Having busted onto the alternative rock scene in 2007 with a psychedelic self-titled EP, Tame Impala is fast climbing the rungs of success on the Australian music scene. Their appearance on the Southbound lineup comes as no surprise after the boys have been tearing up the festival stages for the past year (8th January '10 - 10th January '10, Busselton). They’ve even cracked the UK music scene with their tunes that bring back strong memories of the Beatles and take listeners on a pulsating and mystic journey.

However while Tame Impala may be a new influence on the block, the members have worked hard to get to where they currently stand.  For anyone unlucky enough to not have heard of these guys, Tame Impala’s real beginning was around 2005 with vocalist Kevin Parker’s previous band the Dee Dee Dums. They had a few successes, coming third in The Next Big Thing and then winning the state final in the National Campus Band Competition. 2007 was the breakthrough when they unveiled a new drummer, changed their guitar methods and shrugged off their old name in favour of the new Tame Impala. Modular Recordings clued onto the band’s potential in 2008 and signed them and the rest is history – albeit a short one.

On The Barrier caught up with bassist Dominic Simper recently to discuss the pitfalls of fame, the new album in the ropes and their place on the Southbound stage this summer.

So what’s happening in the world of Dominic at the moment?
Just having a break at the moment and I’m in the middle of cleaning.

Now Southbound…who do you get a kick out of sharing the stage with?
I definitely want to catch the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O is a babe, and probably Grizzly Bear and Temper Trap. Oh and also Felicity Groom.

What would you do if the Yeah Yeah Yeahs just happened to be standing in the crowd watching your show on the day.
Hopefully that won’t happen, I think I’d turn into a puddle if it did.

Will you be hanging out in the crowds on the day or hiding from your fans?
Yeah I’m not afraid to go mingle in the crowds. It’s generally not too bad (with fans), I guess it depends who people are because there’s a way to go about going up to someone in one of the bands. Some people know how to do it right.

Do you think the fans have any misconceptions about you guys?
People tend to think we’re more rich and famous than we are, not actually either of those things.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan’s ever given you or done in front of you?
We had a few notes given to us by this one girl in Sydney in our last tour who kept trying to come backstage after the show saying one of us stole her bag which she left on stage. She must have been on something because she got quite aggressive and was not taking no for an answer. We weren’t allowed to leave the band room, she was a crazy one. Once they finally convinced her to leave she left an angry note abusing us and underneath it said ps here’s my number.

What’s the live show going to look like?
Well we’re playing in the afternoon, it’s the perfect time of day when the sun’s about to go down.
 
So the new album…?
It won’t be out by Southbound. It’s all tentative it’ impossible to set a date for the release. It’s been recorded, Kevin’s in New York at the moment mixing the album.

Does it have a very different sound to your previous release?
It doesn’t. You can tell it’s still Tame Impala. The songs off the EP were old and recorded years ago. We’ve been listening to lots of different music lately so I think the Tame sound is now a lot more refined than what is on the EP. There are a lot of new influences, I’m really excited about it.

What does it sound like?
Its definitely a summer album, which is sad that it’s not going to come out until the end of summer. It was recorded down at South Beach and that environment really comes out when you listen to the album. It doesn’t sound like it’s been recorded in swanky LA shiny studio,  it’s got that kind of vintage vibe.

Will we hear any new tracks at Southbound?
Possibly, we’ve started playing a few of our new songs at different live shows.  I can’t wait to have the album on the shelves.

What are your expectations for the album?
It’s kind of like you don’t really want to go setting yourself up for disappointment. All of our energy has just been focused on getting the album finished.

What’s happening with you guys in the near future?
I don’t know what we’re doing in two weeks time to be honest. Once the album is finished it really depends if we’re going to tour Australia. And depending on how that goes influences how long the tour will be. We’d really like to get back in the studio asap and have another album done maybe late next year. It’s always good to be doing new stuff. You don’t want things to get stale.

Ok now quick questions:

If you could call yourselves anything else what would it be?
We were called the Dee Dee Dums and for some reason we changed it because we didn’t like it very much.

Who holds the record for most amount of falling over or falling off the stage while jamming out?
That’d be me, I’m just general quite clumsy.

What the most outrageous thing you’ve done on stage?
I  haven’t done anything really I‘m pretty boring on stage. Probably just taking the bass off and running off stage to grab a beer. I remember Gumby (drummer Jay Watson) really had to go to the bathroom once while we were playing a gig and he jumped off and ran for it. The toilet was quite far away from the stage so we had to do a little jam til he got back.

If you could give yourselves a mascot what would it be?
Maybe a dinosaur.

Have you ever taken classes on how to do something that’s nothing to do with music?
Not apart from school.

What is something most people wouldn’t know about you?
Im left handed.

What’s something you’ve always wished you could tell people about yourself?
Probably that I’m left handed.

Anything you’d like to add before we finish up?
Just come to Southbound people.

 

Tame Impala will take to the stage at Southbound this weekend in Busselton.

 

By Nikkita Dixon

 

 

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