One of the greatest tribute acts going around at the moment, The Dire Straits Experience, is returning to Australia this September for another run of shows, this time expanding out to a few places they missed last time around. But as before, the iconic songs that Mark Knopfler and the original team released will be heard again and performed by the talented members of this group including two of the original members from back in the heyday including saxophone player Chris White who we spoke to last time. We catch up with Chris to once again reminisce about Dire Straits and discuss the upcoming tour.
Without rambling on too much and for those keeping score on The Rockpit, my previous interview with Chris White touched on the story of how Dire Straits was a band that goes back to the very beginning of my musical journey that catapulted me into not only the world of rock but in general, the world of music. Even after all these years and even after following a wild ride that has taken my musical tastes to all kinds of extreme levels, I never forgot where it all began and to this day if I slap on a track like “Telegraph Road” which these days I have a much richer and greater appreciation for, it’s like a time warp with a mixed feeling of nostalgia and sense of pride and joy. It was once again an honour to speak to one of the key members of this iconic group and as Chris and I caught up and shared a few laughs about this crazy trip that’s pushing into decade 4 all while doing the whole fanboy thing, I remembered just how great it was to finally see this music live in person. Chris as always is an absolute pleasure to talk to, warm and welcoming and full of gratitude and appreciation for his own wild journey that he is on which Australia will get to see very soon once again.
Andrew: So I guess it was the second to last show of the tour 2 years ago that we saw you over on the west coast and we were absolutely blown away by how great it was. How was that tour for you?
Chris: Thank you very much for saying that! It was great, personally I always love coming to Australia and I’ve always had such a great time in Perth and you guys are just great and always receptive. So we had a good time last time and really looking forward to coming down and playing some new places this time as well.
Andrew: Yeah definitely, hitting some places that you missed last time. So what can we expect this time? Are we expecting the same kind of show or will you be throwing in some different stuff in there?
Chris: There’s going to be some different stuff in there, there are some things that we always have to play because they are iconic tracks really. But there is going to be some new stuff, we’re in rehearsal in a weeks time to work out a few new things so there will be some different stuff there.
Andrew: I know when you came and played last time there was 2 particular songs that I was hoping you would play but obviously because…
Chris: And we didn’t?
Andrew: Yeah 2 songs that I hoped you would play but I understand you have little time to do all of that, but the 2 tracks “So Far Away” and “Industrial Disease” which I was hoping you would play! Do you take any requests at all? Can you please play those 2 songs? [laughs].
Chris: [laughs] We’ve been playing Industrial Disease for about a year now but I have to say I’m not sure that’s going to make the cut for Australia! As for “So Far Away” we haven’t been playing that but I don’t know if you know but there was a kind of special version which came together solely for Australia when we were there and we are looking at presenting that for everyone. So you might get 50 percent on that one then [laughs].
Andrew: Well that’s all I can ask! Obviously it must be difficult to, because there are so many songs to choose from and so many iconic ones you have to play, to get a setlist together.
Chris: It is, as I say there are some things which I kind of feel or you feel that you have to play every time and Mark [Knopfler] was not a writer of short songs so they are quite substantial work. But that’s where we’re really lucky, there’s such a vast repertoire of stuff there. It’s just a question of having the time to work…my thinking is it has to be as good as it was when I was doing it with Dire Straits really and some of these things take a long time to rehearse and get together but we are working at it and there will be changes. We’ve got dates into next year and beyond so it’s great for us and for the audience to be able to change, so it will evolve but as I say we are so lucky that there is so many great things to be able to choose from.
Andrew: Yeah and it’s amazing when I look back at the show from 2 years ago and reminiscing about some of the songs that you played, it felt at least for me personally quite emotional with the way that you guys were playing. I’m guessing that you try to stay as close to the roots and the spirit of when those songs were first created.
Chris: Absolutely but the real thing is and you’ve seen us so you know, we’re not trying to copy one night from the Brothers In Arms tour when we were in Sydney in 1985. It is about playing them and as I’ve played them with Mark in Dire Straits and they changed every night, elements of them changed every night because Mark would play something different or I would play something different and go a different way. So that’s very much how we try to do it so it really is a proper performance as opposed to a recital if you like, so it’s got that energy. So yeah, the spirit of Dire Straits but not being afraid to stretch it a little bit if it feels right on the night which was exactly how it was with Mark. You would respond to the audience, it’s a conversation with the audience isn’t it.
