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 For the first time in his long career as the songwriter against whom other distinctly Australian storytellers are measured, DON WALKER can ditch the ‘Song’ prefix from his ‘Writer’ title, he tells SIMON TOPPER.
For as long as anyone reading this can remember, Don Walker has been putting pen to paper to create some of this country’s defining texts. Flame Trees, Choir Girl and Khe Sanh say as much about contemporary Australian life as any novel, screenplay or textbook over the past 35 years.
It’s a surprise therefore that for the first time in his career, Don Walker is being referred to as a ‘writer’.
Always busy with a range of projects, Walker is forever destined to be best known as the songwriter behind many of Cold Chisel’s most anthemic urban songs. (He’s also lived the tales he told, revealing he’s only just finished moving house to Sydney’s green Edgecliff from King’s Cross where he’s resided since 1976.)
However, upon the release of his first book Shots earlier this year, Walker expanded his writing resume. As if to illustrate his newfound diversity, he is returning to Brisbane twice in September, once as ‘Performer’ (The Met Up Late sessions), and once as ‘Author’ (Brisbane Writers Festival).
Walker concedes that he was not prepared for some of the differences between the worlds of music and literature, even when the literature in question is a unique rock memoir – a series of written snapshots on various scenes throughout his life. "They (the two worlds) are fundamentally different. The book publishing world is a lot less violent.
"It’s not so much the way that I am viewed or treated as it is the way people conduct business. In the music business people get into it as a completely laissez faire enterprise when they’re young, when they just cut themselves loose from any career path whatsoever, and just strike out skating on just their talent, or none.
"Whereas the writing world is much more tied to official institutions, universities, and literature is a different world in that way."
Shots has been positively reviewed by public figures as diverse as fellow rock hero Tim Rogers and current Minister for Finance and Deregulation Lindsay Tanner, but Walker initially stumbled into his role as author almost by accident. He’d written down memories and stories as a way to amuse himself, with no intention to reveal them to the eyes of others, explaining the reason the collection is neither a narrative nor particularly focused on his rock & roll exploits.
"I think the book is funny throughout. One of the things that motivated me to actually publish what were always private writings is that bits of it were funny. But then I’ve also seen people who think it’s miserable and morose ... I realised a long time ago that my sense of humour is not necessarily shared by everybody."
In terms of music, Walker says he’s happy to be in the midst of a songwriting phase, though there’s no new release coming just yet. "For a year or two, certainly in 2008, I hadn’t been writing much, so coming back to it fresh, I’ve found a lot of new stuff for myself.
"There’s not enough yet that fits into an album. I think you need to write and record quite a bit until you get a body of work. But I also understand that these days the idea of a body of work is a little bit outmoded.
"There’s positives in that too though. That’s the way music was up until 1965, just individual songs, and most of the stuff I like is pre-1965."
DON WALKER plays The Met Up Late session at GOMA on Friday Sep 4. He will also be contributing to several Brisbane Writers Festival forums on Friday Sep 11 and Saturday Sep 12. SHOTS is out now through Penguin Books Australia.
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