Chords for Bernard fanning Interview On The Project 2013

[E] In a whopping [Em] 21 years as the [C] frontman for Australian rock [E] royalty Powderfinger,
who scored themselves [C] 18 ARIA [E] awards, sold over [C] two and a half million records,
had five number [E] one album [D] debuts, going out on a high in 2010.
[G] We've decided after much deliberation and agonizing
that after this final tour [D] we'll call it a day.
It was during [A] Powderfinger's [D] hiatus in 2005 [A] that Bernard released [C#m] his solo album
Tea and [D] Sympathy, which not only debuted at number one and scored a few ARIAs,
it also delivered this track to the top of [G] Triple J's [Bm] Hottest 100.
[G] _ [F#m] _ [D] _
Now after some quality family time in [G] Spain and [A] some [D] studio time in [G] Los [Dm] Angeles,
Bernard Fanning is finally back in [F] Australia and has released his second studio album,
[A#] Departures, which by the sound of [G] it is going to snare him a few [Dm] more awards.
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ [A#] _ _ _ Please welcome [G] Bernard Fanning.
[N] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
We just heard in the package there you've just had a bit of family time in Spain,
recording time in America, life seems pretty good.
Yeah it's been pretty good actually, had about a year and a half in Madrid.
How was that?
It was great, it was really fun.
I worked as well.
Well yeah like pulling beers at a pub like when a lot of people go backpacking.
Yeah I did that as well.
_ You're working on a new album, how's that with two children under four?
I mean it's a nightmare.
It's really a nightmare, thank you.
_ Because I was doing it at home as well.
I was doing it in a room next to the kitchen which was,
we were living in [Am] an apartment that was [Cm] built in the 60s and in those days they used to have a
maid's room in Spain and my studio was the maid's room so it was about three metres by two metres.
So you're trying to tell T.R. to be quiet because he's a genius at work.
That's right, yeah and I'm trying to tell her that in Spanish as [N] well.
_ _ Some beautiful tracks on the album and some very moving ones too.
There's some in there about the death of your brother in 2002.
I mean how hard is that
for you to write or is it cathartic to write that?
What's the process like?
Well I kind of set out not writing that stuff.
My dad passed away just after Powderfinger
finished as well and so that song, it's called [Am] Departures which is the title track,
that is talking about both [G] my brother and my dad and I was kind of trying not to write about that
[Am] but that song just arrived and came out you know so _ it sort of _ [G] deserved its place because the rest
of the record is quite different to that.
It's much more [N] upbeat.
Can you perform that song without getting emotional?
_ Yeah I think I'm just at the moment because I'm not used to performing it or anything I'm just
really concentrating on playing it properly and all that so maybe down the track I might lose it.
_ I doubt it.
I mean you _ can't really invest that much emotional energy in a song every night.
It's
when you're writing that that's when that comes along you know that's when it's actually quite
an emotional feeling to be writing something like that.
Now the music business it's safe to say has changed a lot since Powderfinger first hit the scene. _ _ _
_ How has that changed the experience of bringing out a new album?
Like
do people come up and ask you to sign a USB stick?
Like how does it work?
That could happen.
You know last time when I released Teen Sympathy Twitter and Facebook
didn't exist.
So I didn't even have those as part of my promotional team.
Yeah all [D] that abuse, all that online [F] bullying that I'm [G] now getting.
_ So yeah [C] it's changed a lot.
I
mean especially in the promotion of it and [A] now the way [Dm] music's delivered people [G] buy [F] stuff digitally
most of the [F#m] time.
Well how about you because you [E] love music as well as making it.
Do you still go down and buy vinyl
or do you just download it onto your [D] iPhone?
I do both.
I do both.
[Em] So if I want to listen to something like if I want to [G] listen to the
heavy production side of it then I would buy a CD but ordinarily just by pure convenience I would
download it.
And you know there's all that stuff like Spotify and all [N] those different kind of
stations now that are kind of like radio I suppose.
But I mean I know I have used a couple of those things a couple of times but more like
a listening post when I used to go to Harlequin Records at Indrapilly Shopping Town and listen to
like you know side A of Best of the Solos by Kiss and decide whether I wanted to buy it or not.
No you are old aren't you? _ _
What _ _ do rock stars sign these days?
Because you don't really have albums,
the CDs are in decline.
What do you sign?
I sign Todd Breast.
_ _ _ So they've got that Breast.
That's interesting.
That's good.
And you're touring obviously without, you're touring on your own is it?
Do you have fun touring on your own?
Yeah I have a band.
[C] I'm not completely alone.
Of course you're not [N] on your own.
But yeah.
With the kids?
The kids come too?
_ _ They'll come occasionally.
When we're in somewhere for a few nights maybe.
But it's just too much of an operation to move the team around.
It is mate and that's what you tell your wife. _ _ _
Sorry we're only here for one night.
_ _ Just before we go we have to ask, and I know you're going to hate us asking,
Powderfinger will they be reforming?
We're asking on behalf of all your fans
that will be annoyed [G#] if we don't.
[F] Certainly not at this stage.
No.
No.
But we get asked that a lot.
It's incredible actually.
I get asked it [Fm] pretty much every day.
You know what I think you'd be upset [C] if people weren't asking.
Yeah _ [D] people are still very very kind and there's [G] a lot of affection for the band out there so it's great.
Well they can [N] start getting excited about this.
Bernard Fanning's album Departures.
Head to our website for all of the tour details as well.
The album is out now.
Would you please thank the awesome Bernard Fanning. _ _ _ _ _ _ _