Hailing from a small South Australian town, Dave Graney moved to Melbourne in the late ‘70s and has endured the music scene to be lauded as one of our strangest stars.
Many labels can be pinned on the Aussie rocker, but being bland is not one of them. “I love the secret underworld of rock music beyond the representation of mainstream music. There are kinds of music where there’s a bunch of people shouting at a festival and then there’s a person listening alone to music that means a lot to them. I like the latter part of it.”
Known for his freewheeling rock shows with The mistLY — and before that the Coral Snakes and the Moodists — Dave continues to play the rounds with long time collaborator, drummer and wife Clare Moore. The pair first formed a band back in 1979, which has undergone several incarnations since then. “We have a songbook and we have a story and it’s like we never stopped playing,” Dave says. “We’ve never really gone away and come back; we’ve stuck it out.”
Several album cycles and nine ARIA nominations later, Dave is working on a solo record that will be released in May called 'Fearful Wiggings'. “The album is a series of serendipitous connections with people,” Dave explains. “One of them was Lisa [Gerard, from Dead Can Dance] who let me do some recording at her studio, which was really great. She’s a Hollywood composer, and has won Oscars for her soundtrack compositions on films like ‘A Beautiful Mind’.
“Whereas Nick Harper, a British folk musician, got in touch with me over the internet; I sang a song on his last album and he played guitar on mine. I’ve been listening to a lot of British folk music in the last decade, and interestingly enough, Nick Harper’s dad is Roy Harper who’s been involved with Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. But music’s kind of like that, a shadow world, which is quite inspiring.”
Written by Sam Allen-Ankins
Dave Graney Tour Dates
Feb 14 - Tapas Bar & Lounge, DevonportFeb 15 - Republic Bar, Hobart
Feb 22 - The New Globe, Brisbane
Mar 1 - Malvern Gardens, Malvern [Symphony Under The Stars with Stonnington Symphony]
Mar 13 - Bahas Taco, Rye [with The Mistly]
Mar 14 - Old Courthouse Arts Centre, Geelong [with The Mistly]
