Over 20 years have passed since the Fauves played their fi rst show at the Mt Eliza Football Club Players Night and Disco on the 23rd of July 1988.
Reaching this milestone was cause for brief reflection. At a valedictory dinner where the band were roasted by a cast of A-list celebrities I caught up with lead singer Andrew Cox and asked him how he was feeling.
"Time is marching on for us. The Fauves' have a half-life of about 20 years. Anyone familiar with nuclear chemistry will understand the implications of this. In another 20 years our career will be 3/4 over. We've still got a lot to do".
So what does the 20th anniversary mean to the band"
"Not much. A marketing opportunity? Intemperate celebration is the father of hubris. We're just taking it one career at a time".
The band has been likened to a North Queensland cult by noted rock historian Lance Markham. For those who have been indoctrinated, membership is a revelatory experience. Others tend to just walk past the large cyclone fence and peer through occasionally. Depending on the wind direction they may hear some singing.
"We've spent half of our lives in this band. That's a huge pool of shared memories. We are like a Venn diagram, four circles with large overlapping shaded areas. Our lives are pretty much interchangeable. I don't even really have my own personality anymore".
Now the Fauves have a new album - When Good Times Go Good. It was recorded with long time collaborator Wayne Connolly, who has worked on five of the band's nine albums. Adding some serious cache was producer Jim Moginie from Midnight Oil. How did Jim get involved?
"There were some calls, one or two emails, a text message - it played out like an ad for a telecommunications company. Modern technology bringing people together". And working with him?
"Initially we were scared of meeting someone of such high renown - what if he hated us? It could have made for an awkward couple of weeks. Thankfully Jim is a lovely guy. We've sold about 30,000 albums over our career. Midnight Oil are at six million or so. He didn't tease us once. His ideas were great and he played some wonderful piano on three songs. He was a pleasure to work with".
The Fauves have been quiet for 18 months, playing few shows and barely appearing in public.
"Self-promotion is diffi cult for us. We don't really inhabit the music industry. Our parents taught us to be friendly but not familiar. We don't hang out in bars with other bands. You don't fi nd us hocking our precious little iLives on social networking sites. For us the music industry is a war of attrition. Eventually every other band in the world will break up and we'll be the only ones left. Where else are you going to get your CDs then?"
Has it been a productive 18 months?
"Why certainly. I fi nished writing my book I'll Work When I'm Dead which is about my experiences as a dole bludger in a rock band. It is part failed rock career memoir, part philosophical tract on the nature of work and unemployment. It also has some great tips for aspiring musicians who want to use taxpayer's money to further their egotistical, vainglorious ambitions. Now Doug, Doctor and I are working on our television series Fans. We have written stories based on the various music fan archetypes that we have encountered over the years and turned it into a TV show. It's genius".
Finally, as Cox prepares to take the rostrum for the keynote speech at the 20th anniversary dinner I ask: what is the essence of the Fauves?
"Listen to the last song on each of our albums. There's the real Fauves. We save something special for those who bother to make it that far. Allow me to list them for you: Arbuckle at Glenrowan (Drive Through Charisma - 1993), Dead Rubber (The Young Need Discipline - 1994), Tighter Than I like (Future Spa - 1996), Show You Round the Compound (Lazy Highways - 1998), Every TV Star Has a Dark Side (Thousand Yard Stare - 2000), Right Wing Fags (Footage Missing - 2002), Shouldn't Have Read Your Diary (The Fauves - 2004), We Sleep In the Afternoon (Nervous Flashlights - 2006) and Out On Your Own (When Good Times Go Good - 2008). How many lead singers do you know who can reel off discographical details with that kind of facility? Anyway, get that lot on your iPod and you'll be some way to understanding what we are about".
Reaching this milestone was cause for brief reflection. At a valedictory dinner where the band were roasted by a cast of A-list celebrities I caught up with lead singer Andrew Cox and asked him how he was feeling.
"Time is marching on for us. The Fauves' have a half-life of about 20 years. Anyone familiar with nuclear chemistry will understand the implications of this. In another 20 years our career will be 3/4 over. We've still got a lot to do".
So what does the 20th anniversary mean to the band"
"Not much. A marketing opportunity? Intemperate celebration is the father of hubris. We're just taking it one career at a time".
The band has been likened to a North Queensland cult by noted rock historian Lance Markham. For those who have been indoctrinated, membership is a revelatory experience. Others tend to just walk past the large cyclone fence and peer through occasionally. Depending on the wind direction they may hear some singing.
"We've spent half of our lives in this band. That's a huge pool of shared memories. We are like a Venn diagram, four circles with large overlapping shaded areas. Our lives are pretty much interchangeable. I don't even really have my own personality anymore".
Now the Fauves have a new album - When Good Times Go Good. It was recorded with long time collaborator Wayne Connolly, who has worked on five of the band's nine albums. Adding some serious cache was producer Jim Moginie from Midnight Oil. How did Jim get involved?
"There were some calls, one or two emails, a text message - it played out like an ad for a telecommunications company. Modern technology bringing people together". And working with him?
"Initially we were scared of meeting someone of such high renown - what if he hated us? It could have made for an awkward couple of weeks. Thankfully Jim is a lovely guy. We've sold about 30,000 albums over our career. Midnight Oil are at six million or so. He didn't tease us once. His ideas were great and he played some wonderful piano on three songs. He was a pleasure to work with".
The Fauves have been quiet for 18 months, playing few shows and barely appearing in public.
"Self-promotion is diffi cult for us. We don't really inhabit the music industry. Our parents taught us to be friendly but not familiar. We don't hang out in bars with other bands. You don't fi nd us hocking our precious little iLives on social networking sites. For us the music industry is a war of attrition. Eventually every other band in the world will break up and we'll be the only ones left. Where else are you going to get your CDs then?"
Has it been a productive 18 months?
"Why certainly. I fi nished writing my book I'll Work When I'm Dead which is about my experiences as a dole bludger in a rock band. It is part failed rock career memoir, part philosophical tract on the nature of work and unemployment. It also has some great tips for aspiring musicians who want to use taxpayer's money to further their egotistical, vainglorious ambitions. Now Doug, Doctor and I are working on our television series Fans. We have written stories based on the various music fan archetypes that we have encountered over the years and turned it into a TV show. It's genius".
Finally, as Cox prepares to take the rostrum for the keynote speech at the 20th anniversary dinner I ask: what is the essence of the Fauves?
"Listen to the last song on each of our albums. There's the real Fauves. We save something special for those who bother to make it that far. Allow me to list them for you: Arbuckle at Glenrowan (Drive Through Charisma - 1993), Dead Rubber (The Young Need Discipline - 1994), Tighter Than I like (Future Spa - 1996), Show You Round the Compound (Lazy Highways - 1998), Every TV Star Has a Dark Side (Thousand Yard Stare - 2000), Right Wing Fags (Footage Missing - 2002), Shouldn't Have Read Your Diary (The Fauves - 2004), We Sleep In the Afternoon (Nervous Flashlights - 2006) and Out On Your Own (When Good Times Go Good - 2008). How many lead singers do you know who can reel off discographical details with that kind of facility? Anyway, get that lot on your iPod and you'll be some way to understanding what we are about".
