Piano-rockers The Whitlams 'have a bash' at country chords

WHEN The Whitlams emerged out of Sydney's hip inner-west in the '90s singing songs about avant-garde musicians and left-wing politics, no one could have dreamt they would one day perform at the Deniliquin Ute Muster.

To describe "Deni" as being on a different planet to Newtown isn't complete hyperbole. It's a world of bulky bull bars, revving engines, flags and lots and lots of dust.

Yet last October the No Aphrodisiac hit-makers found themselves gracing the stage of the Deni Ute Muster, alongside Australian country music luminaries like John Williamson, Lee Kernaghan, Travis Collins and Catherine Britt performing as The Whitlams Black Stump.

"It was a good baptism of fire for a festival," Freedman laughs. "A good challenge that we took seriously."

The Whitlams Black Stump is the country and Americana re-invention of the band's traditional piano-rock sound.

During long bouts of solo touring in regional NSW in 2020 and 2021, Freedman found himself frequently tuned into country music radio.

"[I was] thinking I could have a bash at this," he says. "It was an experience really, and every little stage of the experiment has gone well, so it's kept going. I didn't have a huge five-year plan or anything, I was trying to indulge in an enjoyable project that kept going."

In May 2021 Freedman and Whitlams long-time drummer Terepai Richmond got together with Country Music Association of Australia award-winning producers Rod McCormack (banjo) and Matt Fell (bass) and young gun Ollie Thorpe (electric and pedal steel guitar) to re-imagine Whitlams songs with a country flavour.

Freedman's piano, which for decades has been the focus of their sound, was scaled back in the mix to allow room for banjo and steel guitar to dominate.

The result was the 13-track Kookaburra, which features re-imagined Whitlams classics like No Aphrodisiac, Blow Up the Pokies and You Sound Like Louis Burdett, covers and a new track, Fallen Leaves, that Freedman co-wrote with Fell and Sydney singer-songwriter Perry Keyes.

"It all sounded pretty fresh to me, as I haven't worked with the instruments of the American south before," Freedman says. "The pedal steel and the banjo allowed me to express my lyrics in a different context and I enjoyed uncovering them.

"It shines a light on the stories a bit more, because in this musical setting, I tend to sing in a more relaxed fashion, in a lower register and I'm very conscious of telling the story."

You Sound Like Louis Burdett is a particular highlight of Kookaburra. The jazzy frolic of the original has been slowed down and given a Tex Mex makeover, with Thorpe's foreboding guitar taking prominence.

No Aphrodisiac is re-born as a haunting slice of bluegrass, featuring a plodding banjo and steel guitar and Blow Up The Pokies sounds refreshed by splashes of acoustic guitar and banjo.

"As it developed in the studio, I made sure I hired a keyboard and organ player so I could just stand in the vocal booth and sing," he says. "That allowed me to be more nimble with my delivery as I didn't need to worry about my hands."

The Whitlams Black Stump project has led Freedman to turn his mind to writing a fresh batch of country-flavoured songs, which he described as "basically a Whitlams song with less chords."

The video for single The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw is particularly special for Freedman.

It opens with a black and white video clip of his late father and former radio and TV broadcaster, Barrie Freedman, tipping South Sydney Rabbitohs to win the 1970 NSW Rugby League premiership.

Freedman Senior proved correct as Souths defeated Manly 23-12 in a grand final legendary for Sattler playing the majority of the game with a broken jaw.

The song was written by Perry Keyes, who has been a close friend of Freedman's for 30 years after they bonded over rugby league and music at the Sandringham Hotel.

"That was the holy grail for us. It was a great find," Freedman says.

The Whitlams Black Stump album Kookaburra is released on March 8. The Whitlams launch their album tour at Lizotte's on March 7 and 8.