by Joe Matera

Hailing from Lismore, N.S.W, and first shooting to national attention in 1995 as winners of Triple J’s inaugural Unearthed competition, Grinspoon have enjoyed a steady and consistent rise to the top, to become one of this country’s premier rock acts.

Following on from their hugely successful previous effort, ‘Easy’ (1999), the band recently released their latest opus ‘New Detention’, an album displaying the outfit’s growth both in musical maturity and diversity. First single, the acoustic tinged ‘Chemical Heart’, was a major departure for the band, a commercially polished, softer sounding affair than to the Grinspoon that we’ve all become accustomed to.

"We just thought the song deserved it, we’ve never really done anything like that before" explained Grinspoon six-stringer Pat Davern to Australian Musician. "The producer of the record Phil McKellar really felt that the song deserved some lifting. He really liked the track. He was all for it being a single and we just kind of figured it actually deserved it. We wanted to try and make the song as good as it could possibly be and hence that’s how the orchestration came into it and we really enjoyed doing it. It got us a lot more radio play, right across the board for the first time ever".

That long overdue mainstream acceptance is cemented with current single ‘Lost Control’, itself sounding more like the Grinspoon of old, all over the airwaves. "After we put out ‘Chemical Heart’ we kind of figured that ‘Lost Control’ would appease all the fans who might have thought we had all gone soft" expressed Davern.  "It was more to say ‘New Detention’ is an album which has got maybe more variety than before, but it’s still rocking!"

When it came to producers, this time around Grinspoon decided to go with Phil McKellar, who previously manned the desk for their 1997 debut album, ‘Guide To Better Living’. McKellar’s influence on the production of ‘New Detention’ played a pivotal role in the overall recording process, which included stints at Mangrove Studios as well as the former Festival studios in Sydney.

"You know he’s an ideas guy. He’s a great engineer and he also makes you feel very comfortable in the studio and he loves to try ideas" Davern recalled. "Like if you have an idea, he’ll do his best to bring that to fruition and the same goes with his ideas. It was great to work with him again, it was just like old times. We recorded it at Festival where we did half the record there, and which actually closed down half way through our session! Then afterwards, we ended up going out to Mangrove and it was a great mood there. It’s a beautiful studio, it’s got great ambience, and is just a really good place to record".

When it came to write and do pre-production for ‘New Detention’, the process was intensive and labourous for the band. "We demoed everything about two or three times" explained Davern. "We demoed a whole heap of songs then we went in with Phil McKellar and culled loads off them. They were basically sketches and we built up all that we demoed again, all those songs just on Pro Tools kind of demos, all the ones that we liked and had built up. Then we went in and basically recorded them and then cut them down to 15 songs, which we then worked really heavily on. When we finally got to the album, it became 11 songs long. So we’ve got four songs in the bag for a later date. They could end up as B sides, we really don’t know what to do with them just yet. We didn’t really want to make the album long winded, like we’ve always done, the 15, 16 to 17 track records, so we thought we would just make something a little bit more concise and trim the edges. Maybe movie soundtracks or things like that".

Anyone who has in the past seen a Grinspoon show would know the intensity and energy the band expresses live, which sometimes can get lost in a studio setting. I suggested maybe they should consider doing a ‘live’ album sometime in the future to capture that spirit. "That’s a good idea mate, I think that’s a damn good idea!, exclaimed Davern. "I might even suggest that to our management. I agree with you, I think that would be a great thing for us to do".

Davern’s Maton Mastersound still remains an integral part of his distinctive sound. "I’m still using my my original light blue Maton Mastersound, which is still my favourite guitar in my rack" enthuses Davern. "I also now have a ‘70’s Les Paul along with my selection of other Maton’s. I’ve got two Sunn amps, but I’m also starting to use Framus. I did use Framus amps in the studios which are made by Warwick guitars and they were brutal in the studio. So I’m going to sus out how they go live and there could possibly be a switch in the future. Effects wise I’m using a Full Drive, a Univibe and Clyde Wah which are all custom made in L.A by a guy named Mike Fuller".

After they’re current tour ends, the band plan to tour New Zealand and the U.S behind the new album. "It will probably be later this year or early next year" revealed Davern. "We’re going to take our time with that sort of thing and not rush into it".

Finally, is Davern happy with where he is at the moment in his career. "Absolutely mate!" he affirmed. "We’re the happiest we’ve been for years. We’ve been given a new lease of life with the success of ‘Chemical Heart’ and things are going well for the band, so we really want to be keep pushing forward".