In 2008 JAIMI FAULKNER won Australian Blues/Roots Performer of the Year (band category) and went on to represent Australia in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Although continuously on the go, playing up to 200 shows a year, he's had time to draw breath and lay down some tracks for his new Kiss and Ride album. I caught up with him as part of his album tour.
"It's been a whirlwind year," Jaimi says. "I only got back to Oz about a week ago and now I'm heading up the east coast!" On his recent fourth European tour he played 25 shows in Germany and one in London. "I've had people drive hundreds of kilometres to see my shows in Europe, which is crazy, and most of the time it's due to what they hear on MySpace or YouTube."
Asked if music covers the cost of touring, Jaimi replies "for the last five years I've been lucky to be able to live off the music I make. But I remember days when I used to wash dishes and work as a telemarketer to cover costs. I gotta say, I don't miss those days, but it's given me a strong respect for dish-pigs and telemarketers all over the world!"
Quizzed about travel experiences, Jaimi recalls the best was "meeting the legendary Al Green at his church in Memphis and watching him preach for three hours while a gospel choir backed him. The worst was my tour to Tasmania this year when half the band, including myself, got the Swine flu. We had to drive hundreds of kilometres around Tassie, coughing and shivering."
I ask Jaimi how he found representing Australia at the International Blues Challenge. "It was a lot of fun and opened up a lot of doors for me in Europe, funnily enough," he reveals. "To represent Australia in Memphis, which is steeped in blues and soul history, was a big thrill and an honour."
Touring has exposed Jaimi to legendary performers and music styles, including the sounds from the south in the early '60s, that have influenced his own music. "I'd always been into blues while growing up, but had never explored soul music that deeply," he says. "I took away the 'call and response' style backing vocals that feature on Kiss and Ride. Pretty much all of Kiss and Ride was written on the road, on napkins in diners or train tickets on long hauls through Germany. Experiencing new things on the road leads to song ideas. Kiss and Ride is kind of like reading through an old diary."
While frequently performing solo, Jaimi has formed an impressive lineup to support him for the Kiss and Ride tour, including Daniel Farrugia (drums), Tim Keegan (bass) and Berish Bilander (keys), who've all supported him in the past.
Jaimi will appear at the Chisholm Tavern on Friday October 16 - and it's a free gig!
