Posted May 9, 2007
The Double Agents: Myles Gallgher (drums), Kim Walvisch (vocals/piano), Ryan Tandy (electric guitar/lap steel), Dave Butterworth (vocals/guitars) and Big bangin' Ben Miller (bass.)
By TJ HONEYSUCKLE
The Double Agents have been knocking around Melbourne Town since the early 2000s. Occasionally they seem to go into semi-retirement, with the downside of that being that this is only their second LP, following on from 2003’s “Friends In Low Places”. “Seemed Like A Good Idea…” sees them reinvigorated and back on the road over the next month or so. From track one, “You Got It All”, you are on the DA’s home turf- bluesy, rocking guitars, huge drums & bass, all underlining Kim’s “dirty” voice in a tale that mixes equal parts of love and aggression. And when it gets quiet, and Kim gets breathy in the third verse…well.
To mark its release, I thought I’d take some time to chat to Diamond Dave Butterworth about the album, the tunes, and life in general.
He’s a busy guy these days - working on the album and for his tour management and support business has been keeping him so busy that he recently had to end the 12 year run of his radio show, “Galactic Zoo” on Melbourne’s 3RRR FM.
After some discussion of his fine new boots (ankle high black Windsor Smiths - the man has style), and a quick trip to the nearest liquor store for a couple of six packs to ensure the conversation would flow, we settled down in a quiet backyard draped with cats, and he filled in some background, before discussing a few tracks in detail.
The album was worked on over a fairly long period: one intense three-day burst to get the tunes down and then six months of on again/off again production and mixing when other commitments allowed. Dave took the producer’s chair again this time too, sharing the load with engineer Ben Hurt.
“I thinks there’s a bit of an art to it, and I doesn’t really trust other people with the songs or see a need to bring someone else in,” he says. “Putting the extra time and effort in is hard, but at the end you should wind up with something you are happy with, proud of, that is as good it can be. I still listen to records made thirty years ago- I want our stuff to be like that, to stand the test of time.”Makin’ Eyes
DB- “You know, I don’t know exactly why this one is the single, I think there were a few others that could’ve been, but in the end I let other people decide. I liked the idea of having a single that Kim sings on, I think a single should be instantly accessible, and maybe one of mine would be, I dunno, as easy to listen to. She’s got something unique in her voice. I wanted this to sound like a cross between the Gun Club and girl groups; dirty on top and sweet underneath. When you listen to stuff like the girl groups you wish you could do it, but you just can’t ever get that sound. I’m not sure if there will be another one off this album.
We got a video made for this, though, by a friend called Michael Stylinaou, who does our photography as well; he’s like our sixth member. He took those pics on the CD cover too, up in Yarra Glen on a really cold day. There’s a Lynyrd Skynyrd album that has them standing in a sort of similar cover shot, that I liked the look of. (That’ll be “Nuthin’ Fancy”- TJH). The flip on the seven inch is “Don’t Slander Me”, by Roky Erickson, which we play live sometimes, and we chose that because it’s just such a great song. And it’s easy to play.” (laughs)
Strawberry RedDB- “This has been in the set for at least 12 months or so, easy. It’s kind of embarrassing for me to talk about, actually- it’s about being in love with Neko Case-who I fell love with as soon as I heard her, and then again when I saw her play live. It’s just about dream women, fantasy women. I’ve got a thing for redheads, I think many blokes do, they just ooze sexuality. And I just thought Neko, in particular, was really, really sexy. Then a while ago I met her briefly backstage at a festival and said hi, but you know, she was dressed really daggily, and wasn’t the dream woman I’d had in my mind at all. So I guess I’m over her now. It’s a great song to sing, not easy to sing but fun. We kinda wanted it to sound like a dirge. I don’t know where that yelling came from.”
Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
DB- “That’s alright, that one. It’s about a small time criminal who hangs out in a sleazy bar, where he thinks he’s the king of his little pub world. I think every old school bar has a guy like this lurking somewhere. And of course a woman comes in, he falls for her, does something he shouldn’t do, because she asks him to, then gets in trouble and goes to jail without her. It’s an old old story, a classic cheap petty crime story. It was deliberately written like a Springsteen song, though it doesn’t sound like one, its very narrative, a complete story in one song. I like Bruce, I like the way he lays it out for you. And of course he’s a great guitarist, really driven.”
Sour & Vicious Man
DB- “I’m a huge fan of all Greg Cartwright’s stuff, I originally got into him when he was in the Compulsive Gamblers, but then more recently when I heard what he was doing in the Reigning Sound...it’s just great, it’s like it’s the culmination of everything he’s ever done. But this is an old Gamblers tune, that we used to do back when Conrad (Standish, now in the Devastations- TJH) was in the band, then when he left we didn’t do it for a couple of years. We really needed another song for the LP, so I told everyone to learn it for the last day of recording. It’s one of the two tracks I play lead guitar on (the other being “Movin’ Right On”- TJH). Mary Weiss is rumored to be coming out later this year; hopefully she’ll bring the Reigning Sound with her, as her backing band. I’ve never seen them play live. They’re one of the few bands left on the list of people I want to see play but haven’t had a chance to yet.”
The night after this conversation I took a trip across town to the Spanish Club for the Melbourne launch show. It was everything it should be- the place was nicely full, with friends, fans, family and a beaming record label boss. While the crowd was polite to supports Black Pony Express and the Bulls, there was a noticeable change in mood when the Agents came on.
They were obviously happy to be there too, ripping through a pounding version of Link Wray’s “Rumble” as a warm up/intro, before playing a set that mixed tracks from both LPs into an hour or so of honest, sweaty rock music. You get the feeling they play the way they’d like to be played to- friendly, determined to have a good time, loose but not at all sloppy.Seemed like a good idea? It still does.
Five bottles for the album, by the way, and a big thanks to Natasja for the use of her backyard.
The Double Agents' album “Seemed Like A Good Idea…” is out now on In-Fidelity Records, distributed by Inertia.
