Gerry
Hale, from the Melbourne bluegrass band, Uncle Bill, is clearly
enjoying the experience of working with melody-magician, Paul Kelly.
Kelly has teamed up with Uncle Bill to release a bluegrass album,
'Smoke' on Kelly's new label Gawdaggie, through EMI.
"It was
such a big buzz to go around to Paul Kelly's house one day, sit
in the kitchen with him and write a song" said Hale after the
event. However, at the time he was somewhat embarrassed at giving
voice to his mumblings in front of Kelly whose songwriting prowess
is widely respected.
"I hadn't
really started to write songs at all" laughed Hale explaining
that Kelly had requested Hale bring some material with him to their
session. "So I thought I better do something. I got a tape
machine, sat down one night with the guitar and not having any words
just went lalalala. Very embarrassing, the sort of thing you don't
really want anyone else to hear."
Through all
the 'lalalala's' Hale had mumbled a few words. "Kelly picked
up on them and we took it from there. We were done in an hour and
I just floated out of the house."
The song Hale
is talking about became 'Night after Night' which features on the
new album, 'Smoke'. 'Smoke' is Uncle Bill's first foray into the
world of commercial music. Having released two independent productions
of their work previously, Hale says 'Smoke' was a new experience,
and a great learning opportunity to work with one of Australia's
best musicians.
Hale met Kelly
in Los Angeles, when Hale was playing on the Colin Hay Band album,
'Wayfaring Sons'.
"I went
to this BBQ and there was Paul sitting under a tree playing acoustic
guitar. I asked someone who he was . . . On and off we stayed in
touch and occasionally he'd call me in for a session."
Hale who has
also played with Broderick Smith and Ross Wilson, sent Kelly a copy
of Uncle Bill's independent CD releases. Kelly liked what he heard,
made contact and the project that resulted in 'Smoke', began.
When I spoke
to Hale, it was the day after their first tour date with Kelly,
at the National in St. Kilda. "It was a great crowd for a first
night" commented Hale as he prepared for the second show which
is a sell-out. On the tour Hale was watching the crowd from behind
Kelly who had taken Hale's role as lead singer and guitarist.
"When Paul
comes into Uncle Bill he basically takes my job and allows me to
take up other instruments, to do what I have been doing for the
past 20 years, working behind the singer. I've built up quite a
repertoire and move around on instruments a lot."
Kelly was playing
Hale's guitar on the lightning tour of Melbourne & Sydney. The
guitar, a Martin HD282R special edition, explained Hale, is a copy
of Clarence White's, The Byrds' guitarist.
"White
used to play in bluegrass bands before The Byrds," said Hale.
"He had a Martin guitar, it is the only guitar really used
in bluegrass because it has such a powerful, loud, acoustic sound.
The story goes that White actually took a pen knife to the Martin
taking about another 1/2cm out of the sound hole. This produced
more of a bass sound, a lot more boomier, so they copied the guitar
and I have the new version of that instrument."
Relieved from
his duty as guitarist, Hale plays a variety of traditional bluegrass
instruments including a dobro, lap steel, fiddle and mandolin on
the new album.
"It's taken
me many years to acquire the ones I've got and I'm very happy with
them", enthused Hale.
"I play
a Dobro which is a resonator guitar, played horizontally, like a
slide guitar, an acoustic version of a lap steel. Sometimes in the
blues field slide can also mean bottle neck, but it definitely is
not bottle neck when you put a tube on your finger to play. With
a dobro you hold a steel bar and play. This instrument that I play
has a square neck with the strings an inch off the board so you
can't play it like a guitar."
Hale has collected
his instruments in some unusual circumstances. For example, he acquired
his Dobro after his custom made Mandolin was stolen from a recording
studio in Los Angeles.
"When my
custom made mandolin went astray in LA" said Hale, " the
studio was reluctant to make an insurance claim because custom made
items are so expensive."
Ever the enterprising
musician, Hale suggested the studio allow him to buy a top of the
range Dobro in exchange. They agreed. "It was a real buzz to
walk in and ask for the best they had. I walked out with a full-bodied
mahogany 3M Dobro. Brilliant!"
Hale prefers
the self-titled Dobro brand as opposed to the National Dobro because
of the richer sound the former allows. "National were the parent
company" explained Hale. "The company was divided as there
were differing opinions within on how the resonator should be modelled.
So Dobro became an offshoot of National."
On 'Smoke',
Hale also plays a Flatiron F5 Artist Model Mandolin, which he describes
as the standard bluegrass mandolin and two fiddles; one acoustically
and one with a pick up.
"I have
a five string fiddle which was custom-made for me in Cambridge,
England, where I used to live. There are lots of heart surgeons
in Cambridge, " said Hale warming up as he launched into another
yarn. "You know the surgeons take violin-making classes in
the evening to relieve stress." I laughed, but Hale continued
in earnest. "It's true.You know surgeons have very steady hands,
and you use a scalpel for very fine work on a violin. So it requires
the same precision without the tension of having a life in your
hands. Very relaxing."
Later in the
interview Hale confesses that maybe his fiddle was actually made
by an equally stressed-out computer engineer rather than a heart
surgeon. A true original.
The theatrical
nature of his stories is evidence of his previous life in the theatrical
band, The Bouncing Checks, which entertained audiences many nights
at the Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant in Melbourne in the eighties.
Hale has spent
most of his musical life in bluegrass though and it is there that
his true passion lies. Of the opportunity to work with Paul Kelly,
Hale could not say enough good things and hoped for future opportunities.
On the possibility of being signed
commercially
through the new exposure Hale was a little more ambivalent. "Yes
it would be great to be signed to a label who wants to work for
the band, to support you" he said, "but playing good music
is what it's really all about."
