Guitars no longer dominate the popular music landscape the way they once did.

They don’t rule experimental music or political music either, and the world is better for it – the ongoing diversification of music has given us much entertainment and critical stimulus. But guitars are still at the root of plenty of captivating songs, uniting rooms full of people all over the world, every night of the year. Dan Kelly and Oh Mercy’s Alex Gow have remained faithful to their instrument of choice, and it will be evident during the pair’s co-headline tour beginning later this month. Ahead of their run around the country, the BRAG brings the two celebrated songwriters together to ask each other some questions.

Dan Kelly: Do you think the rise of electronic music, or EDM, has got anything to do with that people are just too embarrassed to walk around town with a guitar case?

Alex Gow: The other day I had to walk around with both yours and mine. I felt double embarrassed. Listen, I’m definitely feeling like it’s time to make the move into EDM.

DK: Do you think a guitar case on the back, like a soft case, is cooler or less cool than the classic hard case?

AG: I think it’s a bit cooler, because it implies that you’re on your way to get a guitar lesson. And I can forgive someone for practising the guitar, but it’s hard to forgive someone trying to make a career out of it. Also, if you put it on your back you could stitch together a surfboard case to hide it. People could think you’re a really carefree surfer instead of a self-obsessed, whining muso.

DK: That’s not a bad idea.

AG: Dan, your ability to play the guitar is striking. Did you do that teenage [thing], spend thousands of hours in a dark room learning Metallica songs? Or did you feel like it was more of a gradual process?

DK: I got into guitar when I was about 13. I played piano for a year but I was not very good at it, apparently too emotional. I had about four years from 12 to 16 where I lived in the country. I had some friends but not a lot, certainly girls weren’t talking to me, and I wanted to make the top two cricket teams but couldn’t. So that left me a huge amount of time to play guitar. And I would just play along to stuff that I thought was cool at the time, which some of it has ended up being cool and some of it isn’t.

AG: Give us one example of the cool and another example of the not-so-cool.

DK: I learnt by playing along to a lot of my dad’s old blues record – a lot of Howlin’ Wolf, playing along to harmonica solos, Hubert Sumlin, guys like that. And also I learnt a lot of Steve Connolly riffs, from The Coloured Girls, and stuff off the radio. I remember learning ‘Thorn In My Side’ by the Eurythmics. I don’t know if that’s cool anymore. Also the guitar solo from ‘Everytime You Go Away’ [Paul Young].

AG: I’m a landscaper for money and whenever we go to the irrigation shop I sing that one, but it’s, “Everytime you go away / You take some PVC”. Or if you’re a butcher it’d be, “You take a piece of meat”.

DK: I think of that often. When I was working on the last record in East London there was a halal butcher called Halal, Is It Meat You’re Looking For?

Are you a good driver? This is something that concerns me.

AG: I’m really good at driving. I wouldn’t say that about many things, but I’ve never had an accident and I’m not even going to knock on wood. I think it comes from this Rain Man/Spock in me, which is just pretty calm, pretty vigilant. I’ve got great peripheral vision and I’m not in a rush to get anywhere. I’ve just got a really good record, so you’re safe in my hands Dan.

DK: That Rain Man thing, do you reckon that affects the way you write songs?

AG: Even though it pains me to broadcast self-introspection, I feel like I’m split down the middle between a creative person and then the Rain Man guy. I’ve been called Rain Man independently by three ex-girlfriends. I think the Spock thing helps me with my ambition and the way I set myself goals. I consider myself pretty lucky with my blend of these two opposing personalities. I can switch in and out of them, and it often depends on how many lattes I’ve had.

DK: I have no Spock. I’m more like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

AG: I did a Q&A for this tour and someone said, “It’s the Australian Dreamers Tour, but do you consider yourself more of a dreamer or more of a realist?” And I thought to myself, “I’d definitely never accuse myself of being a dreamer.” I think that’s your flag to fly.

DK: Has that fucked the whole tour now?

AG: Yeah, the tour’s off.

DK: One thing I think about this tour, it is quite yin and yang, or ying and yang – depends on what part of Tibet you’re from, I think.

AG: What do James Bond and the Dalai Lama have in common?

DK: What?

AG: They both love Ti-bet.

Dan Kelly & Alex Gow, supported byEmma Russack, play the Petersham Bowling Club on Friday May 20.

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