A voracious tourer, Steve Towson has been a regular visitor to the far north over the years. Steve is once again hitting the road, taking his music to a festival, conventional music establishments and – in typical Towson style – several unorthodox venues.
Towson is a regular of the Queensland and Australian music scenes, bringing his passionate brand of punk-inspired anti-folk to audiences around the country and beyond. This time around, he’s celebrating the release of new tracks: the raw, boisterous energy of “I’m Gonna Do It All Over Again” and the more intricate, interwoven exploration of love and solidarity, “We Will Rise”.
But as is often the case with Towson, the subtext runs deeper than a tour and a few new tunes. He’s also fundraising and collecting resources for the Australian Cultural Library, an independent project he co-founded three years ago.
The Library preserves and makes accessible any item relating to Australian culture and is filled entirely with donated resources. Towson’s tour is a fundraiser for this project. With items to collect from donor individuals and institutions, this tour will keep Towson characteristically busy as he shares his fervour for music and passion for preserving culture.
I caught up with Steve for a quick Q/A ahead of his Cairns shows at Resonate this Thursday and Garageband on Saturday, both at the Grand Hotel in Cairns..
TM:- Your recent track ”Im Gonna Do It All Over Again” was popular with 4zzz
listeners, stylistically its seems a bit of a departure from your earlier
work, can you tell our readers a bit about this track?
ST:- Its an up-beat, fast, party song, really. Just an exciting, good time
song. Its a departure from my earlier solo tracks in that its a full
sound, but on this tour Im playing quite a few solo shows too.
TM:- You have always been a prolific tourer, venturing into weird and wonderful
places. Can you tell our readers some of the more unusual places you have
played?
ST:- The more unusual places have been mostly been in regional Australia and
South-East Asia regions and cities. I guess you could say there have been
some unorthodox places to play music on my tours. The top three would
probably be at The Cot, which is a collective-run street art studio in
Townsville. Then there was playing outside Perth Concert Hall when Billy
Bragg was playing inside. That venue is equivalent to QPAC in Brisbane.
Another memorable one was playing at a community festival in Bandung in
Indonesia, which had people of all different ages, and all different music
and art taste, performing on a stage next to a street.
TM:- What is your favourite memory from your years of touring?
ST:- Hanging backstage with the Stranglers in Sydney and Brisbane.
TM:- You are obviously passionate about your involvement with the Australian Cultural
Library. Can you tell us a bit about where this passion comes from?
ST:- It comes from years of touring regional Queensland and South-East Asia. In
essence, I like music. Its a good way of people making each other feel
connected and empowered – emotionally, collectively and politically. My
passion comes from wanting to encourage people to create music, art,
culture. If they put things out there through self-representation, then my
interest with the Library is to collect and preserve it, preserving their
passion, interest and beliefs, paying respect to people living and who
have lived. So a big part of it is about making sure people’s passion and
memories are not forgotten. Everything in the Library has been donated,
and we get a fair bit in by people who have created their own music, zine
or whatever.
TM:- Its been a while since you played in the Far North, the last time I spoke
with you was when you played the Pandamonium Room, what can punters expect
from your upcoming Resonate and Garageland Shows?
ST:- A raw and passionate solo performance on electric guitar with vocals. I’ll
be playing original and traditional songs. I have some new original
material, some not yet recorded that Ill be playing too.
TM:- Firstly, A Long Drive to Ipswich. But then I have material for a new
release that I hope to get out at the end of the year. In the meantime,
theres lots Id like to do with the Australian Cultural Library,
promoting and organising events, publicity and collecting material.
Steve Towson FNQ dates:-
Resonate at the Grand Hotel Thursday 16th April along with Ray Danes & Brealyn Sheehan – from 7pm – Entry is free
Garageland at the Grand Hotel Saturday 18th April along with The Dialers, F4T, Meat bikini & Salacious – From 5pm – Entry is free.
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