement bounced at the mention of Austin’s aptly named FunFunFun Fest. “Snoop Dogg is playing just a little bit after us on the same stage. That will be a riot!”
He also throws in admiration for LA new wave veterans Sparks and the rich baritone of low-fi legend, Bill Callahan.
Long bouts of touring has emerged as the norm for Vile, capitalising on what he refers to as “a fair amount of down time” to get to work.
Earlier this year, Vile stated, “the road has become my temple” referring to the long nights bounding along the stretched asphalt as the band universally toured Smoke Ring For My Halo and simultaneously wrote Wakin On A Pretty Daze.
Flash-forward to touring Wakin On A Pretty Daze, Vile proudly reflects on his own progress.
“I sort of exceeded that…I think everywhere is kind of my temple just when I want it to be. I kind of tap in. But definitely on the road that’s when you’re working, before you get too run down, or even when you are run down and serotonin is super low, you come out with something really good.”
Unable to extract whether any fresh material has been penned throughout the Wakin On A Pretty Daze tour circuit, Vile giggled at the addition of extra tracks to their current setlist.
“I was excited once they released that one song ‘Feel My Pain’ from the EP that I immediately played it on this tour, so that was something fresh! We wanted to play ‘Goldtone’ live for so long and we only just got it down for this tour, so we’re playing that every night. For the longest time I feel like most of these tours are playing the same set and we didn’t put anything new in there. Now we’re mixing it up a little more, new meaning. Even with just ‘Goldtone’ and ‘Feel My Pain’ in there, that’s huge for us…for me.”
‘Feel My Pain’ is the first release from the deluxe EP entitled It’s A Big World Out There (And I’m Scared) ready to drop on November 13th. Taking very little breath, Vile rapidly takes us through his latest piece of output.
“I love putting out EPs in general as an art form and a piece of product. You sort of keep listening to things to see what you’ve got and this one definitely evolved into something cool as they always do, at least for my standards. It’s a little different in that it’s really guitar. There’s an early version of ‘Air Bud’ that we got down in a day, it was born in its rawness. It kind of [segways] into some cool synth reprise.” Pausing, Vile confirms, “The one song, probably my favourite, is ‘The Ghost of Freddie Roach’. I recorded that before any of the real sessions for Wakin On A Pretty Daze. For a second you hit a wall like you can’t imagine recording again, but that came out really quick and really good.”
“This EP is more like a psychedelic journey, you know?”
Late September saw Vile release an 80 minute mixtape, revealing a more intimate side of himself.
“I don’t want to dissect all my favourite music for everyone. But I sent this mix to my friends involved in my record for the purpose of loose/good vibes”. The mix is seamless and truly transcends the profound influence the select artists bestowed upon Wakin On A Pretty Daze.
One track included on the mix is ‘Charley’s Girl’ from none other than the late and great Lou Reed. Almost fried at the thought of choosing just one Reed record to champion as number one, Vile took to the debate himself.
“They’re all so different and that’s what’s cool about him. Street Hassle is a fucking amazing record. Coney Island Baby it’s off-the-wall pop sensibility and it’s just like general badass. It’s got songs on there like ‘Kicks’ that are super jivey. ‘Football For The Coach’ or whatever you call it, and I think that one’s called ‘Coney Island Baby’.”
“One day I’ll do a solo tour where I have a couple of stations, play a banjo and an electric guitar with a sampler, then play an acoustic song.”If he could ask any artist to perform any track of his choice on the mixtape, who would it be? Vile stammers and swears in thought before breaking entirely. It felt cruel, but Vile eventually conceded that, “I’d like to see Randy Newman perform ‘Watching Alice’ by Nick Cave!” before hurling back into a fit of childish laughter. Great Aussie pride answer!
Kurt Vile and The Violators are bound for our land for the Laneway tour alongside their “sister band Warpaint”, as well as accompanying sideshows around the nation.
Sydneysiders are in for a special treat – a solo performance from Vile for the Sydney Festival.
“I like to the do the solo thing, it’s a challenge. Especially if you only have an acoustic guitar, you feel like you shouldn’t play as long…as it gets old,” he jibes.
“One day I’ll do a solo tour where I have a couple of stations, play a banjo and an electric guitar with a sampler, then play an acoustic song.”
Separating his different performance style between solo and band, he affirms, “That’s the whole dynamic of going from a set where you know it evolves. All of the sudden you bring it up to the certain peak, then you bring it down, playing something like ‘Peeping Tomboy’ that’s really effective. To play an acoustic set you have to adapt it to giving your most honest delivery live.”
Vile frequently interjects with his warm exuberance at the mention of finally touring Wakin On A Pretty Daze in Australia. “Honestly, I love Australians in general. They got that ball-buster quality of the Philadelphians but with a better accent!” Vile has no crazy bucket list to tick off, but admits, “seeing a kangaroo with my friends, that would be…cool”.
Kurt Vile’s maturity as a family man burns brightly through his confident, continued output of records as well as the trail blaze of Vile glory scorched into the northern hemisphere two times over this year alone.
Our scraggly-haired Philadelphian idol is no longer that ‘Runner Up’ aboard the ‘Freak Train’ scrawling about ‘Wanting Everything’ that’s So Outta Reach.
Our man is ready to, and rightfully should, claim what is his.
Kurt Vile Laneway Festival 2014 Sideshows
Sydney Festival: Wednesday 22nd January – Kurt Vile & the Violators @ Paradiso at Town Hall.
Tickets on sale October 28 from Ticketmaster. Doors open 8pm.
Sydney Festival: Thursday 23rd January – Kurt Vile sings Big Star’s Third @ Enmore Theatre.
Tickets on sale October 28 from Ticketmaster. Doors open 8pm.
Sydney Festival: Thursday 23rd January – Kurt Vile solo show @ Festival Village.
Tickets on sale October 28 from Ticketmaster. Midnight performance.
Melbourne: Wednesday 4th February @ The Corner w/ Early Woman.
Tickets on sale now from The Corner Box Office. Presented by Mistletone and Triple R.
Melbourne: Thursday 5th February @ The Corner w/- Montero.
Tickets on sale now from The Corner Box Office. Presented by Mistletone and Triple R.
Also performing nationally:
Laneway 2014 Dates & Venues
Brisbane: Friday 31st January – RNA, Fortitude Valley
Melbourne: Saturday 1st February – Footscray Community Arts Centre/River’s Edge
Sydney: Sunday 2nd February – Sydney College Of The Arts, Rozelle
Adelaide: Friday 7th February – Harts Mill, Port Adelaide
Perth: Saturday 8th February – Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle
Tickets and info at http://lanewayfestival.com/
