Mark talks on Westgate to the Perth media.

Author: Perth Now / The Sunday Times.

Date: 25 June 2007.

Original URL: http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21962729-5005364,00.html

Article Text

The legendary Mark Seymour is coming to Perth as part of a national tour for his acclaimed new album Westgate .

The former front man of Hunters and Collectors spoke about his fifth solo album ahead of his Perth performances.

“There’s nothing pretty about ‘Westgate’. The issues are simple, the sounds equally so. We’ve stripped the songs down to their basic form. Bass, drums, guitar and the vocals up loud so you can understand every word because the words are crucial. I’ve tried to come to grips with life as I feel it now, in a world riven with violence and corruption. Australia has been swept up in a tide of global brutality and a stark honest sound seemed the most appropriate way to present these dark tales of suffering and triumph,” he said.

“In 2001 the Americans took a hit and took us, this brave little nation of warrior battlers on a journey into the heart of darkness. There was national outcry of course but to no avail. Politics won the day. The great tragedy of Iraq was unleashed and Australia lost the last vestige of its political innocence. We should’ve known better than to tug the forelock of a nation that can’t even control its own weaponry.

“Yet there is greatness in us. We have the wisdom. The past is testament to that. There have been times when we have stood tall. We have a lot to be proud of: our strength of character, our belief in a fair go and a fair fight. But we should also be able to add to that list, our independence, so that one day we can declare to the world that we will fight no more the wars of the bigot and the fool.

“On this album I have gone in search of ordinary greatness; greatness without bombast, the kind of greatness that conservative politicians can’t touch. These are stories of working people who have suffered and triumphed quietly. Perhaps, as the world teeters on the precipice of disaster, there is still hope, for we only have to scratch the surface of history to discover that the best of human nature lies in the forgotten tragedies and hidden triumphs, where ordinary people have found dignity and redemption in their own lives. These are the stories that define us. Human beings have unlimited potential. No challenge is too great.”

Perth gig dates:

Thursday 28th June Friends Restaurant, East Perth WA (Solo)
Friday 29th June Leopold Hotel, Bicton WA (Band)
Saturday 30th June Civic Hotel, Inglewood WA (Band)
Sunday 1st July Oxford Hotel, Leederville WA (Trio)

For more information visit http://www.markseymour.com.au

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