Jeff Lang - Some Memories Never Die

BY ALLAN SKO

Australian guitarist-songwriter-vocalist-producer and roots-oriented rock merchant Jeff Lang is a true journeyman, releasing some 30 albums across 30 years of touring. He can boast, not that the humble man would, of myriad awards - Best Blues and Roots Music Album in 2002 (with Bob Brozman) and again in 2012 for Carried In Mind - as well as a multitude of worldwide collaborations with the likes of aforementioned roving guitar anthropologist Bob Brozman, American blues-rocker Chris Whitley, India’s desert-dwellers Maru Tarang, and world music virtuosos Bobby Singh and Mamadou Diabate.

You’d imagine our man Lang would have a tale or two to tell after such a span. And you’d imagine correctly.

Some Memories Never Die is Jeff Lang’s first book, a memoir of three decades on the road, brimming with recollections of gigs where the tour progress was by the grace of an oily rag; the road’s many turns can be elevated, or devastated, by the presence of fellow travellers. And it all comes bundled with a 22-track album of Jeff Lang classics explicitly re-recorded for the book’s release, and an accompanying tour, landing at The Street Theatre this month.

“I didn’t want to write a traditional biography laid out in chronological order,” the affable Lang tells us. “I guess I took a leaf out [Bob Dylan’s] Chronicles where he just seemed to write about what he felt like.

“So I started by recalling anecdotes from the past. Then other related things would emerge and link, and eventually a chapter would form with an overarching theme, such as tales about hunting for old pieces of gear on tour, or a link about driving, or about a particular place such Ireland or Tasmania. There’s also a chapter about working with Chris Whitley.”

Lang’s purpose for the book is not simply a merry waltz down memory lane.

“I’m hoping to give those who don’t do this for a living a taste of what it’s really like, rather than a romantic portrayal; putting you there inside it from various different permutations.

“I take the music part seriously, but taking yourself too seriously with this could kill you,” Lang continues. “A lot of ritual humiliation is involved; it’s all a bit of a cosmic joke, and you’re the bottom of it. So I took that. There are serious things in there, but a large chunk of the book are things I found funny upon reflection; the absurdity of the touring and music experience. I figured if there’s enough laughs, and the bulk are at my own expense, that’s fair game.”

The EP of the same name is a sampling of the recordings that come with the book. The chapters are each linked, in some way, to a song Lang has written, with each one in the book followed by the lyrics from that song.

All of which lends to a compelling and engaging night of both music and story.

“The larger portion of the evening is performing songs, followed by some reading from the book,” Lang explains. “I’ve just done one weekend of the tour so far down in Tasmania and it went well.”

With such a treasure chest of both song and story, one would expect the ‘life editing’ process for stage to be arduous. Instead, Lang approaches each live show as a DJ does at a dance party… listening to what feels right in the moment, then playing.

“You don’t want to try people’s patience!” Lang chirps. “In different places I might be reading from different things as well. You’ve got to pick an extract that will work as a standalone reading. With Tasmania, I had a few choices with me, and I get a gist of which song feels like the right one to do. Because I don’t usually use a setlist when I’m playing, especially when I’m playing solo. I’ll just have a feel for it. It’s not a case of, ‘what’s the audience want? Well, I’ll give them more of that.’ It’s what feels like the right thing to play right now, after that last song. Same with the reading. I’ll have a few choices, get to a spot in the night, go to a different part of the stage, and make a decision on what to read.”

With his lengthy career encompassing turbulent changes in both life and the music scene in particular, did Lang have any particular observations to impart?

“I mean, I’m part of it, so it’s hard to get an overall read on it,” Lang ponders. “I only see people play if I’m on the same bill with them, or at a festival. I speak to people, of course, and it does seem like it’s gotten more difficult. I wonder how a young band makes inroads these days. It’s never been the most lucrative thing in the world. You used to sell merch [CDs] to help fund the thing, and there’s less of that nowadays. But I’m wary of getting too much into ‘things were better in my day’... That’s really boring!”

Despite the many changes, there’s one thing for Lang that rings true throughout time.

“To ‘make it’ involves a lot of compulsive, irrational choices; important choices. When I started, I certainly didn’t weigh it all up and go, ‘I can do this and I’ll be able to make it work by doing that’. I lived life through my 20s such that if I’d made enough money for petrol to get to the next town to play, that was all good. I had a van to sleep in, so who cares if there’s no accommodation at the venue? That’s the way I was living.

“I imagine for young bands starting out, you would have the same kind of headstrong, willful irrationality that I had. So maybe, in that way, things don’t particularly change at all.

Sure, it might be tough. Is it tougher? I don’t know. But I do know that people still bother to do it. And there’s still great bands getting around and great artists writing songs. I don’t think it’s something that just happens to you; you fall in love with sound before you get intoxicated by being involved with a discord, jumping in to the big river of sound that you fell in love with and splashing around. And, you know, it pulls you in.”

And you can be pulled in when Jeff Lang brings his Some Memories Never Die book, EP and tour all of the same name to The Street Theatre on Saturday, 24 April at 7:30pm. Tickets are $39/$35 from thestreet.org.au