For more than 20 years, You Am I have always looked forward.
The loveable three-piece, who became four with the addition of Davey Lane in 1999, have long been regarded as one of Australia’s finest rock bands.
Soon, You Am I will reissue their classic albums Sound As Ever, Hi Fi Way and Hourly Daily for the first time. They’ll also head out on a national tour to perform the latter two records back-to-back.
Given their well-documented keenness to avoid nostalgia, this decision is a big one.
“Coming to the 20th anniversary of Sound As Ever is a small part of it,” Lane explains. “But more than anything, it was us sitting around a table having a yarn about it. It was a decision that was made between the four of us – only the four of us.”
Lane continues: “It wasn’t anybody saying, ‘play two of your classic albums and you’ll be able to play theatres’. We just thought, ‘Fuck, how much fun would it be to play those two records back-to-back’. Last year, the idea for the reissues came up. The tour followed after that.”
The reissues will include unreleased tracks that You Am I fans have been clamouring to hear for years. For Lane, digging through old demos and recordings was a great experience.
It wasn’t anybody saying, ‘play two of your classic albums and you’ll be able to play theatres’. We just thought, ‘Fuck, how much fun would it be to play those two records back-to-back’.”“It was nice to go through that stuff and have a little glimpse of what went into making those records,” he says. “We’ve uncovered some really interesting stuff. There’s a song that You Am I recorded for Hourly Daily that I didn’t know existed. It certainly wasn’t released anywhere and Tim doesn’t remember recording it.”
Lane joined Tim Rogers, Andy Kent and Rusty Hopkinson as an 18-year-old, shortly after the release of You Am I’s #4 Record. Having grown up listening to the same records that Rogers had obsessed over when he was a teen, Lane was the perfect fit.
“I was living a little bubble where it was still 1968,” Lane says, recalling his teenage years. “Then again, I still live in a little bubble where it’s 1968 so I guess not much has changed.”
But perhaps for that reason, You Am I’s grunge-influenced 1993 debut originally passed him by.
“Sound As Ever was a record that I discovered after,” he says. “I guess because when it came out I was 12 years old. I was already into music but I wasn’t really too aware of what was happening currently.”
Only a year later, Lane’s outlook was about to change. You Am I were readying the first single from much-anticipated Hi Fi Way and Lane was about to have a “revelation”.
“First hearing “Cathy’s Clown” on the radio, that song just leapt out at me,” he says. “It sounded so vital to me and encapsulated everything that I loved about the bands I grew up listening to. I thought ‘Fuck, this is for me’.”
“I went out and got Hi Fi Way straight after that,” he continues. “That was it. You Am I were a band that I had great respect for, long before I joined – Tim as a songwriter, and Tim, Andy and Russ as musicians. Rusty as a drummer just blew my head off. I didn’t think anybody still played like that these days. I had no idea.”
Enamoured though he was, Lane still wasn’t old enough to see You Am I perform. In fact, it wasn’t until the release of the band’s next album, Hourly Daily, that he’d get his chance. To this day, it remains his favourite You Am I record.
“We’ve uncovered some really interesting stuff. There’s a song that You Am I recorded for Hourly Daily that I didn’t know existed. It certainly wasn’t released anywhere and Tim doesn’t remember recording it.”“Hourly Daily is the one for me. I can’t go past songs like “Moon Shines On Trubble”, “Mr Milk” or “Dead Letter Chorus”. I have a sentimental attachment to “Please Don’t Ask Me To Smile”. That’s a song that spoke to me as a socially-retarded 15 year-old kid.”
Lane wasn’t the only one who could relate to Tim Rogers’ heartfelt tales of Australian suburban life. When Hourly Daily hit shelves in 1996, it went straight to the number one, their second consecutive release to top the charts.
Hourly Daily showcased the new direction that Hi Fi Way had hinted at. Stepping out of the shadows of grunge, Tim Rogers was now looking to classic British rock ‘n’ roll for inspiration. With Hourly Daily, You Am I were now miles away from their fuzzed-up early recordings.
But for Lane, the new sound was just “natural progression”.
“It’s just classic pop and rock ‘n’ roll songwriting,” he says. “I guess for people who grew up with Sound As Ever and got into the band really early on, it was a bit of a shock. But because I got into the band around the time of Hi Fi Way, hearing songs like “Heavy Comfort” and the title track – beautifully crafted, ornate pieces of classic pop – it wasn’t that much of a shock.”
What has been a shock for Lane, however, is the public’s reaction to their upcoming shows.
“Sure, we’re playing two records that a lot of people out there are fond of,” he notes. “We had optimistic expectations. But we’re really surprised with the response. It bodes well for a fun tour that’s for sure.”
The tour will see You Am I play theatres in their own right for the first time in a long while. According to Lane, playing larger venues will help the band replicate Hourly Daily’s more varied instrumental palette.
“The fortuitous thing about being afforded the opportunity to play theatres is that we can bring extra folks along with us,” he says. “Those string and horn parts – you can’t really fuck with them – those things are there for a reason, you just gotta have them there. So we’re gonna bring some horns and strings.”
He continues: “There’s a few songs we’ll be doing in a different configuration because a lot of the Hi Fi Way songs don’t have two guitars. I’ll go and have a break for a few songs. Go and have a drink and let the three others go. I’ll be playing a bit of keyboards too. I think there’s a lot of people who’re looking forward to seeing that original three-piece.”
20 years on from the release of their debut, You Am I remain one of our most-loved rock bands. And, given the response to these upcoming shows, that looks unlikely to change.
You Am I ‘Hi Fi Daily Double’ 2013 Australian Tour
WEDNESDAY JUNE 26th – *new show
THURSDAY JUNE 27th – *tickets selling fast
@ TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE Tickets @ www.ticketek.com.au
WEDNESDAY JULY 3rd & THURSDAY JULY 4th – *new shows
SATURDAY JULY 6th – SOLD OUT
@ FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE – Tickets @ www.ticketmaster.com.au
FRIDAY JULY 12th
@ THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE – Tickets @ www.venuetix.com.au
SATURDAY JULY 13th – SOLD OUT
SUNDAY JULY 14th *new show
@ ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH - Tickets @ www.showticketing.com.au
FRIDAY JULY 19th – SOLD OUT
THURSDAY AUGUST 1st *new show
@ ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY – Tickets @ www.ticketek.com.au
SATURDAY JULY 20th – *new show
@ UC REFECTORY, CANBERRA - Tickets @ www.oztix.com.au
FRIDAY AUGUST 2nd – *new show
@ PANTHERS, NEWCASTLE - Tickets @ www.moshtix.com.au
SATURDAY AUGUST 3rd – *new show
@ WAVES, WOLLONGONG Tickets @ www.moshtix.com.au
Sound As Ever / Hi Fi Way / Hourly Daily Re-Issues out Friday June 7th thru Sony Music
For more info and fan packages head to: youami.com.au
