Australian DIY icons The Cannanes hold a special place in the collective hearts of School Damage. So when we were asked to play the launch for the reissue of their brilliant 1989 album A Love Affair With Nature, we were chuffed to say the least.Formed in Sydney in the mid 1980s, The Cannanes are one of Australia's most celebrated underground bands. There is a book and documentary about them and we don't know of many bands with a pair of limited edition Converse devoted to them. Over their 30 year career the band have released 11 albums and toured to places that School Damage only dream about playing.
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Dani Damage and I got to ask Fran Gibson and David Nichols from the band a few questions.Dani: I'm nervous about the launch! Do you guys still get nervous? You must have been when you launched the record initially. When and where was it?
Fran Gibson: I do get nervous. We are always playing with different equipment and people and it seems the potential for things to go wrong is unlimited, especially touring. I admire people who just go ahead and enjoy it and don't care what people think.I don't recall being the least bit nervous about putting out that record though. I don't think we did things like launches in those days. We did tour the USA which was a bit crackers.David Nichols: We didn't do a show for Love Affair, but we had a symbolic launch, the three of us and a bottle of pink lemonade. We put a copy of the album under the door of 52 Linthorpe Street, hoping the residents would be thrilled to find not only a remarkable LP but also that there was a song named after their address on side two. Sadly, we discovered that the woman that lived there, slipped on the album and fractured her shoulder on the granite step. She really enjoyed the record when she heard it though.
Fran Gibson: I do get nervous. We are always playing with different equipment and people and it seems the potential for things to go wrong is unlimited, especially touring. I admire people who just go ahead and enjoy it and don't care what people think.I don't recall being the least bit nervous about putting out that record though. I don't think we did things like launches in those days. We did tour the USA which was a bit crackers.David Nichols: We didn't do a show for Love Affair, but we had a symbolic launch, the three of us and a bottle of pink lemonade. We put a copy of the album under the door of 52 Linthorpe Street, hoping the residents would be thrilled to find not only a remarkable LP but also that there was a song named after their address on side two. Sadly, we discovered that the woman that lived there, slipped on the album and fractured her shoulder on the granite step. She really enjoyed the record when she heard it though.
Dani: I read that the original reception wasn't a great experience for you and that you received an "inexcusable lack of response from the Australian music scene" How does it feel to have it reissued now?
Fran: The 'inexcusable' comment was a joke. Everything was seen as a joke. We were aware of our limitations. Or at least I was. Maybe Stephen had faith. Having the record put out in the USA and touring there was probably more than we expected. As is the reissue. Though it is a beautiful product (thanks Chapter)..
Fran: The 'inexcusable' comment was a joke. Everything was seen as a joke. We were aware of our limitations. Or at least I was. Maybe Stephen had faith. Having the record put out in the USA and touring there was probably more than we expected. As is the reissue. Though it is a beautiful product (thanks Chapter)..
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Dani: What do you think of the music scene now?
David: In a way, the music scene now is more like it was in 1989 than say 2009. Particularly in the way people fetishise product (vinyl, cassettes) again. A few years ago everything seemed destined to go digital and virtual.Also in 1989, when I was 24, I wouldn't have been even slightly interested in a band of people in their 50s. Paul McCartney was 47 and he was irredeemably ancient. Obviously there were people that age who played music, but not in indie rock world. I guess all I'm saying is, it's not so exclusively a young person's game now. I don't know how to feel about that.I'd like to say the scene is less racist and sexist and otherwise discriminatory than it was 27-years ago but I'm not sure. It probably still is all of those things, like the rest of the world.
David: In a way, the music scene now is more like it was in 1989 than say 2009. Particularly in the way people fetishise product (vinyl, cassettes) again. A few years ago everything seemed destined to go digital and virtual.Also in 1989, when I was 24, I wouldn't have been even slightly interested in a band of people in their 50s. Paul McCartney was 47 and he was irredeemably ancient. Obviously there were people that age who played music, but not in indie rock world. I guess all I'm saying is, it's not so exclusively a young person's game now. I don't know how to feel about that.I'd like to say the scene is less racist and sexist and otherwise discriminatory than it was 27-years ago but I'm not sure. It probably still is all of those things, like the rest of the world.
Dani: What was the recording process like?
