The 'Alternating Currents' Legacy Interview: Dave Faulkner of The Hoodoo Gurus
The Hoodoo Gurus are kicking your cassette butt. In a Kinky 1991 kind of way.
Nuclear proliferation, diatribes against injustice, company expansionism, Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky. Cal Worthington and his dog Spot. Wait a minute, are we on the same wavelength?
You are if you’re talking to Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus. Believe it or not much of the above is mixed into Faulkner's lyrical messages, most of which has funneled its way into the band’s latest release Kinky. Let it simmer in your CD player awhile and you might get a whiff of The Banana Splits and Kentucky Fried Chicken drifting from your speakers.
Hoodoo Gurus - Miss Freelove ‘69/℗©Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC/YouTube
“In some ways, you do see consumerism becoming even more prevalent,” Faulkner said on the phone from New York, “and that's a sad thing because it only leads to disillusionment and dislocation of dreams, rather than creating a satisfaction of them.”
You may not think Faulkner was a deep thinker or one who could wax poetic on serious subjects. But to my surprise, I found our conversation leaning in those directions. He’s a convincing guy whose opinion knows no bounds. If “Miss Freelove ‘69” from Kinky leads you to believe it’s a Guru way of life (well, most of it happened Faulkner told me), he's more likely to shoot holes in the blown-up pomposity of the celebrity world than live it.
“If you go around thinking you’re somebody important with bodyguards and so forth, that would be a sure way of getting people to turn against you, because you're not showing yourself to be a normal person that relates to the common man.” In relation to his band’s mega-star status in Australia, he added, “We don't try to create some sort of false expectation of glamor. The idea of not being too grandiose - it’s got a more down-to-earth attitude in Australia.”
Historically speaking, Faulkner noted the settlement of the Land Down Under by immigrants, many running from their homelands to begin life anew. “We don’t trust authority as readily as other people. Being from many cultures, running from oppression, Australians tend to have a dim view of order provided from above in terms of law and order. They believe in individual freedom.”
Hoodoo Gurus - I Want You Back/℗©Universal Music Publishing Group/YouTube
It’s a view that can’t easily escape the notice of a Gurus’ fan. While chuckling that “you’re not buying a lifestyle when you buy our stuff,” Faulkner is aware of their image. Right from the 1983 release Stoneage Romeos which contained “I Want You Back,” the Gurus haven't exactly expounded a moralistic or political tone in their songs. Faulkner had no trouble explaining his feelings about this, but a higher authority did. Witness further…
“I'm not very good personally at writing diatribes against injustice in any sort of ... “ He stopped and I heard him talking off the receiver a moment. He returned quickly.
“Amy, I've got to go. There's a fire drill of some sort. I'll call you back!”
Ten minutes later, the phone rang and this worried writer answered.
“It wasn't anything serious," Faulkner assured me. “They put us down on another floor. What were we talking about?”
He bounced back, noting that a 1987 song “In The Middle of the Land” was an “approach to the whole Moral Majority thing. But generally I find it difficult to write a practical critique of what's wrong with the world.”
Hoodoo Gurus - 1000 Miles Away/℗©Universal Music Publishing Group/YouTube
Instead, Kinky offers up a delicious and varied stew of pointed humor and parody, a decided slap on the face of the current neo-hip dance sounds - you’re not quite sure if it’s serious or sarcastic. Real life and a remark from the movie Sid & Nancy inspired “Miss Freelove ‘69” but as Faulkner said, “It’s a gag title and if you’re gonna talk about love, you might as well make it the late ‘60s and what better number than 69?”
In the meantime, what about groovin’ to all this hippy, psychedelic cantata? Said Faulkner, “If the contents are good for you, you'll have a good time.”
Huge Hoodoo Gurus fan, so loved seeing this pop up in my inbox! It’s funny timing as this period was when I had fallen out of sync with them and Kinky is probably my least favorite of their albums. Saw them live last year and they still rock as hard as anyone. They invited a couple of the Flamin’ Groovies on stage for the encore to play a rousing version of “Shake Some Action.”