A Conversation with Xavier Rudd – HuffPost 8.30.10

Mike Ragogna: You’re an Australian artist touring the States?

Xavier Rudd: Yeah.

MR: And beyond being a musician, you’re a surfer.

XR: Yeah, well, I come from the southeast coast of Australia, south of Melbourne by Bells Beach. So, I grew up on the coast, and I surf and do a lot of things outside of music. I’ve been touring America for the last, probably, seven years I’ve been coming here.

MR: What’s the latest tour in support of?

XR: I’ve got a new record out, Koonyum Sun, and we’re on the road right now headed towards Colorado.

MR: Koonyum Sun includes “Sky To Ground” which is a checklist of problems, though it has a very positive message and sets up the album’s overall theme.

XR: Thank you very much. It’s definitely been inspired by all my travel and things I’ve seen or things I know. The gift of life, I think, is the greatest thing we get to share as an artist or anyone who travels the globe for what they do. You get that gift of culture and appreciation of other places, which, in turn, makes you appreciate your home. So, it’s definitely something I’ve drawn from.

MR: To me, this album is sort of like Paul Simon’s Graceland on acid. You’ve got a mixture of reggae, Soca, African…but you can’t single out the styles. They’re very unique yet familiar.

XR: I use a bunch of eclectic instruments that come from my background and my place, and I made this record with Tio Moloantoa and Andile Nqubezelo from Johannesburg, South Africa, so, they bring all their culture, story, music, and energy. It’s kind of a world feel, I think, for sure.

MR: You have been compared to Jack Johnson, and I think that’s just ridiculous. You have almost nothing in common except that you both surf.

XR: I’ve toured with Jack, and we do both surf. He definitely surfs better than me. Musically, I think we’re pretty different, but I respect Jack and what he does, and I know that he respects me and what I do.

MR: When I researched your tour, I was amazed at how many places you’re playing. You’re everywhere.

XR: Yeah, that’s what we do. I’ve always been a live artist, and that’s kind of what I do. That’s how I do it.

MR: Where are some of the places the tour’s brought you?

XR: Well, we started in Seattle. We’ve just begun, but we’ve been to Seattle, Portland, Santa Cruz, San Diego, and L.A. last night.

MR: What is your impression of the U.S. when you come here from Australia?

XR: Well, every country has issues to deal with. When I come here to the States, my impression of America is that I enjoy America. It’s a beautiful place, there’s a lot of cultural interaction, and I’ve enjoyed that. There are years of history of different cultures that are here living together, and there have been cultural differences in the past and probably still now. But I see quite a bit of unity here in America. People are quite bonded together and seem to be proud of who they are, where they’re from, and they move forward together, and that’s good. That’s a treat as an artist because I’m bringing culture too, and people are passionate about it and can share in it. That’s kind of my initial impression of America. If you wanted me to give a political analysis of America, then it would probably be a different story, but the general public of this country is fun to be around. People are happy, people are cool, people are proud, and it’s cool.

MR: Xavier, is there any social issue you want to talk about?

XR: I’d like to mention the Kimberley region of northwest Australia. Kimberley is one of the last great wildernesses on the planet, and at the moment, it’s being threatened by a proposed natural gas facility. We’re talking land that has never been touched; beautiful, beautiful, sacred land. It’s the biggest breeding ground for humpback whales. There are no recorded extinctions, it has the oldest rock art in the world, and the Australian government is looking to put ten thousand hectares of gas industry there. So, you can go to www.savethekimberley.com, and if anyone can lend some support or just wants to learn about an amazing place in the country, they should check it out.

Transcribed by Ryan Gaffney