www.chrissieamphlett.com
THE ODD COUPLE
written by Craig Mathieson This article appeared in JUICE magazine June 1996
It's business as usual for THE DIVINYLS
Seated in the plush library of a swish Double Bay hotel in Sydney, the Divinyls Chrissie Amphlett and Mark McEntee look every inch the assured sole survivors of early '80's pub rock that they are. The former is polite and articulate, while the latter is a bleached-out space boy. Between them they've perfected their own pop/rock genre with their new album.
Why are you still going when so many of your contemporaries have passed away?
Amphlett: I think because we've dug our heels in and done things at our own pace. What do you think, Mark?
McEntee: It's good to do stuff that you like, that's really got something to offer.
How has the band changed since the '80's started
Amphlett: I think there's more experience people around, a lot of new bands.
McEntee: It changes so much that it doesn't change.
Do you listen to much music?
Amphlett: I try to. I often like a certain song which I'll listen to a lot. But I like to go back, I listen to a lot of old stuff. Old influences.
McEntee: Ahh, yeah. Chrissie listens to a lot of old stuff. if I go 'round there I get quite surprised at what she's playing.
Amphlett: I like to go back to the roots. There's some bands I like , but on the balance I get more from going back. I go back to the old type singers, who sing from that place. But I love Elastica, and PJ Harvey. She sings form the place I sing from. Some of the stuff girls are doing theses days is great. And a lot of jazz too. When I met Mark he was very jazz-educated.
McEntee: No I wasn't.
Amphlett: I used to put shit on him for that.
McEntee: Are you saying sorry for that now?
Amphlett: Yes, I'm saying sorry. But I think it's influenced your chords, made them more interesting, not one-dimensional .
McEntee: I personally like to invent a different sound.
[An engineer arrives to fix a rogue air-conditioner unit.]
What are your feelings on the new album?
Amphlett: Maybe there's one song I don't like, but I like this record. There's more of a weight to the sound. They're less processed, straight from the amps. I'm proud of it's range. Mark is really playing well.
McEntee: Thanks Chrissie, you're singing very well too.
So how is it for you, Mark?
McEntee: I'm never happy with anything.
[The engineer leaves, mission accomplished]
Amphlett: He fixed my toilet upstairs when it exploded.
McEntee: I wasn't aware that your toilet exploded.
Are you worried that in writing autobiographical songs you give too much of yourself away?
Amphlett: Sure, sometimes. But I grew up in a family that doesn't communicate very well, as we communicate through music. I remember when I met Mark, at parties he'd be in a room alone just playing his guitar.
Do you feel like Chrissie Amphlett is a persona you have to adopt?
Amphlett: It probably looks like that. It can be sexually blatant, but then rock & roll is a sexually-based thing, it's a form of sexual expression that goes back to Chuck Berry or Creole music.
Do you get bored with playing the same songs on tour for months on end?
McEntee: If you're doing a song you're connected with, it's a part of you. It's like your left leg is a part of you. So while you might get tired carrying your left leg around, you don't cut it off. Besides, you can change it. You can shake it. Or shave it.
Do you enjoy touring after all these years?
Amphlett: Aspects of it. The actual performance I like. The hotel rooms, no. Legend has it that you've been severely ripped off more than once over the course of your career.
McEntee: [Laughing to Amphlett] Was that the crash of '95 or the crash of '88 or the crash of '85?
Amphlett: We've had our moments. We've fallen into traps. In some ways we're lucky that we're still going.
Its it true that all the proceeds from your last three-month Australian tour went to paying off the debts of a failed nostalgia tour?
Amphlett: [Smiling] We did some touring with the guy that promoted that show. And it wasn't satisfactory in legal terms. We didn't voluntarily try to pay off debts for another show, but indirectly, somehow, things like that happened to us.
So how long do you foresee the Divinyls continuing for?
Amphlett: It's funny with rock & roll, because with the blues you can play at 70 and beyond. Rock & roll is a different anima; I think as long as it stays enjoyable and you get stimulation from it you can do it.
McEntee: For me, if I can't get enthusiastic about something, them I can't work on it. I can't bar up at that.
Amphlett: I think because we've dug our heels in and done things at our own pace. What do you think, Mark?
McEntee: It's good to do stuff that you like, that's really got something to offer.
How has the band changed since the '80's started
Amphlett: I think there's more experience people around, a lot of new bands.
McEntee: It changes so much that it doesn't change.
Do you listen to much music?
Amphlett: I try to. I often like a certain song which I'll listen to a lot. But I like to go back, I listen to a lot of old stuff. Old influences.
McEntee: Ahh, yeah. Chrissie listens to a lot of old stuff. if I go 'round there I get quite surprised at what she's playing.
Amphlett: I like to go back to the roots. There's some bands I like , but on the balance I get more from going back. I go back to the old type singers, who sing from that place. But I love Elastica, and PJ Harvey. She sings form the place I sing from. Some of the stuff girls are doing theses days is great. And a lot of jazz too. When I met Mark he was very jazz-educated.
McEntee: No I wasn't.
Amphlett: I used to put shit on him for that.
McEntee: Are you saying sorry for that now?
Amphlett: Yes, I'm saying sorry. But I think it's influenced your chords, made them more interesting, not one-dimensional .
McEntee: I personally like to invent a different sound.
[An engineer arrives to fix a rogue air-conditioner unit.]
What are your feelings on the new album?
Amphlett: Maybe there's one song I don't like, but I like this record. There's more of a weight to the sound. They're less processed, straight from the amps. I'm proud of it's range. Mark is really playing well.
McEntee: Thanks Chrissie, you're singing very well too.
So how is it for you, Mark?
McEntee: I'm never happy with anything.
[The engineer leaves, mission accomplished]
Amphlett: He fixed my toilet upstairs when it exploded.
McEntee: I wasn't aware that your toilet exploded.
Are you worried that in writing autobiographical songs you give too much of yourself away?
Amphlett: Sure, sometimes. But I grew up in a family that doesn't communicate very well, as we communicate through music. I remember when I met Mark, at parties he'd be in a room alone just playing his guitar.
Do you feel like Chrissie Amphlett is a persona you have to adopt?
Amphlett: It probably looks like that. It can be sexually blatant, but then rock & roll is a sexually-based thing, it's a form of sexual expression that goes back to Chuck Berry or Creole music.
Do you get bored with playing the same songs on tour for months on end?
McEntee: If you're doing a song you're connected with, it's a part of you. It's like your left leg is a part of you. So while you might get tired carrying your left leg around, you don't cut it off. Besides, you can change it. You can shake it. Or shave it.
Do you enjoy touring after all these years?
Amphlett: Aspects of it. The actual performance I like. The hotel rooms, no. Legend has it that you've been severely ripped off more than once over the course of your career.
McEntee: [Laughing to Amphlett] Was that the crash of '95 or the crash of '88 or the crash of '85?
Amphlett: We've had our moments. We've fallen into traps. In some ways we're lucky that we're still going.
Its it true that all the proceeds from your last three-month Australian tour went to paying off the debts of a failed nostalgia tour?
Amphlett: [Smiling] We did some touring with the guy that promoted that show. And it wasn't satisfactory in legal terms. We didn't voluntarily try to pay off debts for another show, but indirectly, somehow, things like that happened to us.
So how long do you foresee the Divinyls continuing for?
Amphlett: It's funny with rock & roll, because with the blues you can play at 70 and beyond. Rock & roll is a different anima; I think as long as it stays enjoyable and you get stimulation from it you can do it.
McEntee: For me, if I can't get enthusiastic about something, them I can't work on it. I can't bar up at that.