Ben Kweller, the Texan charmer.

Words: Leah Holdsworth

Ben Kweller teaches me what ‘go fly a kite!’ actually means, and tells me why Australia reminds him of his home state, Texas.

So, where are you at the moment? Are you on tour?
I just got home actually. I did a little two week tour of the East Coast here in the States. I went to New York, and Boston, and now I’m back home in my studio here in Austin, Texas and it’s really, really hot.

Of course, because it’s summer over there!
Totally. Here in Texas, oh my god it gets hot.

What temperature does it get to?
Oh, like 102 degrees Fahrenheit [38.8 degrees Celsius]! It’s terrible, oh yeah. We do a lot of swimming, we swim in a lot of rivers, and it is ice cold water.

So you must like Australia then? It gets pretty hot over here as well.
Exactly. Oh, yeah, I love Australia. There are a lot of similarities I feel between Texas and Australia. The heat, and the lay and the look of the land, you know, the people are all really friendly and laid back.

And what do you think of the audience in Australia? Do you like the crowd?
You know, it’s hard to say because I feel like my fans for some reason seem to be really similar all around the world. Like, even in Japan, you can tell. Australian audiences are definitely very open to music, and just want to have a good time. But my fans in particular just seem to be similar. They are kind of artsy, and a little different from the popular crowd, and can think for themselves. Much like me.

Your latest album, ‘Changinig Horses’, has been described as moving away from indie-pop into alt-country. Do you think that’s accurate?
I would say the result is more alt-country, but it is more influenced by old country really and the stuff I listened to growing up here in Texas. Guys like Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, but also Garth Brooks, because that was all on the radio when I was a kid. But it’s definitely an Americana record, really rootsy. When it came out, I did a tour in Australia, and I brought my pedal steel player. And we really did the album the way it sounds.

Oh cool. And your manager, Kitt Kitterman, actually played the pedal steel guitar?
Yeah, our bus driver! Even better.

Your bus driver! That is a very interesting mix. Is he coming out with you this time?
No, unfortunately. He’s driving Tom Petty. So he’s got a good gig. So this tour, it’s really kind of between records, since I’m in the studio now making my new record, which will be more rock and roll, and more upbeat. So I’m coming over as the trio, and we’re going to do material from ‘Changing Horses’, and all the way back to my first record ‘Sha Sha’. It will be like a real mix of everything, and I’ll take requests.

And ‘Delta Spirit’ are supporting you. How did you hook up with those guys? Are you friends with them or do you just really love their music?
They have kind of been on my radar since they started, because we have the same booking agent. I was invited out to one of their first shows in New York, and I just really loved them and I’ve always wanted to play with them. And so this is an opportunity to bring them to Australia. I think my fans are going to love them. They’re already building a fan base and so that’s really exciting.

Do you have any favourite songs, or interesting stories, from the latest album?
Well, one of the most personal songs on the record is a song called Ballad of Wendy Baker. And Wendy was a girl I went to school with, and she got in a car accident and died. And we were only teenagers, and it was just so dramatic, for all of our friends because here we are, in 9th grade, and life is easy, just hating school. And then all of a sudden, you blink your eyes, and someone is gone. And to deal with that at such a young age was such a heavy experience. So that song I wrote when I was about sixteen years old. And this record was just the perfect record for it. I never really wanted to put it out until now. So that’s one song that means a lot to me.

And what about your new record?
The new record, it’s a really fun record. It’s really upbeat, and it’s called Go Fly a Kite, which is an alternative way of saying “go fuck yourself”.

Oh! That doesn’t sound very upbeat…
Oh but it is, it is [Laughter]! But it does deal with some darker issues, in particular, when I was in New York, one of my best friends and I had a big falling out because he had this girlfriend that came into his life and pushed all his friends away. And all the people that loved him. And I don’t know if you have ever been in that situation, but it is such a drag. People just get blinded by love. And that’s fine, but it just really hurt, so there is a song called Jealousy, and a song called Gossip, a lot of these “mean kid” songs.  But it’s really upbeat, a lot of electric guitar. There is the quintessential Ben Kweller optimism throughout it.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a really fun record.

Will you be playing some of the new songs on tour?
Unfortunately, no, not on this tour. Mainly because I don’t want to get sick of the music before the record comes out. Once it comes out I’ll be on tour for two years. So I’ll come back to Australia quickly when the record comes out and do all the new music.

On that note, do you remember Brisbane?
I love Brisbane! Yeah, “Brissie”, of course! I love the Zoo, I always have good shows there, I love Yves Klein Blue, it is such a good band out of there. It’s a really good town; I always go into the Casino late at night.

And you’re playing at the Great Southern Blues Festival?
Yes I am. I love all those Blues festivals, they’re really fun. Festivals are a great chance to hang out with other musicians and see bands you have never heard before, or that you have wanted to .I don’t really get to see many bands, but at a festival you’re there all day, and you can sit back and have a beer at the side of the stage, or get out into the audience and hang out.  So that’s exciting.

Ben heads to Australia to do some chilling and jamming in early October. Don’t miss out on some Ben Kweller upbeat fun when he plays the Hifi Brisbane with Delta Spirit on October 5. Tickets available now at the hifi website or ticketek.