The rabble-rousing STEVE TOWSON talks to JODY MACGREGOR about re-recording his songs for an album he’ll be launching at Punkfest.

JODY MACGREGOR: What made you want to rework your songs?

STEVE TOWSON: A combination of factors encouraged me to compile a list of songs from each of my releases and re-record them. Firstly, touring constantly throughout Australia and Asia, I’ve been able to do a massive variety of shows to many different types of people. Often I play in front of people lucky to scrape together just enough money and time to get to my show – then sometimes people will have a little extra cash hoping to be able to buy one of my releases, and will ask which one best sums up my music. This can be difficult depending on people’s tastes, so I thought, why not put out a compilation that reworks all the songs in a new way, and that gives people a little of each album. I have also believed with songwriting that it is important to create a core feeling or meaning of a song, which can then be re-interpreted by the listener.

JM: Did any songs particularly depart from the original?

ST: I think the most clearly different songs are Long Drive Through Ipswich and Straits Of Gibraltar, which are musically very different in this re-working. Overall, the guitar and vocal sounds are quite different to the original recordings…

JM: Have you played Punkfest before?

ST: I was billed a long time ago to play a show, but something came up and so it has taken until now. But you know, all good things take time and I’m excited by the line-up of diverse punk music that the Punkfest crew have put together, and also just working with them has been great. To me music is all about a sense of belonging to a community, so working with the bands and Punkfest is a great reinforced sense of the strength that exists with people coming together from different backgrounds.

JM: Ever hurt your voice during a gig?

ST: Yeah, I often damage my voice. I know that there are techniques for singing but sometimes it’s hard not to get carried away when singing some lyrics.

STEVE TOWSON is on his Songs To Strike Fear Into Your Masters tour, stopping by the Jubilee Hotel on Friday Mar 19 for Punkfest, Toowoomba’s Green Room and then Settlers Inn Folk Club on Saturday Mar 20 and the Gold Coast’s Shed 5 on Thursday Mar 25. www.stevetowson.com

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