Creative angst
Brisbane News, May 8 2002

A little gloom goes a long way when Something for Kate's Paul Dempsey sits down to write a song, writes Ben Groundwater

If you're ever standing in a field of daisies, there's a good chance you won't see Paul Dempsey skipping past. Being happy doesn't help when you're trying to write songs. That's not to say the Something for Kate singer-songwriter is really the brooding recluse that everyone seems to think he is. As he puts it: "I'm not a Something for Kate song." 

Since the release of their critically acclaimed third album Echolalia (following on from Elsewhere for 8 Minutes and Beautiful Sharks), Something for Kate, and in particular singer Paul, 25, have become cult figures.

"I'm completely mystified," says Paul of the band's success and his popularity.

"I'm not flamboyant, I don't dress snappily, I don't make brash, controversial or scandalous statements. The only reason I can think of to explain any of this is that people really enjoy the music."

He's not the kind of man to smile for a photo shoot or muse about being in love, but Melbourne-based Paul maintains that that's the best way to write music.

"I don't want to write songs about being happy and being in love. When you're happy or in love the last thing you're going to do is sit down with a notebook. You're going to be out there doing stuff, skipping through the daisies," he says.

"If you really feel like shit or something's confusing the hell out of you, that's when you sit down and write about it."

While this approach to songwriting gives Something for Kate's music a dark, brooding edge, it also comes across as thoughtful and sincere, which is the way Paul thinks music should be.

"Music for us is a catharsis, a release. You play the hell out of your guitar and sing at the top of your lungs and it feels good," he says.

"It wouldn't be the same singing about how wonderful everything is. I wouldn't buy it, it's not sincere."

Popularity can be a strange thing. People who really want it, quite often don't get it. People who don't want it sometimes get it and don't know how to deal with it. Paul Dempsey didn't want it, doesn't acknowledge it, and doesn't seem to care if he keeps it.

"I can understand people saying our music is miserable, that's fine with us. We don't expect everyone to like us.

"I do care when people love the band and the music because that means a lot to me, but I'm not going to be hurt or disappointed if someone says, 'That guy's a miserable bastard and I hate him'. I'm not trying to win votes."

While Paul isn't passionate about being popular, he is wildly passionate about his music, and has been for some time. Growing up in a house where his parents and three sisters gathered around for a sing-a-long at the drop of a hat, he didn't have much of a choice. Paul began life as a musician tinkering with the family piano, and later enjoyed a short career as a drummer with a set of chopsticks and some unfortunate pillows, before finally discovering the guitar.

"It's the only thing I ever wanted to do all the time," he says.

"I never wanted to play guitar as a hobby; I wanted to play it all day."

While Paul managed to spend most of his childhood doing just that, his musically talented family could never quite coax him into singing. It wasn't until he and Something for Kate drummer Clint Hyndman needed someone to sing while they looked for a real singer that Paul actually gave the vocal cords a trial run. A real singer was never found and the rest, as they say, is history. Since forming in 1994, Something for Kate has patiently built up a fan base without the aid of flashy endorsements or advertising hype. The band, which includes Stephanie Ashworth on bass, prides itself on its close relationship with its fans, who Paul regards with a certain astonished awe. "I can't emphasise enough how much we appreciate people coming to our shows and buying our records," he says.

While the band members personally stuff thousands of newsletters into envelopes to keep in touch with their fans, Paul is about to come even closer to them during his upcoming solo tour. He has performed solo shows intermittently throughout the life of the band, and uses them to trial some of the band's new material and brush up on his musical skills.

"It's good to play stripped-back versions of our songs where I can hear myself through the sound system. There's also something about the live scenario that prompts me to try new things.

"I think the solo shows have also helped my guitar playing a lot. I can't hide behind a drum kit and the amplifiers and the big wall of sound. It helps me to be confident on stage."

Paul also enjoys the intimacy that solo shows allow.

"Often when a band plays the audience is pounded by volume. At my shows, if everyone decided to talk at once they would drown me out, so it's a real give and take, which is where the intimacy stems from," he says.

While previously doing solo shows under the unlikely names of The Hawaiian Robot and Scared of Horses, this time Paul will perform under his own name. He insists that solo tours don't indicate a need to separate himself from Something for Kate, but rather provide a way to polish songs to be recorded with the band. For now the songwriting process is well and truly underway, and Paul's ambitions for the new album appear to be as sincere and likeable as the music itself.

"I just want to make a better album than the last one. Every time we write a song I want it to be the best song we've ever written. That's the only ambition worth having."

Paul Dempsey plays The Zoo on 18 and 19 May. For tickets phone 3854 1381. Echolalia is out now.