INTENSIFY - Sidewinder Interviews/Articles...

Sidewinder - to open with a cheap and not entirely successful pun - have been sitting on the sidelines of late. It has been a good two years since their album ‘Tangerine’ insidiously inserted itself into the collective conscious after being initially given a lukewarm critical reception. In the meantime the band has toured infrequently, as well as spending a year doing ‘normal things’, like holding down a regular job. But now, it seems, the Sidewinder boys are back. Well, sort of. ‘The new album is still a bit of a way off,’ explains guitarist Pip, somewhat sheepishly, we’ve got a lot of new material, it’s just a question of actually getting into the studio and recording it. Well, I mean, we actually have demo’s which are pretty good - we did them on a four track, and they sound alright - but you know what record companies are like, if it’s not produced then it’s not worth putting out.'

Sidewinder know all too well what record companies can be like. At present they are without one, having parted company with Polygram after that company changed hands last year. Rather than see this as a fatal blow, however, the band is attacking the challenge with an infectious confidence. ‘They we’re fantastic in terms of allowing us to do whatever we wanted during the recording process. We had no problems there. But we didn’t feel as though the follow up support was exactly what it could have been. So when the option came up last year we said thanks very much and left. It’s good for us to feel that we’re doing the things that we want to do, the way we want to do them. And I’m sure we’ll be able to find another company soon. If we keep doing shows like [last Friday] night then we’ll have no trouble.’

Last Friday night say Sidewinder reminding over six hundred keen Sydney punters just why ‘Tangerine’ is often referred to as an influential pop album. And, despite a shifting musical climate and an often fickle public, the pop smarts that decorated that album seem likely to stick around. ‘We’ve been getting into all sorts of different things musically, but it’s funny, the more I listen to things like techno or whatever, the less I actually feel like playing that kind of music. We don’t want to just dress the songs up as a style, it should be about soul. Anyone can make songs sound however they want, but if you’re doing that because that’s what sells, well that’s bullshit.’ It is perhaps this uncompromising attitude that will ensure Sidewinder survive their lengthy lay off with their fan base intact. Pip says the band were initially a little concerned with whether or not people would still remember, but the reception so far has more than allayed those fears. ‘It’s been great, yeah. Probably much better than we expected. But I guess we’ve always been a reasonably popular live band. We’ve always made more money touring than we ever did from our records, anyway.

Considering the delay between drinks, that’s probably not a bad thing. And with a new album at least four months away, fans will have to use this tour if they want to re-familiarise themselves with one of Australia’s more vital young bands.

- By Justin Murray.
BEAT MAGAZINE - Issue #656, Wednesday 26th May 1999.