A Kate with destiny
The Advertiser, August 14 2003

The next big thing in Australian music? Something For Kate just wants to be the biggest band in someone's bedroom, writes LAUREN McMENEMY.

PAUL Dempsey doesn't want you to read this article. He doesn't want you to listen to him: "I mean, I do interviews and talk about (the new album) because I want to make people aware of its existence: we are this band and we've made this record and if you're interested, go and listen to it. But at the same time, I feel a little strange about the whole process." 

Not that you could tell when you talk to him. Dempsey is passionate about his music; he's proud of what he and bandmates Stephanie Ashworth and Clint Hyndman have achieved on their fourth album, The Official Fiction, and he'll do what it takes to make sure people know it's out there. But Dempsey won't have a bar of all this talk about the album threatening to elevate SFK to the upper echelon of Australian band hierarchy.

"It is really nice of them to say that, but it remains to be seen, and I don't want people to think about that stuff when they're hearing the record," he says. "I just want to be the biggest band in someone's bedroom, you know? I just want one person to go . . . oh, I don't know," he sighs, a hint of exasperation in his breath. It's been a long week on the campaign trail.

Predictions of SFK's impending greatness have followed the band since the release of its promising debut, Elsewhere for 8 Minutes, in 1997. They intensified when, with new bass player Ashworth in tow, the band followed up with the critically acclaimed, ARIA-nominated Beautiful Sharks in 1999. In the past year, SFK has toured the US (scoring a record deal) and Europe (including dates with Silverchair).

"The only contact I have with it is that we now seem to get a lot of e-mails and stuff from overseas," Dempsey says of the international reaction. "And someone told me that more of the hits on our website now come from America than anywhere else. But I don't know what that means, because I don't know how many people e-mail us in a week. I mean, that might amount to 15 people, so let's not get carried away.

"I just want to go over there and play shows to people, and then they can all go home and talk among themselves. I don't believe the hype," he laughs.

The anticipation surrounding The Official Fiction has been astounding. But it's something the members try not to think too much about.

"It's difficult to gauge or be objective about or worry yourself too much about, because you could drive yourself insane," Dempsey says. "The thing I've always thought, from watching other bands, (is) that if you're not insanely protective of your music and what you do and your creative process - I mean, if you're just not an absolute control freak and completely protective about what you do - then you will go crazy and get trampled on and get manipulated and have people tell you how it should be."

But surely that control gets harder to maintain as the band's popularity rises? Dempsey pauses, carefully pondering his answer. "Um. . . no. It's just not negotiable," he laughs. "I have faith that we can make the music we want to make and record it and get it out to people and go and do shows, and that may be on a bigger scale or a smaller scale or it may change over time or whatever, but we'll always be able to do that.

"It feels like sometimes you get a ringing endorsement from everybody, then other times everyone goes 'Oh, them again'. And if you worry about it too much and say 'Why doesn't anybody love me?', you'd just be crazy."

And so to The Official Fiction.

The band engaged American producer Trina Shoemaker again after being impressed with her work on its third album, Echolalia. It also secured guest spots from LA string ensemble the Section, Grant Lee Phillips, Lisa Germano, and Caitlin Cary, formerly of Whiskeytown - the latter because "like a couple of dopey fans", SFK sent her a demo and asked her if she would "even consider singing backing vocals on this".

The result is being hailed the band's most rounded, best work to date. If Echolalia had them on the verge of greatness, then surely The Official Fiction will tip them over the edge.

"We don't want to peak," argues Dempsey. "We'd rather just ebb and flow. It would be really nice if we could have that chance, too. I think anyone who does anything creative, whether you're in a band, a songwriter, a painter, a film director, photographer, it would be really nice if it wasn't so make-or-break all the time. It would be really nice if people just went 'Here's someone who does something and let's just let it ebb and flow'. But, no, everything's like 'This better be the one; this better be huge, this better peak'. And it's just real short attention span bulls . . . ."

The Official Fiction is out Monday on Murmur.

Win SFK pack

For the chance to win one of three prize packs including Something for Kate's back-catalogue (four albums) and a double ticket to an acoustic performance by singer Paul Dempsey, write your name, address and daytime phone number on the back of an envelope and post it to Something for Kate Competition, GPO Box 2705, Adelaide, SA 5001.

The promoter is Advertiser Newspapers Limited. Competition begins on Thursday, August 14, 2003.

Competition closes and all entries must be received at GPO Box 2705, Adelaide, SA 5001, on Thursday, August 21, 2003, to be eligible. There are three prizes in total. Each prize pack is valued at $149. Total value $447. The draw will be conducted at Advertiser Newspapers Limited, 121 King William St, Adelaide, at 3pm, Friday, August 22, 2003. Prizewinners will be notified by mail and results will be published in The Advertiser Public Notices on Saturday, August 23, 2003. For Advertiser Newspapers Limited Privacy Policy, refer to today's Classified Index Page and for conditions of entry, refer to today's Public Notices.