Features
Camperdown & Out: ‘I Just Don’t Care About Anything’
By Mitchell Judge
Author, bartender and prolific member of bands Nathan Roche sits down with MITCHELL JUDGE to discuss one of those bands, Sydney’s breezy Camperdown & Out, who have just released their first album.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] I arrive at the Old Fitzroy in Woolloomooloo, where Camperdown & Out lead singer Nathan Roche steps out from behind the bar to answer my questions over a few beers. He enjoys pulling drinks here all day, although the great majority of his customers are more than twice his age.
Despite being a few train stops away from the actual Camperdown, the quiet rundown pub is a fitting location given the relaxed sound of the band’s debut album, featuring members of Royal Headache, Dead Farmers, Raw Prawn and Marf Loth. We chat about this new Sydney “supergroup,” Rocher’s other projects and whether he cares about any of them at all.
Camperdown & Out started as a laugh between a couple of mates, so how did you meet the other members of the band?
When I moved to Sydney in late 2008, I had always liked music of course so I just started going to gigs and meeting people. I was living with the Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys on Kirk Street, and I met [bassist] Dave [Akerman] one night there at a New Year’s Eve party and [drummer] Shortty through Royal Headache. Yeah, pretty much it was all at gigs. Simple as that, actually.
How was the change for you, coming down from Townsville to Sydney?
Yeah, it was pretty massive: I hadn’t ever worn jeans until I moved to Sydney. I mean really Townsville is nothing; it’s the complete opposite of Sydney. Actually I shouldn’t be so harsh on it because there was a good scene up there with our friends. I used to live in this hellhole crack den right in the city of Townsville with all of these graffiti artists and we all used to put on gigs.
“You might as well write about where you’re from because people can relate to it. And it’s good for tourism!”
Was that an influence on your lyrics? With songs like ‘Manly’ and ‘South Coast’, the album seems to be quite focused on Sydney.
Well, even in Marf Loth some of the lyrics would be about Australian towns. I guess my songs will always be set in Australia, because that’s where I’m from. It’s where the whole band is from. I’ve written books as well, and they are all set in Australia: in Sydney or Adelaide or Townsville. You might as well write about where you’re from because people can relate to it, and I think it gives it a cultural image and relevance. And it’s good for tourism! When I read A Confederacy of Dunces it made me want to go to New Orleans.
Do you think there’s enough Sydney or Australian bands singing about their hometown?
I don’t think so. I mean, back in the day you would hear it, and I think it might be coming back now. I know Beef Jerk sing about Sydney as well, but I don’t know of any other bands that do. No one has to though, but I think some people should.
You establish that Sydney connection right away with a name like Camperdown & Out.
Yeah, well, with the name, I don’t know … all of our music’s pretty self-deprecating, and I do it for fun and really just don’t care. I think everything’s a joke, and that name is just a joke. So the band to me is a joke. [Laughs]
That comes across a little in the subject matter of Couldn’t Be Better, I think. Especially compared to some other jangle bands like Bitch Prefect, this album is quite lighthearted and optimistic.
Yeah, I try not to think about lyrics too much, and I think I always write about the same shit: whether it’s in this band or another band it’s all the same. If something rhymes I write it; it’s all about rhyming. But I can’t really speak on behalf of Alex [Kiers] because he wrote four songs, which I really liked. It’s good not having an entire record of myself. I really enjoy listening to his songs because it adds a bit of variety.
“For me it’s always been the same: John Cale, Lou Reed and Alex Chilton.”
Do you see yourself fitting in with that jangle sound that is quite popular now?
Well that’s the thing … when I read that press release with our influences [The Go-Betweens, Ed Kuepper, Paul Kelly, The Clean], I was thinking “I love Paul Kelly but I really don’t know anything about The Clean or The Verlaines.” If there are any influences, and I know it would be different for Alex, but for me it’s always been the same: John Cale, Lou Reed and Alex Chilton.
But in saying that, it might be easier to just mention the bands that people are relating to at the moment. I don’t think we sound like The Clean at all, but hey maybe I’m wrong. Actually you know the actor Elliott Gould, his voice has been more inspirational to me than any band. And Lee Hazelwood is all you need in life.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.]Do you think it was tough for the other guys to strip back some of the layers and release an album that is so different sounding to their other material?
