“The guy is incredible!” Said Lance. “He suffered a heart attack after the Brisbane shows and a fortnight later was back on stage at a sold-out gig at The HiFi Bar in Melbourne. In fact I heard he was chasing nurses around the hospital the morning after it all went down. When I am in my 70’s I hope I have even one tenth of his energy, determination and stamina. Syl is the real deal and has so many hardcore stories to tell that it is ridiculous. I was mainly asking him about what it was like to play with Howlin’ Wolf.”
The Bamboos aren’t shy of stories themselves. They’ve been celebrating their 10 year anniversary, a decade which has seen them grow from a four-piece deep-funk instrumental act playing the Nightcat to leading lights of the international funk and soul scene, fronted by the irrepressible Kyle Auldist. To commemorate the occasion, the Bamboos house label Tru-Thoughts are releasing a special 10-year anniversary vinyl 7″ this November, which re-issues their very first single and a brand new release on the flip. Lance reflects on how the band has grown over the years.
“We have been celebrating our 10-year anniversary as a band this year and it gives you a chance to take a brief look back. For me it is all about being excited by the music and changing things up with every album. We started out as a very much genre-based act but now I feel our sound is strong enough that we simply make ‘Bamboos’-sounding songs.”
The good news is, that after an intense eighteen months including a European tour, national tour, and the festival circuit last summer, there is a new bamboos LP on the horizon.
“I have just finished mixing the new album. It will be out early in 2012. I think this one has set a new record for most sleepless nights, agonising, labouring and all-round mayhem.” Said Lance.
“I went up to the Victorian High Country and stayed in a house by myself to write a bunch of material for it which was mostly a good idea – I still ended up writing some of the better songs the nights before the recording sessions though. We recorded about 20 tracks and threw out nearly half of them to get what we ended up with. Records never get finished they just escape.”
A bunch of records have escaped during Lance’s watch. Including the studio records the Bamboos have given us, Lance has produced 15 full-length albums and over 40 singles to date. He’s even managed to release a couple of sly solo albums as producer/artist Lanu ( a childhood nicknames and the Tongan word for ‘colour’) a brilliant exploration of electronic-style music up in the studio with a sound encompassing dream pop, folk, lounge, electro and indie. The last record, Her 12 Faces, received critical acclaim, and cemented Lanu’s reputation as an artist in his own right.
“It’s important for me because though most people might know me from The Bamboos I feel like it is only one part of all the music that I love to listen to and make. The last Lanu record I did took in sounds coming out of indie, folk and exotica and dubstep and other electronic-based styles.”
“I think the thread between Lanu and The Bamboos is most probably just the fundamental types of chord progressions, melodies and lyrics that appeal to me. Production-wise there is not all that much cross-over. The Bamboos has a pretty much totally ‘live’ sound and what I do with Lanu has elements of live stuff layered with things that are also programmed and sampled. I like both approaches. If I ever do too much of either I end up yearning to go the other way. There is nothing like playing on stage and interacting with real human beings but also I love being by myself in the studio pulling out old records to make beats and songs as well.”
So far, Lanu has been confined to the studio, as much as Lance would like to take it on the road. Her 12 Faces involved heavy collaboration with Megan Washington, who features on four tracks, but clashing schedules meant that Washington, now based in New York, and Lance couldn’t tour the record.
“The new Lanu album which I have begun to work on will be built around a definite live incarnation so it will be fun to put a new band together when the time comes.”
For now however, there is plenty of Bamboos action to keep you going, with a solid summer of festival dates coming up – they remain one of the best live acts in the country. After ten years of live shows the Bamboos are maniacally tight, flawless performers. Other bands might rest on their laurels, but Lance is keen to break their upcoming album out on the crowd.
“Mainly I am looking forward to playing the new album material out live to see how it goes down. We are also changing up the live show format to keep things fresh for not only the audiences but the band as well.”
