‘It started as a joke’: Dave Favours on his record label, an affection for Geelong music and camaraderie on tour
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26.05.2022

‘It started as a joke’: Dave Favours on his record label, an affection for Geelong music and camaraderie on tour

The Stanley Records Travelling Medicine Show hits Victoria this weekend.

Promising one hell of an afternoon of alt-country, this weekend will see The Stanley Records Travelling Medicine Show arrive at Pistol Pete’s Food n Blues in Geelong this Sunday, May 29.

Bringing together four incredible acts – Ben Leece & Left Of The Dial, Katie Brianna, Sam Shinazzi and Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes – after two tumultuous years in the music industry, this showcase sees these artists fighting back, hitting the road and launching their new releases in what promises to be one hell of a party.

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

The showcase will celebrate two-time Golden Guitar nominee Katie Brianna’s latest album, This Way or Some Other which has been nominated for the Australian Music Prize and in a recent Sun Herald article, You Am I legend Tim Rogers called it some of the best songwriting that he’s heard in 50 years; while Newcastle’s Ben Leece will launch his twin EPs – Skywatching, which is a nod to the past and was produced by Shane Nicholson, who also produced Leece’s critically acclaimed debut album, and Marrow Gold which a nod to the future and is the sound of an artist wanting to break chains and push boundaries.

Unbelievably, Sam Shinazzi is launching his sixth full-length release. Along the way, he’s journeyed all over Australia and made multiple tours of the U.S. He’s also played alongside many of his heroes, including Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lou Barlow, Buffalo Tom, the Mountain Goats, Evan Dando and Richmond Fontaine; while Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes will be launching their new album, ‘Cheap Motels After Midnight’ and bringing their unique blend of indie rock, alt-country and ragged dusty pop to the intimate stage.

If that’s not enough there’s a pop-up vinyl record store from Rudderless Records at every show.

If alt-country, Americana, cowpunk or good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll is your thing, we’ve got the tonic that you need.

We sit down with Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes frontman, Dave Forrester, who also runs the Sydney-based alt-country label Stanley Records, ahead of the showcase at Pistol Pete’s this Sunday.

First up, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and the band? 

Sure, my name’s Dave and I’ve been doing the alt-country/cowpunk thing in various forms for a decade and a half now. I was the guitarist and songwriter in a band that had an amazing singer and once that band folded, I needed an outlet for my songs. I decided to have a crack at doing the singer/songwriter thing, initially as a solo artist and then in a duo. I formed the Roadside Ashes about 6 years ago, as I missed being in a real band. 

You’re currently touring the ‘The Stanley Records Travelling Medicine show’ with three other fantastic artists, can you tell us a bit about how this all came together? 

Ben Leece, Sam Shinazzi and Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes all released new records last month. Katie Brianna released her amazing album last year but couldn’t tour on the back of it because of the second lockdown, so we all had albums to flog. Rather than have 4 launch tours, we thought we’d combine our efforts and launch all 4 releases at once. It’s called the Travelling Medicine Show because after the nightmare of the last couple of years, being able to play and go to gigs again is the best medicine that you can have. Before I sound too much like a wanker, “medicine” may be a reference to the amount of alcohol that will be consumed on the tour as well.

We understand it’s all about celebrating the release of each’s latest album. Talk us through your new release, how long was it in the works? 

This one came pretty quickly. We released our last album in 2020, the week that the country went into the first lockdown, so we were unable to tour it. I know, great timing, right? With plenty of time on my hands, I ended up writing this latest album during that first lockdown and rather than trying to promote that record after it had been out for so long, we raced into the studio to record this one. I guess you could say that we’re launching both albums on this tour. 

This is the follow up to 2020’s Not Your Average Country Band, and sees the band at its tightest, delivering some serious roadside flavour. What were you striving to achieve with the new album, new sounds, etc. 

The last album was all written on an acoustic guitar. The majority of this one, I wrote on an electric guitar that I bought to relieve the boredom of lockdown. I wanted to test the waters and see what we sound like with dual electric guitars or with electric and pedal steel. We’re really happy with the result, which others have referred to as sitting somewhere between alt-country and indie Oz rock.

Previously releasing material solo, how does the creative process work with the band. Is it a collaborative effort? 

I basically write a song and then take it to rehearsal and say, this is how it goes. The other members then play what they think is right for the song. I occasionally give them some “thoughts”, and they tell me what I can do with them. Generally, we don’t labour over the process. My favourite thing to do is say, “hey here’s a new one. We’re playing it this weekend”. 

You’ll be heading to Pistol Pete’s in Geelong, an intimate sized venue dedicated to live music. Have you performed here before? 

I haven’t personally played there but I’ve wanted to for ages. Some of the other acts have played there and rave about it. It’s so great that you have a place like this in Geelong. We can’t wait to get there. Growing up on punk rock and dirty rock’n’roll, I’ve always had an affection for Geelong music. Bands like Bored and Warped are some of my all-time favourites.

What can we expect from the performance?

There’s nothing worse than seeing a bill with multiple acts doing the same thing. With this bill, you can expect four acts that are very different, whilst all being cut from the same cloth. In short, you can expect to have a hell of a good time. There’s a pop-up vinyl record store at the show as well.

What’s your favourite part about heading out as part of a show with other like-minded bands? 

The camaraderie. We all love what we do, and we love having a good time as well. Being able to hang out with our good mates again after so much time spent locked up at home is something that none of us will ever take for granted again. It’s a big celebration. 

 

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Can you tell us a bit about your label, Stanley Records. How did all this come about and what were you hoping to achieve with it? 

Well, it started as a bit of a joke. A band that I was in about 12 or 13 years ago wanted to put out an album. I came up with the idea of creating a fake label so that we looked more important than we were. A couple of mates then asked me to help them put their records out and it just grew from there. It’s like there’s this mini-community that centres around the label now and it’s become such a massive part of my life. I’ve never had any goals of achieving world domination or anything like that. Being a massive record collector myself, I just love putting great music into the world and if I can keep doing that, that’s all the success that I need.

 How do you find the grassroots alt-country/Americana music scene in Australia at the moment? 

For a small collective, we have some of the best artists, who can easily compete on the world’s stage. I find everyone to be supportive of one another and I love the diversity of acts who fall under the blanket of the genre. 

What’s next for you, your record label and your band? 

For the label, we have a bunch of stuff coming up, including another album from Ben Leece and an EP from a little-known singer/songwriter from country NSW called T.C. Jones. For my band, we’ll continue hitting the road in support of our latest album and have already started recording tracks for the next one. We kind of run our own race. 

Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes new album ‘Cheap Motels After Midnight’ is out now through Stanley Records

Catch the band alongside Stanley Records label mates Katie Brianna, Ben Leece & Left of the Dial and Sam Shinazzi on their ‘Travelling Medicine Show’ tour at Lulie Tavern in Melbourne on Saturday, May 28 and at Pistol Pete’s Food N Blues in Geelong on Sunday, May 29. You can purchase tickets to the Geelong gig here