David: We recorded at this studio called the Loft in Broadway, Sydney. We'd done our first EP there but when we went back though it was like the owners had been replaced with aliens, with no concentration spans. Fran thought that she had annoyed them by refusing to record in the dark, and that after that they were punishing us. They were really not paying attention, and while this doesn't excuse them – we were paying for them to record us, not to listen to other albums on their Walkmans while we were playing! – we had really only shown up with song fragments and half-written stuff. I couldn't play my instrument as well, so I guess we didn't present as very serious either.
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The song "Nuisance", originally called "Nuance", was about how the music scene hated us and that the guy engineering the album particularly hated us, which he did.
Carolyn: David – I really love the album art and noticed the long legged guy on the front looks like he popped up on the front of Howling At All Hours as well.
David: Thanks! The cover art was just a doodle that was originally about 1/10 of the size. I think I blew it up on the photocopier for a handbill, and we just decided to use it for the cover (obviously). In a way it seemed ill-advised to me because people might think those three figures were us, but no-one ever suggested that to me so that's OK. I reused all three of them on the painting I did for the Howling album. The inside of the gatefold of the album tells the story of their fate and it's not pretty. I think fame and fortune fucked them up.Carolyn: I'm pretty new to writing songs. It's awkward and uncomfortable a lot of the time. How do you guys write a song?
Fran: It's pretty basic for modern Cannanes. Stephen has tunes (occasionally others too) and I usually write some words and other people do bits. Someone once said I was just writing the story of my life and those around me and after so many years I can see that is true. Every song an incident or scene like a photo album. But luckily other people contribute so it's not so obvious. In Love Affair era I sang words Davo or others wrote but not now. Some of the songs on Love Affair are hard to listen to now but you can't disown your past.David: Paradoxically I have been learning guitar for the last couple of years and now for the first time I have actually written tunes. But I can't seem to write words anymore, not that I was ever great at it, weirdly for a published author. Go figure.Carolyn: The Cannanes website it so great, particularly the "History" section. How do you feel when you reflect on the history of the band?
Fran: It makes me laugh when I read it and it is a valuable resource for us. Actually I am proud of our persistence as a band. That is also down to Stephen. And I think we are getting better. We just finished recording an album with Stewart Anderson in the USA that I really enjoy. And one day I will figure out how to make touring enjoyable! That is like a mission.The reissue of 'A Love Affair With Nature' is available now through Chapter Music.The Cannanes launch the album Nov 27 in Melbourne at the Tote with School Damage and Calamari Girls.
David: Thanks! The cover art was just a doodle that was originally about 1/10 of the size. I think I blew it up on the photocopier for a handbill, and we just decided to use it for the cover (obviously). In a way it seemed ill-advised to me because people might think those three figures were us, but no-one ever suggested that to me so that's OK. I reused all three of them on the painting I did for the Howling album. The inside of the gatefold of the album tells the story of their fate and it's not pretty. I think fame and fortune fucked them up.Carolyn: I'm pretty new to writing songs. It's awkward and uncomfortable a lot of the time. How do you guys write a song?
Fran: It's pretty basic for modern Cannanes. Stephen has tunes (occasionally others too) and I usually write some words and other people do bits. Someone once said I was just writing the story of my life and those around me and after so many years I can see that is true. Every song an incident or scene like a photo album. But luckily other people contribute so it's not so obvious. In Love Affair era I sang words Davo or others wrote but not now. Some of the songs on Love Affair are hard to listen to now but you can't disown your past.David: Paradoxically I have been learning guitar for the last couple of years and now for the first time I have actually written tunes. But I can't seem to write words anymore, not that I was ever great at it, weirdly for a published author. Go figure.Carolyn: The Cannanes website it so great, particularly the "History" section. How do you feel when you reflect on the history of the band?
Fran: It makes me laugh when I read it and it is a valuable resource for us. Actually I am proud of our persistence as a band. That is also down to Stephen. And I think we are getting better. We just finished recording an album with Stewart Anderson in the USA that I really enjoy. And one day I will figure out how to make touring enjoyable! That is like a mission.The reissue of 'A Love Affair With Nature' is available now through Chapter Music.The Cannanes launch the album Nov 27 in Melbourne at the Tote with School Damage and Calamari Girls.