| AMANDA PALMER returns Down Under... |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Monday, 07 February 2011 13:04 |
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Singer. Lyricist. Musician. Wife. Business Woman. Performer. AMANDA MacKinnon Gaiman PALMER is one busy lady, but somehow has managed to find the time to return to our shores at the end of February to promote the release of her second solo album, ‘Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under’. Self-proclaimed “fucking crazy bitch” for returning Down Under so quickly after her last visit, as well as her musical commitments Amanda is also hosting a seminar at Webstock in Wellington with her Evelyn Evelyn musical partner, Jason Webley. Coup De Main was lucky enough to get the newly-wed on the phone whilst on her Australian tour to talk about weddings, her new album, balancing business with music and of course, Vegemite.  COUP DE MAIN: Firstly, congratulations on your recent wedding to Neil Gaiman! You tweeted that it only took you 45 minutes to organize - is that true? AMANDA PALMER: Yeah, actually. I keep meaning to blog about but I’ve been too busy over here [in Australia]. Like many other things in my life I just kind of did it. And like many other things in my life, I ran to my closet, threw clothes in a bag and figured I would figure out what I would wear when I got there. I have found the less you plan sometimes the more fun you have. That can backfire, but it can work in your favour. CDM: Your new album ‘Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under’ just came out - what inspired you to put out an album all about Australia and New Zealand? AMANDA: Actually, it kind of worked backwards. The songs came first. When I realized I had ‘Maps Of Tasmania’, ‘New Zealand’ and ‘Australia’, and that some of my favourite artists are Australian and Kiwis and I could throw a couple of cover songs together - I realised that I had enough for a tour EP and would then have a reason to come back here and tour without having a new record. Then that kind of snowballed in classic Amanda fashion, and turned into something much bigger than it should have been. I kept adding collaborations and songs... although if you notice I only wrote half the songs on the record. It’s easy to miss, the collaborations with Tom and Jen (from The Jane Austen Argument)... they feel like they could be Amanda Palmer songs which is why I think I resonate with them so much. But yeah, it really was kind of a mish-mash tour diary of my life and times and friends Down Under. I figured I’ll just put it out; I’ll only release it in NZ and Australia. I haven’t released it in the U.S. or anywhere else, I figured if anyone else or my hardcore fans want it they can download it or mail order if they’re crazy. CDM: Most of the songs are live recordings from your last Australia and NZ tour. Did you ever consider recording the songs in a studio, or was releasing a live album something you always intended? AMANDA: That’s actually a really good question. I didn’t know. What I did, I started my tour last year with a vague plan to record a handful of my shows live and to go to a studio in Adelaide and see what happened. I knew the songs I wanted on the record - ‘Australia’, ‘Vegemite (The Black Death)’... I knew I was going to record some stuff and spend a year figuring out how to piece it all together. So that’s what I did. I recorded my Sydney show... actually the biggest tragedy was I recorded my Melbourne 'Forum show, and the whole hard drive got erased or crashed or whatever. One of my favourite tracks which was going to be on the record was this live duet which I did with Paul Kelly. Basically I came home from the trip, I had a bunch of live shows - Sydney, Adelaide, Wellington - and I had a bunch of studio tracks and I went through them, and I just picked what I liked. In the case of like ‘The Ship Song’ and ‘Australia’, there were live recordings and studio recordings and I would listen to them back and back and be like... you know, technically the quality of the studio recording was better, but the live one just feels right. CDM: Speaking of your ode to Vegemite, you’ve been posting on Twitter than you have been attempting to eat more of it since being in Australia. Is it still a black death paste, or...? AMANDA: You know, I haven’t actually been able to bring myself to like it but I don’t think I detest it as much as I once did. It’s a long and hard relationship with me and the condiment.  CDM: Last time you were in New Zealand you had recently cut ties with your record label. Now you have established your own label, plus released your own album as well as Tristan Allen’s album. How do you balance the business aspect of your life with the art of being creative? AMANDA: That is a really great question and it is a really hard question to answer - I feel like I could write a book about it. I don’t know; it’s really hard. It’s incredible the tools that we have and the fact that I can pretty much run my business from any café in the world so long as I have Internet [access], that is astounding and very lucky. At the same time it’s really difficult as an artist with a smart phone knowing that any minute of my life could be spent promoting my record or promoting my career in general. It can make it very difficult knowing when to turn off. But I’m not alone in that challenge, I know it’s an issue a lot of musicians and artists are facing, as we have all these tools for self-promotion it means we also have to have this new brand of discipline. It’s hard, but I think all humans are facing it, not just people who can promote themselves. You have the constant temptation and distraction of everything being in your pocket - I think it’s something we’re all trying to figure out. CDM: You certainly have established a reputation for being very forthcoming and open with your fans online, how do you draw the line with what you will or won’t share? AMANDA: I think I take absolutely everything on a case by case basis. The line between my fans and friends is really blurry, and a lot of my fans have become my friends and vice versa. So you know, I find I’m a very trusting personality for better or for worse so I tend to trust everybody and assume everyone out there is working as a force for good. That sometimes has been a very naïve way of walking through life but it’s also meant I’ve had some incredibly magical things happen to me. CDM: Have you ever received any criticism for your openness online, such as asking fans to provide food and accommodation? AMANDA: Not really, no. I mean, I think there are probably more people out there who wouldn’t necessarily criticize me for doing it, but would say: "you know what Amanda, that works for you but I would never do that..." And a lot of those people might be right, but I make a certain kind of music and have a certain kind of fan-base... (Sorry, I just watched a butterfly land on a motorcycle, he’s on the engine. He’s the most beautifully poetic little thing. Sorry to get distracted <laughs> it’s just one of those things you want to happen every day so you know the world's okay...) Not everyone has the kind of fans where that makes sense, you know. And I guess ultimately, I don’t give a fuck. People can do whatever they want with their fan-base and with their businesses... and I think especially more and more nowadays people have to find what works for them. I would never criticize the way Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire, U2 or Lady Gaga run their business. Especially nowadays everyone has to figure out how to connect with their audiences which makes sense for them, their music and their show. If anyone thinks there is a blueprint, there is none. CDM: You are coming to NZ with Jason from your project Evelyn Evelyn for a seminar for Webstock. Will he perform any songs with you on-stage at your concerts? AMANDA: Absolutely. One of the reasons why I love playing with him so much is we always end up doing crazy shit on stage. If you didn’t know what to expect from an Amanda Palmer show you definitely don’t know what to expect at an Amanda Palmer and Jason show. CDM: Do you have any final words for your New Zealand fans ahead of your shows? AMANDA: Yes! Please let people know that I’ll probably almost definitely do some ninja gigs in pretty much every city in NZ so they should be following me on Twitter to find out when and where.  Watch Amanda Palmer & The Young Punx's 'Map Of Tasmania' music video below... |
