Singer-songwriter Paul Dempsey is taking his music out of the cities and into regional Australia when he hits the road for a national tour to promote his latest solo album, ‘Strange Loop’.
His second solo album since branching out from his band Something For Kate, ‘Strange Loop’, and its titular single plumb the depths of a redundant, human search for perfection in an imperfect world. “It's a song about accepting your flaws and your fallibility,” Paul says, “and the fact that no one is perfect, no one is ever going to be perfect.
“Everybody's got an ocean of flaws basically, but there's so much confident noise in the media and culture in general about ways of self-improvement.
“Self-improvement is a noble thing; everybody wants to be better and that's a good thing. There’s just so much crap out there about what you should do to be a better you, and also this whole idea that you're on a journey towards becoming your real self, or our true self.”
Ever the rock & roll philosopher, Paul eschews the idea that one may decide to be a better person at a later date, arguing instead that self-improvement is a decisive act that occurs in the moment and not in an unforeseen future. “I agree life is a journey, but you are who you are at any given moment and you don’t get to defer that moment, and you don’t get to say 'I’ll be better later'.
“You are who you are right now, you don’t get to say 'pardon me, I’m on a journey and I’m not quite my best self yet, so excuse me if I’m a dickhead'. You just are what you are right now, and I try to embrace that.”
Paul’s January-February tour focuses on regional centres and venues and will consist of a stripped-back acoustic set featuring just Paul and his guitar.
Paul says he’s particularly looking forward to travelling around regional Australia and actually having a chance to enjoy the places he visits. “I’m really excited,” he says. “I’m having a couple of weeks off now, which I haven’t had in a long time but I’m already kind of itching to play again, and I’m excited to go and play in some out-of-town places I haven't visited.
“Also, it's summertime and I get to go and play on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong. So basically I’m going to go to the beach and play gigs, so I’m pretty excited about that.
“I’m also excited about going out by myself, just with my acoustic guitar and stripping everything back. The solo, acoustic shows are always heaps of fun because I don’t have a whole band on stage with me; I can talk to the audience and it just ends up being really loose and funny.
“There's always a few more laughs in-between songs and I don’t necessarily have to stick to a setlist; it's much easier to take requests from people. It's just much more of an interactive, sociable occasion because you can stand there and talk to the crowd for as long as you want,” he laughs.
Paul Dempsey Shows
Thu 19 Jan - Heritage Hotel (Bulli)Fri 20 Jan - Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Sat 21 Jan - Entrance Leagues Club (Central Coast)
Wed 25 Jan - Westernport Hotel (San Remo)
Fri 27 Jan - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Fri 3 Feb - Darwin Entertainment Centre
Thu 9 Feb - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 10 Feb - The Nightquarter (Gold Coast)
Sat 11 Feb - Tanks Arts Centre (Cairns)
Fri 17 Feb - Zoo Twilights @ Melbourne Zoo
