Interview:  Tim Rogers

By Lisa Dib
Interview with Tim Rogers
Lead Singer of the band You Am I.

Tim Rogers knows how to handle an audience

Tim Rogers, the prolific force behind You Am I and scruffy buccaneer of Aussie rock, describes himself as an "extremely eccentric man". Any You Am I fan has been privy to this since the band's birth in 1990 but Mr Rogers is turning over a new leaf on his latest solo effort, "The Luxury of Hysteria".

Deeply profound and beautifully sad, "Hysteria" is a far cry from his niche as one of Australia's chief hard-drinking, caustic rock gods. "If you don't have oppressive forces against you, or physical illness against you, why would you invent drama and hysteria and sadness for yourself?" Tim asks, pondering the nature of man and explaining where the album's title originated:

"It's a line from the Patrick White novel, Fringe of Leaves, and when I read it, I had to put the book down and go for a very long walk".

Rogers agrees that more intimate venues are more suited to the performance of this record: "I took the show to Perth and the venues we did were pubs and...it is a challenge. Places like Bennett's Lane (Melbourne) and The Basement (in Sydney), people go there to listen to music. The pubs we did in Perth definately were a challenge, it was like playing into the face of a very strong wind...people up the front yelling 'Shut up! Shut up!'".

Despite the difference in material compared to that of his You Am I,Tn'T and Temperance Union work, the public are taking very comfortably to the album. Listeners are calling it"raw", "heartbreaking" and "lucid", something Tim hoped for in the making of it:

"About halfway through the making of the record, myself and my manager Daniel (Caneva, of Majorbox Music; Majorbox manage such Aussie rock heavyweights as Dallas Crane) were talking a bit about the record and how well it was all going...and we thought "There's nothing about this we want compromised"". Such an attitude led to the establishment of his own label on which to distribute the album, Ruby Q Records.

But how does Rogers himself describe the latest vignette in an already stellar career? "It's all a complete fucking goulash" he laughs."I was writing very differently, it's a very different record and I've got a different attitude towards making music now...".

He talks of various collaborations on the album, namely acclaimed cellist/ vocalist Mel Robinson who arranged the better part of "Hysteria" with Tim. "She's so diametrically opposite to me" he muses. "She has such an intensity and seriousness about her, she's quite an admirable person. I want to be making music with her for a long while".

Despite the intensity of his touring schedule (having toured America this year with You Am I for the 2006 album "Convicts"), Tim isn't one to rest on his laurels: "I love what I do so much, and I'm putting in so much work and attention...I love it, I love creating words and sentences...I can't talk sentences, I can't figure out how to love somebody and have them love me, but I love fucking making these records and I love fucking playing". His passion has ensured he is distilled as an Aussie legend....though he doesn't consider himself anything close. He refers to You Am I as "a great great fucking band....with a fucking whining singer".

Although the album hints at some hidden melancholy below the surface of the craggy rock star, including an epilogue dedicated to his brother titled James The Second, (the sequel to 1993's Jaimme’s Got A Gal) Tim is cautiously optimistic: "I don't wanna do anything involving me any that's not anything less than intriguing".

"Hysteria" touches on some shaky ground, but Tim is still the same cheeky scamp we've always loved him as: "Anyway, we're all gonna get laid".

"The Luxury of Hysteria" is out now.

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