Clairy Browne And The Bangin’ Rackettes
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Clairy Browne And The Bangin’ Rackettes

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“We saw the breadth of the country, smashed over 30 shows, with two weeks in Nashville for recording,” says Browne of the tour. “I’m in complete delirium but the USA showed us good hospitality as always. It’s a montage of accents and whiskey and throbbing crowds and dive bars. I miss the free pour and the diners. But it’s good to be on home ground.”

However weary Browne and her band mates may be there is no time for rest, as it’s straight onto a full Australian tour, complete with appearances at Meredith, Falls and Zoo Twilights. Touring for any band can be a tiring and stressful experience, yet trying to arrange travel plans for nine separate individuals sounds like a nightmare.

Yes, that’s why we have a team of amazing people working for us to make sure shit gets done,” assures Browne. “Everything takes a really long time with nine. You have to account for people wondering off, getting lost in record stores, all that. It’s an epic operation just to get lunch.”

Although challenging, touring has actually brought the nine members closer together, similar to a close knit family, if a slightly odd one at that. “We have no choice but to be close, we are like the Addams family in a travelling caravan,” jokes Browne. “You know, like Fleetwood Mac on crack. It definitely affects the shows I think; the closer we are the better we play. I mean, close doesn’t always mean friendly – some tensions that might be unresolved can come out in a beautiful musical exchange on stage or we could have an artistic disagreement in the studio that ultimately serves the music.”

The year 2013 has been a big one for Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes with the band also finding the time to release their debut album Baby Caught the Bus earlier this year. “Recording Baby Caught the Bus was a freshman experience for us, we had only those songs and recorded them quickly,” states Browne. “It was over two sessions with two different band lineups. Schram (producer Steve Schram; Public Enemy, Cat Empire) got the best out of us by working each song up in rehearsal before laying down any tracks.”

The recording sessions for the record proved to be yet another challenge. Ultimately however, it proved a rewarding experience for the group. “I wouldn’t ever call it relaxed when you are making an album. You want for it to be the best amalgamation of your work so a lot goes into that process,” affirms Browne.  “We had some rad moments where the live feel was really captured, all of us in the one room with the Rackettes dancing and clapping. A vibe is important. If you have that with a live recording you have a lot of it right there.”

The album was cut almost entirely live which allowed the band to be able to capture the vibe they were after. “We cut the record mostly live because it felt the best way to express our sound,” explains Browne. “We are a live band and each one of us knows how to play the shit out of our instrument. There are happy accidents that give the music a particular charm and the sound is raw.”

It seems all the experiences over the past year have served Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes well, allowing their sound to grow and evolve as well as helping push their live show to new heights. “The live show has come a long way, but it tends to do that on the road,” states Browne. “It will be super tight; there will be outfits you have not seen before, new songs you have never heard and possibly some kind of rad eye-feast light projections.” 

BY JAMES NICOLI