The Southern River Band: True Blue Rockin’ Rollers
The Southern River Band are a force to be reckoned with. The Perth quartet have gone from strength to strength in recent years, dazzling fans with their powerful rock anthems and blistering live performances. Ahead of the release of their new album Easier Said Than Done, colourful frontman Cal Kramer spoke with The Note about growing up in the Perth suburb of Thornlie, perfomring live and the band’s biggest fan, Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning.
Words Emily Wilson // Image supplied
Cal Kramer of The Southern River Band is mulleted and twinkle-eyed, loose and self-deprecating - the quintessential pub rock frontman.
Born and bred in the Perth suburb of Thornlie, the ARIA-charting band started off as being somewhat “removed” from what would have been considered the “scene” in Perth at the time. Kramer explains, “The original line-up of SRB was all guys from Thornlie and the surrounding suburbs, hence the name The Southern River Band - the southern river ran through all of our suburbs. We were originally just playing in Thornlie, which sort of doesn’t have anything happening at all. Then we started playing with other bands, and we were always, like, these outliers, because we weren’t really part of any scene. We’d meet people who’d known each other for years and be like, ‘Wow, we didn’t even know this was happening.’ So I think being kind of removed from it all was probably good for us because we were sort of just doing our own thing.”
Did this sense of remove give them a sort of underdog mentality?
“Yeah, I suppose,” he ponders. “I think it’s more just [that] we’ve always sort of kept to ourselves. We’ve made great friends along the way. But on the music side of things, what we’ve been doing has always been a little different to most other bands.” But, he feels the need to say, “The Perth scene’s full of bloody good people and bloody good bands too… The quality is so high, and genre-wise there are so many different types of music in Perth where people are just doing their own thing.”
The Southern River Band is gearing up for the release of their fifth album, Easier Said Than Done, a high-octane collection of head-banging numbers with a potent retro feel.
“We really just focused on nailing what twelve songs we thought would be best as a start-to-finish album in an era of singles, singles, singles, and playlists and that,” he says, explaining their vision for this project as: “What’s something you can put on and listen to from start to finish and not get bored, while still maintaining the SRB thing. Personally, I think we’ve achieved it, and hopefully people like it.”
Describing their music as being inspired by the likes of Cold Chisel, The Angels, AC/DC, and Rose Tattoo, Kramer says, “To me, I still look at them with awe, and the days of ‘80s and ‘70s pub rock… It’s one of those things where I’m going, ‘Bloody hell, I wish I was there for it.’”
“Everything that we’re doing is just because we love it… We’re just trying to do what we do, and it just happens to be influenced by all that awesome shit that preceded us.”
Their upstart energy caught the eye of Aussie rock legend Bernard Fanning of Powderfinger, who got in touch to offer up his studio in Byron Bay. “It was the most surreal DM we’ve ever gotten,” Kramer gushes, still appearing to be totally awestruck. “When I saw Bernard Fanning’s name - you know, with the blue tick - I was like, he’s been hacked or something. That was my first thought.”
He laughs giddily and describes surveying the array of ARIAs and Grammys littering Fanning’s studio shelves. “You’re going, ‘Bloody hell, this is awesome.’”
Fanning penned the band’s latest single, ‘No Such Time,’ a rollicking number that echoes the style he has become so revered for.
“He messages through a demo of this song and was like, ‘I’ve been waiting for a half-decent rock ‘n’ roll band to come along to do it.’ So obviously they didn’t show up and we were the next best thing,” Kramer jokes, guffawing.
“Sending through our version to him and seeing those three little dots in the message box while he was replying…” he exhales explosively. “I was sitting there going, ‘Oh no, oh no, he’s going to hate it.’ But he absolutely loved it. So we got the tick of approval from the man himself, which is unreal. And he’s such a cool bloke as well.’
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Kramer describes his own writing process as being “pretty personal.” But how does he put that Southern River Band stamp on a song that has been written by someone else?
“When we play things, we can’t really play them any other way than the way that we play them.” He jokes, “Sometimes that means lack of ability. There’s a limit to what we can do. It sort of fits into a box about that big” – giggling, he holds his fingers an inch apart – “and that’s how you know it’s SRB.”
Kramer is lively and engaging over a pixelated Zoom meeting - so it is no wonder that The Southern River Band has a reputation for playing infectiously energetic shows. To promote the upcoming release of Easier Said Than Done, the band is embarking on a national tour, kicking off in Melbourne on October 16 and culminating with a hometown show on October 31.
“People are always just really excited that we’re there to play,” he says. “And I think they know at our shows, we always give 1000%. And it’s going to be a little bit different; it’s a rough and ready rock ‘n’ roll show. I think I can say, being fully serious, that it is high-energy. I know that because my back hurts and my neck hurts and everything… It’s draining, but it’s bloody awesome. You’re constantly chasing that dragon of doing it. But it is a good dragon to be chasing.”
Travelling as an up-and-coming artist trying to break into the industry is by no means easy. Touring is a necessity to building a solid reputation, but the costs of air travel and accommodation act as high barriers to independent musicians.
“I’d like to see, personally, a deal made with the airlines that subsidises the independent artists who are touring,” Kramer declares. “It’s so hard now. And this is for any artist of any genre. I mean, if we’d just stayed in Perth our entire career, we would have absolutely nothing to show for it. You have to get out and play to other people. And if you want to be doing that, you have to spend a lot of money. I’m 33 years old and still live with my parents because I’m chasing this dream. That’s the reality of it all. But being able to have some sort of government subsidy with the airlines - I think that would just be a great leg up for all artists. Because it’s not easy to do. And I think if artists are willing to take that leap, it would be nice to have that little bit of support.”
It seems like Cal Kramer knows how to have a blast, and as much as he is working diligently, tirelessly, music is that staunch avenue of fun for him. He describes the atmosphere he and his bandmates have crafted together.
“We can kind of create our own fun when it’s us four together, and it’s not really like we’re doing work. We’re always talking shit and having a laugh together, that’s kind of the way we have to do it.” He grins. “If anything’s serious, I don’t want any part of it.”
Catch The Southern River Band at UniBar Adelaide on Saturday 18 October. Tickets on sale now via moshtix.com.au. The Southern River Band’s Easier Said Than Done arrives Friday 17 October via Civilians. Pre-order/pre-save the album here.
