New wave legend Martha Davis is in a surprisingly positive mood considering the catastrophe that just occurred.
“I've just realised that my basement has completely flooded,” she says. “It's pretty much a nightmare; I've just moved my studio down there and all these rugs and things are ruined. We've had a lot of snow in the last week and I'm pretty sure I'll be drying out rugs until the day we fly to Australia. But everything works out in the end, doesn't it?”
The 62-year-old singer has reason to be upbeat, as a new line-up of a band that formed in California in 1975 looks to bring back The Motels' sound of old on an upcoming Australian tour. “I'll be coming with my 'new' band, which has really been my band for ten years; longer than the original Motels were together,” she says.
“These boys are amazing; they're younger, very cute and way-ass talented. I'm also bringing along Mr. Martin Jourard, who was the original sax and keyboard player for The Motels. We'll be playing a lot of the old favourites and a couple of new ones, so we're going to bring Australia some very luscious sets.”
The band scored an Australian number four hit with 'Total Control' in 1980 before going through multiple line-up changes, but Davis is clear about what she wants for the band from now on. “People really missed the saxophone when it wasn't there,” she says. “It is so evocative and has a really precise emotion; for me it sums up a wet street or alleyway and is so noir-ish in a way. I love that imagery and the lonely saxophone sound. Is it lonely, or is it just me?
“Our last Australian tour [in 1988] was a crazy-ass tour. I should really pull out that itinerary because we played everywhere from Darwin to Tasmania; we played places that most Australians haven't been to. It's a funny job and you can't get around that. I always say to people that you should watch ‘Spinal Tap’ and then realise that everything in there is true.”
Martha Davis And The Motels Dates
Wed Mar 12 - Astor Theatre (Perth)Fri Mar 14 - Chelsea Heights Hotel (VIC)
Sat Mar 15 - Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury (VIC)
Sun Mar 16 - Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick (Melb)
Mon Mar 17 - The Basement (Sydney)
Wed Mar 19 - The New Globe Theatre (Brisbane)