Well, yeah, this is the polar opposite to Dead Farmers, but Dead Farmers is one of the best live bands in the country and I’ve been saying that since I first saw them. And for Dave, that’s always been his band and he’s always had a distortion pedal. So I think it’s nice for Alex and Dave to mix it up and have an interesting contrast.
The good thing about people who are obsessed with music is that they love all kinds of music: you’ll listen to The Dead C and then you’ll listen to Donovan or something. The more music you’re into, the more music you want to make. So for me it’s like “Hey Alex, do you want to play in this band, it’s kind of like The dB’s or Lou Reed?” and he’ll be totally on board with it.
Was there a point where it changed from just being a laugh between mates to thinking that you could take it more seriously?
Not for me. I was hesitant to do any signing to a label because I just don’t care about anything. I don’t care about being successful, or playing with the right people or having people at our shows. I just do it for fun.
And the reason that I wanted to be in Camperdown & Out is because they’re nice people, so still at no point now am I taking it seriously. I know the record label probably want us to, but it’s just fun for now, and when it’s not fun it will be over. I don’t know how long it will last, but at least we got one record out: there’s some sort of legacy in a catalogue number.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.]So did you even want to sign to Popfrenzy?
Well, I was the one who probably took the most convincing to want to do it, and that’s got nothing to do with Popfrenzy. I’ve done interning at Spunk, and I think independent labels are incredible; they’re there to help you. But I just have a lack of commitment to things, and by signing to that label you’re expected to work together and I just don’t care enough. I feel like I’m letting them down by not being ambitious.
I was surprised that you didn’t go through R.I.P. Society, because of their history with Royal Headache, Dead Farmers and now Raw Prawn.
Oh don’t get me started on that! [Laughs] I remember living with Nic [Warnock] and the day that the first Circle Pit 7”s arrived, and I said “Nic, can you put out some of my stuff?” and he never did. I always ask him and he never will, and I like that! I hope I never have anything on R.I.P. Society: I mean, I love the label but I just like the idea of being good friends with him and never having anything on it.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.]Down & Out by camperdown and out
You had Kiosk support your Sydney album launch. What was that experience like?
That was amazing! When I first moved here, the first band I ever saw was Circle Pit at The Hopetoun, and that’s how I met everyone. So it was great for them to join the bill. I think that they pulled a huge crowd; I guess it shows how relevant they were. It all came about pretty weirdly because we were all really drunk at Angie [Bermuda]’s birthday dinner in Newtown, and Catherine [Kelleher] just said, “Kiosk should reform for the Camperdown launch!” So she put it on the Catcall Facebook page and that was that.
“I’m not sure how long Camperdown will last; it might just be a one-album thing.”
So what’s the story with Marf Loth? Has that wrapped up now?
Yeah it’s finished now. Marf Loth started out in Townsville as an experimental free-jazz band, because I was really obsessed with Frank Zappa and Ornette Coleman. Then I started doing some stuff with friends in high school and we made a few albums up there, and then I moved to Sydney and made four or five albums with various people like Owen [Penglis] from Straight Arrows and Daniel [Grosz] from Dead Farmers.
So are you focusing on Camperdown & Out now or do you have some other projects going as well?
I’m not sure how long Camperdown will last; it might just be a one-album thing. It’s tough because the other three guys are so busy with their real jobs and their other bands, but I’m not busy at all. I want to say yes to everything and play everywhere, but I’ve always thought that it doesn’t matter who you play with.
There are a couple of other things I’ve got going on; Nathan Roche & The Wentworth Avenue Breeze Out, which is a garage-punk thing. Home Run is my baseball-noise band with this guy Jay. I play in a punk band The Revisionists with some of the guys from King Tears [Mortuary] and Beef Jerk. And Disgusting People as well, with Matt Banham and Craig Lyons and this guy Pat [Delohery]. But everything is pretty easy: it’s all like two chords.
Is Redneck Discotheque still going as well?
Oh yeah! That’s with my good friend Jordan Ireland from Townsville, who used to play in The Middle East. It’s pretty much whenever he’s in Sydney or I’m in Melbourne and we’re bored and drunk we’ll write a song, but we’ll never play I don’t think.
I’m still writing books too; I love doing that. I really only make music to be social and have fun; I think of myself more as a writer and a bartender. A while back I was supposed to have this writing residency in Spain funded by a government grant, but that fell through at the last minute so I ended up on a trip through Mexico. If I’ve still got ideas to write music and books, then that’s success to me. Or maybe success is being able to drink yourself to death off APRA royalty cheques in Barcelona.
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