Tav Falco

Tav Falco

Tav Falco is an American legend. And it is time to acknowledge that. His chain-sawing of a guitar on stage is the penultimate statement.

2010 saw the release of a new album with fresh original tunes titled, Conjurations: Séance for Deranged Lovers 'which met with great critical acclaim. In 2011 the reissue campaign slowly started with his amazing Rough Trade Records debut, ' Behind the Magnolia Curtain" (plus the Blow Your Tops EP as added bonus) receiving the deluxe treatment it deserved. The Sunday Times had the following to say: "Must have reissue! Today's rockabilly revivalists such as Imelda May and Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, revere their sources. In the late 1970's, however, degenerate New Yorkers and track-marked Australians pointed their quiffs at the future and bled post-punk noise over the music's bones. This collection of Tav Falco's early recordings finds the fabled Memphis polymath howling off-key over perfectly out-of-sync broken blues from the Panther Burns band, which features Big Star's Alex Chilton on uncharacteristically sloppy guitar and Jim Sclavunos on drums, later poached by an indebted Nick Cave.' (Sunday Times).


Tour Dates

Thursday March 28th and 29th: Bluesfest, Byron Bay: www.bluesfest.com.au
Wednesday March 27: co presented by I-94 Bar Sydney, The Square, (Under The Palace Hotel), cnr George & Haymarket Sts, Haymarket w/ THE HOLY SOUL: www.oztix.com.au
Saturday March 30: Melbourne, The Tote Hotel, Johnston St, Collingwood w/ THE GO DEVILS (Japan): www.oztix.com.au

Interview with Tav Falco

Question: What are you most looking forward to about Bluesfest?

Tav Falco: I'm looking forward to greeting the audiences.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Tav Falco: They're two different types of performance, one is through a microphone and one for live human beings; we are performance band. Recording is something I do but it is somewhat secondary to performance. I like recording performance and sound as I am very much involved in it. Both are meaningful and I can't say I favour one over the other however I find it much more free and easier to perform before an audience than before a microphone.

Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Tav Falco: I listen to various genres of music and in regards to American music I listen to innovator, composer and guitarist John Fahey who I hold in the upmost esteem and I've been listening to him for a long, long time and I never tire from hearing his guitar and instrumental music. John Fahey is very advanced and progressive whilst unlike any other guitarist I've heard; his completely original and has drawn on American folk and blues.

I listen to Argentine tango quite a bit along with jazz; my favourite jazz vocalist is Chip Baker. The mood that Chip Baker evokes is like no other he can sing a ballad in such a way that it's totally enthralling, he totally captures me, every time!

I would also site rock'n'roll musician PJ Proby who is a Texan who moved to Great Britain in the 60's and he is a vocalist of unlimited gifts which a vocal range beyond Pavarotti, he's a sterling performer.


Question: Has there ever been a moment where you considered walking away from the music industry?

Tav Falco: You can't walk away from what you live and breathe. Music is part of what I do and it's part of me. I also work in film, photography and music – it's all one thing, to me; I have also written a book. I have no inclination to walk away from any of it. I'm fortunate to do the work that I have done; I can't help not doing it.


Question: What has been the biggest challenge you've faced?

Tav Falco: Writing Ghosts Behind the Sun: Splendor, Enigma & Death: Mondo Memphis Volume 1 because I've never written a book before. I've written short stories and journals before but never a book. It was a massive undertaking and I researched for two years before starting to write, which was difficult because I couldn't find a place to begin. It was a long, frustrating journey and I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it. Then, I had the idea of the time traveller, the literary device at the time and the persona - with those two devices I was able to begin the book and once I started I knew I could finish it and it was just a matter of writing and the degree of imagination. With that, I wrote for about a year, solidly for the last three to six months, every day.

Ghosts Behind the Sun: Splendor, Enigma & Death: Mondo Memphis Volume 1 is a long book. I finished it when I knew it had the spontaneity, it was time.


Interview by Brooke Hunter