Interviews

BW: Anyway, I have to ask - I read something interesting on the website that your parents had a record store in Scotland. Tell me about what that was like, growing up in that environment.

Colin: From the age of five until I was 14, I was in the music shop. We lived right behind and above it. You know, it was a typical mom and pop store, and we sold everything - from pianos to drums to records. My father was a piano tuner, and had pianos in the shop. And we had a few guitars, not too many, and then we had records and everything including violin strings. And all kinds of wind instruments and so forth. Growing up there was wonderful because from a very early age, I was just listening to music all the time, and it was all-pervasive. Fantastic way to grow up.

BW: Your family shop likely had first editions of all the amazing records that were produced in the U.K. at that time. If you’d just pulled them off the racks and put them aside in a few boxes, you'd be a rich man.

Colin: That's right. And we never really considered that at the time. When we finally moved, it was all about how we could get across to the other side of the world with as few belongings as possible.

BW: But to be in that environment, in a place like Scotland had to be incredible. And I think you also mentioned you played rugby for a time as well. You were second row, I believe.

Colin:Yeah, I played rugby a while before I left Scotland. Rugby union. And then I played in Australia for a little while with a team called Powerhouse. Second row.

BW:Did you did you play any other positions? We all tend to move around in that sport.

Colin: I was a fullback as well for a while. But I also played soccer. Football was my love. But I basically stopped playing on teams when I got into bands at the age of 15.

BW: We could talk about your first band and the arc of your career, but I'm really interested in your current work. In the new album “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” you've made the best of the lockdown and selected some songs that you clearly love. There's a real respect and care that comes across in the different versions, like “Can't Find My Way Home.”

Colin: Well, I love all those songs, and it was quite spontaneous. It wasn't really planned, and so I didn't really have that much time to think about it. I would go for this song, for that song. I started off by doing one right after Gerry Mardsen passed away. I began on his song “Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying” in the studio, because I was playing these major 7th chords, and it just came on.

I recorded it, and then I sent it to my friend Chad Fischer, my producer on the album. And I’d ask him, “What do you think? And can you just do a little orchestration?” And then he sent it back, and said “send me some more.” So I did just that. It would wait. And then I’d wake up and go, “well, what am I going to do today?” And I would just think about a song.

I recorded “Waterloo Sunset” because I remembered that was playing over the sound system when I was getting on the walk across the gangplank, to go to the New World many years ago from those islands in the North Atlantic. That was my kind of sendoff song, so it's always had this, you know… it's a beautiful kind of heartache. Anyway, I recorded that too, and never pondered why I played it.

BW:They came out beautifully.

Colin:I thought, well, I'll have a crack at that. And thought about when I first arrived in Australia, the kind of music that was affecting me, songs like “Wichita Lineman.” I became aware of the fact that it was a song in and of itself, as opposed to a great Glen Campbell hit. What stood out was the actual quality of the song, as well as the performance. I said “Wow, listen to that, it’s extraordinary.” It’s just great songwriting.

It made me think about being a songwriter. Up to then, I've always associated songs with the artists because the Beatles wrote their own, the Who wrote their own, the Rolling Stones to a large degree. The Kinks, too. But here was someone who had a hit with a song written by another songwriter.

And in 1969, I'd been in Australia for a couple of years and that Blind Faith album came out. Of course, I was a huge Steve Winwood fan, and of Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker as well. And you could attempt it on acoustic guitar. I was learning how to play, and there’s that famous kind of grandeur from the E chord. And it was it was a song you could just have a go at, you know, and it was such a beautiful sounding song. They made one record, and it had a huge impact on me at the time. I just did it like that. Songs just sprang to mind, as opposed to me delving deep.

I’ve always loved the Del Amitri band and “Driving With The Brakes On.” It was a love for that song, because I used to drive home when I would finish playing on a Friday or Saturday night, and I'd put on the album “Twisted.” This was in the early 90’s, when I first arrived in California. And by the time I got up to the S-bends of the boulevard where I lived, that's when it was playing. It just floored me. Always love that song. So, I just decided to have a crack at that one, too.

