What do you get when you put together a rock ‘n roll drummer, a ladies man/guitarist, a British house DJ, and a former Neighbours star with one helluva voice? The answer – super Aussie pop band the Rogue Traders. Now releasing their latest effort ‘Better in the Dark’, band members James Ash and Natalie Bassingthwaighte dish to OiP’s Megan Smith about life in the band.
Megan: How did you come up with the title for this album?
James: Nat and I had been talking about what we were going to call the record for sometime… In the end I got drunk and rang up Nat, going ‘Nat, let’s go with the title [Better in the Dark].’ And she went ‘Are you sure Bubby (she calls me Bubby)? Are you sure you’re not going to regret this?’
Natalie: He goes, ‘I’m putting it on the forum tonight.’ And I said, ‘do you want to wait until tomorrow?’ and he said [Nat slurs incomprehensively in impersonation].
Megan: What have you got in store for the live tour?
Natalie: We want it to be more intimate than we’ve ever done.
James: So, small 10-person venues.
Natalie: K-mart. [laughs]
James: Then we can definitely put the sold out sign out there….
Megan: What would you say is different about your third album that people wouldn’t have discovered about Rogue Traders on previous albums?
James: I just think the songs have a bit more weight to them, all of them, even the straight up radio pop tracks… We love smashing people’s preconceptions because although we’re a pop band, that doesn’t mean we can’t rock really hard.
Megan: How do you feel about the pop label?
James: It’s fine. I’m from England, and pop is not a dirty word in England. All it means is that it appeals to a wide amount of people… Pop music is about energy and fun and excitement, and I’m happy to be considered in that category.
Megan: When was the moment in the last three albums, that you realized ‘my god, we are pop stars’?
James: I just have to say that I have never really felt that. I have always felt that if you do accept it at that moment it is immediately signposting the beginning of the end because that’s the moment you stop working hard and you start taking your foot off the pedal.
Natalie: I always feel like a little girl playing dress up and having a good time. So, I kind of agree. There are times when things happen to you that you think happen to rock stars or pop stars, and you’re like ‘No WAY!’ Like the other week, I got put in the Presidential Suite at this hotel. Oh my god, it was like bigger than my house.
Megan: Did you jump on the bed?
Natalie: Yeah! I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman… There was a baby grand piano in the room. I’m sitting there going, ‘is this for real?’… Mind you, it was actually an accident because there were no other rooms in the whole of the town. So, I got the best room. And I said, ‘Oh, this is great’ and of course, the next city we go to was not like that… So, I don’t think there are many moments like that. There are funny things, like when you see your face on Temptation or you’re the answer to a clue in a crossword – that just cracks me up.
Megan: What are the dynamics and relationships within the band?
James: Between Nat and I it’s kind of a brother-sister relationship. I’m her number one cheerleader, and I’m so proud of everything she’s achieved.
Natalie: It’s true. He even wears the frocks.
James: And Nat is also incredibly supportive of me, so we have that foundation of respect between us and we also know what exactly constitutes the Rogue Traders sound.
Natalie: Cam and I are definitely like an old married couple. Cam is very feisty. He likes it his way, but he also brings a lot of knowledge in the industry.
James: He represents died in the wool rock ‘n roll.
Natalie: He does. Sometimes I think he does get frustrated that we’re…
James: …we’re a pop act.
Natalie: But you know what, you’re in it honey! [laughs] I think he just lets it go on the drums.
James: I think that fact that Cam comes from that background and that world is something vital and enormous part of why we’ve proven to be successful live because he is a rock ‘n roller and he is battle hardened from thousands of gigs since he was 15. He smacks the hell out of those drums and makes us look good.
Natalie: And Danny has just joined the group in the last 6 months. I call him the walkabout kid because you’ll be sitting down and the next thing you know, you’re like ‘where’s Danny?’ It’s like ‘where’s Waldo?’
James: He’s the kind of guy, you won’t know he’s in the room, and everybody will be talking and then he’ll say something that is hysterically funny and you’ll go, ‘Oh, you’re here.’… We’re still working him out. We do know he’s a bit of a ladies man. He’s definitely good at sussing out the targets. [laughs]
Natalie: I’m musical theatre girl and Neighbours star, and James is the DJ… The balance is good because we are all really different and we all come from completely different backgrounds.
Megan: So final, very important question, do you still watch Neighbours?
Natalie: No, I don’t. To be honest, I rarely watch TV, except for Deal or No Deal, which I’m completely addicted to.
