Words by Amy Wagner
Photos by Abbey Braden
The bluesy Australian two-piece the Mess Hall and I were crammed into a hole-in-the-wall dressing room that would be better suited to the minor kittens of a production of Cats than a rock and roll band. Three exposed light bulbs hung over a mirror and a tube of leftover Johnson & Johnson hair gel sat on a nearby ledge. Drummer Cec Condon picked up the tube of clear goo and joked, “Look we’ve got our rider!”
It was that kind of humor, deadpan and completely Australian, that would carry us through our chat at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. After all, you can’t take anything too seriously when you’re crammed into a space smaller than a prison cell while outside, the more spacious areas of the club were being used for a wedding rehearsal and a theatre performance. Add in the arrival of a marching band and their tuba and you had complete chaos.
But, for Condon and his bandmate, singer/guitarist Jed Kurzel, every moment was postcard-worthy. The two were winding down their month-long stay in the U.S. of A, and were eager to soak up even the most ridiculous settings before heading home to face a string of Down Under dates and the face-melting heat of the Australian summer sun.
How did two guys from Australia get turned onto old-school Mississippi blues?
Jed: I discovered Mississippi Fred McDowell after I finished high school. From there, it just led on to an interest in the blues and a lot of the Fat Possum records. A lot of those guys had a different take on the blues. It wasn’t so much about chops and how fast you could play. It was about the feel and the rhythm. It was just a bit dirtier and earthier, I think.
Do you think being a two piece band makes it easier or harder to stand out from the crowd?
Cec: Sometimes it’s easier and sometimes it’s harder. I think musically we stand out, especially against other two pieces like the White Stripes and the Black Keys.
Speaking of the White Stripes, you’re compared to them constantly. Are you flattered or has it come to the point where you just wanna knock Jack out cold?
Jed: No. We like the White Stripes.
Cec: I don’t know if I’d like to be compared to Meg.
But you wouldn’t hit her right?
Cec: I would totally hit that… in a good way.
What did you guys think of CMJ? Do you like that whole crazy vibe?
Cec: It was less hectic than South by Southwest. We were talking about this the other day. You can get away from CMJ, but when you’re in Austin, you can’t. It’s all around you.
What kind of songs or riffs make you stop in your tracks? Something that blows you away…
Jed: At the moment, that Dr. John record Gris-Gris. Every time I hear the last song on that, “I Walk on Gilded Splinters”, I stop.
Cec: Neil Young–whenever you hear the opening chords of those Crazy Horse songs. They’re kind of cool. Oh, and Nirvana.
When you were recording Notes From A Ceiling is there one song that gave you a lot of trouble in studio?
Cec: I think we scrapped the ones like that.
Jed: Yeah, we did.
Do the crowds here that come to see you behave better or worse than the ones back in Australia?
Jed: Oh, they’re well behaved here! They’re much more sober. There’s a certain work ethic over in Australia. You drive 12 hours to play one show and then drive home. And then, you play to a crowd of drunk Australians and if they don’t like it, they’ll let you know. You have to be good!
Cec: It’s a funny thing, the difference in the myspace messages between people who have seen us here and in Australia. It’s like, ‘Great show in Florida. I bought your t-shirt.’ In Australia, they write in and go, ‘Can’t wait ’til yous cunts get back. I’m gonna get fuckin’ smashed.’
What is the craziest thing you two have ever done in the pursuit of rock and roll?
Jed: I think we have this saying that when you’ve been or the road for awhile, you start to become this character we call Birthday Man–where it’s your birthday every day.
Cec: And you can do what you want.
Jed: You get to a point where there’s no rules anymore. Whatever applies to society doesn’t apply to you. It gets to the point where we both acknowledge that Birthday Man has, well…
Cec: We’re getting to the end of our birthday.
If you found a time machine and you could go back and see anyone from any musical era perform, who would you wanna catch?
Cec: Can I pick two?
Okay, but just this once…
Cec: I reckon the Who when they did their Live at Leeds concert.
Jed: Miles Davis.
Cec: One of those kind of classic bootleg Nirvana shows.
Jed: Dylan through, like, ‘69. The electric period.
Before you go, teach us some Australian slang.
Jed: Hmm… What are some sayings? Um… “Toey as a Roman sandal.”
Cec: Yeah that’s a good one!
We’re going to need a translation on that one.
Jed: It means you’re horny. What are some other ones?
Cec: “Get a dog up ya.”
Jed: We were talking about this the other night.
Cec: “Useless as tits on a bull.” “Wouldn’t shout if a shark bit him.” “Dry as a dead dingo’s donger.”