BW: All of these songs stay with you. There does seem to be an element of yearning to “Wichita Lineman” and “Can't Find My Way Home,” a certain emotional resonance. It seems like that you lean into that area of songwriting and songcraft.

Colin:Yes, I love a good yearn.

BW: (laughs) It really evokes that feeling.

Colin: That's something which happens through an unconscious process. But it does happen. And I also just I think with the way that Chad treated the orchestrations and gave a lot of the songs are kind of a dreamlike quality to them, which I really love.

BW: It was minimalist when needed, and came out just right.

Colin: It was a good process. It's the only time I've ever done that where, you know, we did this album, how we never saw each other, not once. We recorded it pretty much in two studios. I would record mine. And I just sent in the song, he would say it’s good, and just a couple of days later, he’d send it back with the orchestra. It was beautiful. It was a great, great way to make a record.

BW: In terms of the production of the record, how did you approach that? I'm sure you couldn't send analog tapes back and forth. And do you think there are any advantages of working in analog versus digital? I know that's a frequent question, but I was just curious what your thoughts are.

Colin: Well, I think it does if you think it does (laughs). But actually, it really does. I think that the digital recordings have come a long, long way. But there's probably something that you’ll never really get with a certain sound like tape. You won't get it to sound like tape. There's a strong argument for having an analog tape recorder to record drums on the front end, you know. It’s just the way that drums saturate tape, and electric guitars as well. That just doesn't happen with a digital recording. But in terms of when it's all said and done - you've recorded multiple tracks and you mixed the stuff - I would really question whether someone could tell a song that had been recorded with analog tape or not.

But having said that, I listened back to my old stuff a while ago, the Men at Work stuff, which I hadn’t heard for a long time. And my God, it sounded pretty great. The drums sounded very analog and very, very cool.

Look, the convenience of digital recording is just awesome. But if you've got a tape machine and you want to set it up, and you love that, then have at it. It’s going to bring you great joy, I’m quite sure.

BW:I'm generally an analog guy, but I’ve heard great things done with digital. I’m not advocating either direction, but you live in the craft. You would have the best sense of it.

Colin: When I mike the drums up, bring them up with nice microphones and a mike tree, and a great drummer – it sounds killer. I'm going to go with that. Then you have to find a good tape machine, and you’ll need somebody to look after it. It's not easy looking after tape machines.

BW: Finding a used one in great shape takes a while.

Colin: I have a studio at home, and it's about as close as you can get to a professional setting while being at home. I am very lucky. I love having a studio at home.

BW: That's a great bonus. And you're still living in L.A.? I heard you've got a place in Australia, too.

Colin: I have a little flat in Melbourne, which I haven’t been to for a long time now. But I’ve been in L.A. for over 30 years. And I think that getting back to what you said before is interesting, because I record in the digital world, but, you know, I'm still working with raw sounds. It's not like I'm using any samples. I mean, you do that with orchestration sometimes. But when I'm recording, I tend to still work with real instruments, which does make a difference in terms of the marriage of analog and digital, whether it's a real voice, or a little acoustic guitar or drums, or whatever it is tends to be. It comes from a raw source, so you're getting a good marriage of those two worlds.

BW: Definitely so. And do you find that L.A. supports you better as a musician? I’ve had that experience - you’ll walk down the street there, and bump into somebody who makes music you love at the corner coffee shop or record store.

Colin: Yeah. There is that - there are a lot of people doing great things there, and all the ancillary industries, whether it's pedal boards, pedals for guitars, or drumsticks or whatever it is. Everything's there. You know, it's a real industry. And supportive - there's lots of support for whatever you're doing. And I love living there. It's great.

BW: And I saw you have a couple of Beatles tracks on the new album, and thought of your time with Ringo and the All Starr Band. That had to be fascinating - from being a kid and hearing all his stuff in your parent’s store, to actually being on stage with him. That must have blown your mind. He’s such a nice, humble guy.