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Smudge

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Maybe if Smudge had pursued the dollar with fervour the band wouldn’t be around now

For a band that drew fawning admiration from the likes of Evan Dando, played the Reading Festival in England and enjoyed an international following disproportionately greater than their humble Australian origins would suggest, Smudge were a remarkably understated musical creature. “We never really wanted to be on TV – we just wanted to play around Sydney,” says guitarist and principal songwriter Tom Morgan. “We were lucky enough to be able to release our records through Nic [Dalton], so that was really good.” Maybe if Smudge had pursued the unholy dollar with fervour the band wouldn’t be around now to tell the tale. “Yeah, maybe,” Morgan grins. “Money is the root of all evil, after all,” he laughs.

Morgan had originally met drummer Alison Galloway at The Landsdowne Hotel in Sydney when Galloway was working behind the bar, and Duncan was sitting in the bar writing songs. Morgan and Galloway teamed up with bass player Paul Duncan (replaced some years later by Adam Yee) and formed Smudge, ostensibly as the vehicle for a song to fill a gap on a four-song EP released on Nic Dalton’s Half A Cow label. That song, Tea, Toast And Turmoil – a one minute power pop song based on the morning after a drunken Morgan experience – set the tone for the Smudge style.

“That song was written about a time when I was young when I got really drunk. I had a black out and the last thing I can remember is rolling down Chester Street,” Morgan recalls. “I was woken up by this old lady, who offered me a cup of tea. She wasn’t freaked out or anything and just told me to move on when I was able to.”

Smudge subsequently recorded the minor indie classic Don’t Wanna Be Grant McLennan, with its memorably catchy melody and irreverent lyrical theme. While the song gathered substantial airplay, Morgan said it didn’t become a yolk around the band’s neck. “It’s not something we play a lot now,” he says. “After Grant McLennan we released something really quickly, so we didn’t hang around too long.”

The song did find favour with Evan Dando, then making one of his first tours with The Lemonheads, and the Smudge-Lemonheads association began in earnest. Morgan and Dando collaborated on various tracks (Superhero, Steak And Chips, Down About It) and Dando waxed lyrical about his new Australian friends to anyone who would listen. “We got to do a lot of stuff because of The Lemonheads,” Morgan admits. “Nic [Dalton] and Evan toured us around the US, which was great.”

But despite the international acclaim and exposure, Smudge were never tempted to move overseas. “We considered that all our friends were here,” Morgan says. “And moving somewhere so we could make money wasn’t the way we thought about doing it. And we also had the advantage of money coming in because of the songs The Lemonheads recorded, so we could afford to stay in Australia,” Morgan says.

Smudge did have a brief flirtation with the mainstream music industry when they signed with Polydor in the mid 1990s. “Most of the extra money we got from that deal went on publicity and promotion, so things didn’t really change that much for the band,” Morgan says. “But we did get to go to Chicago to record, which was good.”

Smudge also managed to meet legendary crooner Barry Manilow, who’d inspired the name of Smudge’s 1993 album, Manilow. “That was great,” Morgan recalls. “It wouldn’t have happened if Nic didn’t have the contacts. It was pretty cool to meet him, although it was all over pretty quick. He’s still cool – Barry’s alright,” Morgan laughs.

In 1999 Smudge embarked on a hiatus, provoked by Alison Galloways’s decision to travel overseas. But the relationship between Morgan, Galloway and Yee never wavered and Smudge were always a going concern, if only the stars and logistics lined up.

In fact, Morgan assumed all band internal dynamics were as functional as Smudge’s. “They’re amazing people,” Morgan says of his band mates. “It’s not until you stop playing in a band that you realise just how great they are. I took it for granted that all bands worked like that.”

Smudge have also just released a compilation, This Smudge Is True, and are embarking on a national tour to promote the record. A new Smudge record is in the winds, notionally due for early 2011. “I’ve got about five songs, and I’m just waiting for Al and Adam to bring along their share,” Morgan grins. “I think we did the right thing in having time off, settle down and now we can come back.”

SMUDGE launch their new compilation, This Smudge Is True , at The Northcote Social Club this Saturday October 2, with Summer Cats and Tailor Made For A Small Room. Tickets from The Corner box office, 9486 1677 or northcotesocialclub.com northcotesocialclub.com.