The Travelling Troubadour

ARIA Award winner Jeff Lang is back with a new album, 'Chimeradour', which suggests a combination of a travelling ttroubadour mixed with an ancient greek mythological beast. And as Lang tells, is not all that far off the mark in the story of his life as an artist.

“It's something I've done a lot through the years. For example, ten to fifteen years ago I was living in my van, just making enough money to get from one gig to the next, so I was definitely living that kind of lifestyle; it’s something that I'm very familiar with,” he explains.

“I feel really lucky that I get to do exactly what I want to do, it's not like I'm running myself in circles trying to guess what everyone is going to want, and I'm just kind of trying to keep it true to my vision for what I want. I don't take it for granted that people are interested and wanna hear my music, I feel really fortunate for that.”

And he has been fortunate, playing with artists such as Bob Dylan and Chris Whitney, and more recently, drummer Danny McKenna and guitarist Grant Cummerford on his album 'Chimeradour'.

Jeff's style of performance is also something of a delight for fans, as he's not one to stick to a certain routine but rather to just go with whatever vibe he feels on the night. As he explains, each night has its own kind of flow and its own energy, so even if you do a run of shows in one venue night after night in the same place, there's a different audience each night and therefore a different feel.

“I kind of like to leave it up to the night, you know. You can kinda tell when the right thing to play is and to predetermine exactly what's gonna work- it doesn't always work out that way,” he confides.

“Even if you do have an idea of a certain format that will work best, you might get halfway through a gig and think, 'Geez, it doesn't really feel like the next song to play is the right song to play tonight’. So it's better to just surrender to that, let it be spontaneous.”

So what inspires the musician Jeff Lang? Where do his lyrics and music come from? Mostly, he says, it's not so much autobiographical, but rather sudden ideas that come to him during the creative process of song-writing or sometimes it’s something he's had jotted down in his diary for a couple of years just waiting to be used.

“Rather than just sit there and go, ‘Well, today is Tuesday, and you know, I looked after a friend's kid and went to the shops and someone was rude to me and so I'm gonna write about that’, I'd rather just kind of put the pen on the paper and just start writing what comes into your head,” he explains.

“There are various ways writing a song can work, but a lot of the time it's just been me held up in a shed at night at home, just locking myself in the back and going, 'Right, you're not allowed out until you've written something’. So I have to discipline myself a little bit.”

Lang confides there are other methods that he uses to discipline himself, but these he only resorts to in times of extreme writers block.

“In some cases I have to be hard on myself, so I say, 'don't make me use the whip!'” he laughs.

“Sometimes I make myself use the whip but different song, different album that one yeah ... (laughs) the album cover shot for that one is gonna be a killer.”

Jeff Lang's national ‘Chimeradour’ tour kicked off last week and will run for all of October and November featuring Canadian starlet, Jill Barber, who has been compared to the likes of Edith Piaf and Patsy Cline.

You can catch Jeff Lang Chimeradour tour with special guest Jill Barber on October 23 at The Soundlounge (Gold Coast), October 31 at the Zoo (Brisbane) and November 1 at Joe's Waterhole (Eumundi).