Andrew: Yeah exactly. So when we spoke last you had mentioned you guys had only been together for a few months or so, now that a couple of years have passed how is the chemistry with everyone involved?
Chris: I’m glad to say really good. We’re a really happy band, everybody is up for what we are doing and having a ball really. Things up here in Europe have really kicked off over the last 18 months, such that we’re playing to audiences of 5000 and up in some cases which is really totally unexpected but great. Areas where people have really responded to what we’re doing so everybody is happy and everybody is really looking forward to coming to Australia as well.
Andrew: Yeah definitely keen to see you again! I remember asking you about your time when you first joined Dire Straits in 1985 so this time what I want to ask you is, let’s go back a little bit further into history and how you first got into music in the first place and why you picked up the saxophone.
Chris: I started playing violin, one day I was in school and they asked if anybody wanted to play the violin so I put my hand up, I don’t know why [laughs]. So at about age 9 or something like that I started with the violin which turned out I could do but I didn’t really love it and one night I was watching TV with my Dad and I don’t know who it was but somebody played saxophone, it was on TV and someone came on and played saxophone and I thought that’s great! I went to school the next day and said, ‘I really want to play saxophone’. And they had one, the guy said, ‘I think we got one’, and they had a Soprano saxophone in a sack in a cupboard which he gave to me and said, ‘Here take it home and see what you can do with that’. And that was the start of it, I started playing that and then one of the teachers at school was a saxophonist and gave me some lessons and really within a month of playing saxophone I knew that was what I wanted to do and that was it. I chased it from there and it became an obsession really, still is.
Andrew: And who were some of your influences? Was there a particular musician at all, regardless of whether they played saxophone or not, that really shaped your style and maybe brought some influence into your playing?
Chris: In terms of saxophone players, initially I was listening to jazz players which I can’t quite do that anymore. I’m a simple bloke and it’s too complicated for me. But there’s some great sax players, Michael Becker who actually worked with Mark on Local Hero and recorded the album version of “Your Latest Trick”, Michael was a stunning player. But as a kid I was a big Beatles fan to be honest and so that area of saxophone was kind of a strange choice in some ways but it’s worked out very well, I got to work with all kinds of people which I think we spoke about last time. But there have been quite a few guitarists that I really like to listen to as well which makes me probably an unusual sax player in that way, I’ve always felt more at home in kind of rock and pop and sort of bluesy stuff really than jazz or in particularly areas with the saxophone.
Andrew: Now there is a question that we tend to ask, and it is one I missed last time obviously. We ask if there is a particular album that you could be a fly on the wall to be the witness to the recording of, what album would that be? Now I would like to change that question a little bit and spin it to Dire Straits and maybe pick out a Dire Straits album that you would like to see the recording of before you joined the band.
Chris: Gosh, maybe “Making Movies”. Or the first album “Dire Straits” which was great, that was a groundbreaker for me.
Andrew: When did you discover Dire Straits? Were you onto them when they first came out?
Chris: No it was a bit later, it wasn’t when they first came out as I was a bit of a jazzhead at that point. It was around the “Alchemy” kind of time that I became aware of Dire Straits and I remember hearing the original version of “Romeo And Juliet” on the radio in the car one day and thought, ‘Wow that’s a great track’. And I was knocked out when I got the call to do some stuff with Mark which was before Dire Straits.
Andrew: Yeah it’s amazing and it’s wonderful to see you part of such an iconic time, and obviously bringing that to Australia we are looking forward to seeing this whole thing again. I really enjoyed it last time and I hope that you enjoy it again on this tour, thanks for your time and hope to see you soon again!
Chris: I hope so, great Andrew!
TOUR DATES
September 21st – TheBarton Theatre, Adelaide
September 22nd – Canberra Theatre, Canberra
September 23rd – State Theatre, Sydney
September 25th – Hamer Hall, Melbourne
September 26th – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
September 27th – ASB Theatre, Auckland NZ
September 29th – Newcastle Civic Theatre, Newcastle
September 30th – Perth Concert Hall, Perth
Tickets: www.direstraitsexperience.com
