CRUEL SEA

Rip It Up, Issue 184, 1 November 1992, Page 14

CRUEL SEA

It’s Saturday afternoon. Tex Perkins is yet again at the Metropolis studio in Melbourne, working. On something completely different, he says. "I'll promote it in a couple of months. I'm actually singing, not much hollering or groaning or anything." With that as an introduction, we talked about that voice in other recent endeavours. From the Beasts of Bourbon and the Butcher Shop to an HIV project for the Australian penal system to the Cruel Sea. Especially the Cruel Sea, due here on December Bth with the Bad Seeds. I've wondered about that voice, whether Tex worked on it or if, as it sounds, it's the product of a hard life? "No, it's a voice I found I can do a few things with." It's not only physically dark, it tells dark tales. "Well, yeah. Even when I write love songs I have to put a crack in there. Nothing's perfect. I think it's a lie to create a really rosy picture. Nothing is one way.” Like 'Cry For Me' from This Is Not The Way Home. That's a mean bastard tale of love gone sour. "Well, it's a feminine version of a song I wrote called 'Hard For You'. 'Hard For You' is absolute blind revenge — hatred. 'Cry For Me' is the feelings one goes through when somebody hurts them. You want them to feel the pain you are. Everyone's felt that

at some stage." With the Cruel Sea, the songs are put in a light setting. "That's the band. The type of guys they are. The-type of guy I am. That's what makes it an interesting combination." It's been said they were a Shadows cover band. 7 "Essentially they were, not exclusively though. Just classic, instrumental guitar music." Does that mean you dress up? "No, no, no. It's a very unimage conscious band. It's almost daggy." So what's your history together? '; "I've been with the band since late 'B9. They were together a year or so before. I knew a fella who did their sound and I would go along and do lights. I really liked the band, love that instrumental stuff. Eventually they said to me would you like to get up and do a song? I was reluctant, I thought the concept of an instrumental band would be ruined by a singer. But I, yielded and ruined everything." '■

There's still four instrumentals on the album.

"Sure! They haven't let go of that part of the band."

One of the instrumentals I liked was 'Fangin' Hoons'. What's Fangin'?

"Fangin means going fast. Fangin Hoons is a term for yobbos drivin' fast in the hot cars. Flannelette shirts, beer cans on

the floor, elbows out the window, 100 miles an hour ..."

Hmmm . . . instrumentals. Quite a contrast from the bleak outlook of the Beasts of Bourbon and the Butcher Shop. Is it schizophrenic?

"Being in so many bands? You take a look at your record collection. You have the capacity to be interested in more than one kind of music. I found out that I had the capacity to deliver different types of music. I didn't shut myself in, I like to do my job well. Singing for a rock band, the job is to be forceful and intense." Then it's not a reflection of the hard life on the road? "It can be horrible sometimes. I've got the scars. It's part of the job. Being in a band. Everyone goes through that shit." Now I hear you were involved in some video stuff?

"Beginning of this year. An educational video, dramatised situation, about AIDS in jail. I played a jailed rapist who contracts AIDS from someone he raped. It's purely for the penal system. We did it at Long Bay [jail] in Sydney. There's some actors in it from this soap opera E Street, Angry Anderson and me. The rest of the cast were actual prisoners. It's very information loaded about cleaning fits and condoms and stuff."

So do Aussie jails let inmates have bleach and condoms?

"No. That's the whole hypocrisy. It's a strange situation. The system can't admit that there is drugs and sodomy. It's very hard to come to terms with, to admit what goes on in jail, but they have to."

What's next foryou and Cruel Sea?

"We're recording another album in a couple of months at Metropolis." With Tony Cohen?

"Yeah, I think so. At the moment he's pissed off with the knobs and the mics aren't working. So maybe he'll spit the dummy." Anything you'd like to say to New Zealand? "See you soon. I've got no message. No philosophy to help them out. They're on their own."

BARBIE