“I appreciated what they were doing at the time,” says Rudd, “but I’ve got a lotta questions about Peter Garrett at the moment. Although he wasn’t closely connected to the band, Rudd recalls how the Oils’ chrome-domed frontman, Peter Garrett, called for the giving back of land to Australian Aborigines-via the huge international hit “Beds Are Burning”-and spoke out against the logging of old-growth trees in Clayoquot Sound in the ’80s. When you think about Australian musicians with a cause, one group that springs to mind is Midnight Oil, the hard-hitting guitar-rock quintet that gained a lot of respect among the socially conscious and environmentally minded. But I sing about what I feel, and I’m very inspired by activists and friends that I get to connect with.” The music industry is not set up well at all, environmentally.
“I don’t think I am one,” he relates, “because I live in a toxic world of travelling around, you know, in an industry that’s really hard on the environment. It opens with an upbeat ode to doing good deeds (“Better People”), and goes on to highlight the threat of global warming (“Footprint”) and the historical struggle of Australia’s Yolngu tribe against bauxite mining (“Land Rights”).Īlthough it’s clear from his subject matter that Rudd has an abiding concern in getting people to sit up, take notice, and do the right thing, he notes that “playing music is pretty much what I do,” and downplays his role as an activist. His lyrics commonly invoke kindness, justice, environmental concerns, and humanitarianism, and his latest album, White Moth, is no exception. “We’re here, so I’ll do it,” he says, “no worries.” That kind of easygoing attitude has served Rudd well in his career, and translates into the folksy, peace-and-love vibe of his music. Rudd is scheduled to play Saskatoon’s Lakeview Auditorium in five hours, and though he sounds like one sick puppy on the phone, he has no plans to cancel the show. “I’m not used to this kinda weather,” he explains, en route to the doctor’s office. His road manager says to call back in three hours, and by then Rudd is up and seeking medical attention.
The Aussie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist isn’t coping well with the sub-zero bite of the Prairies in fact, when the Straight rings him up for a scheduled interview, he’s sick in bed with the flu. Saskatchewan in the middle of February isn’t a place where a fellow raised on the balmy beaches of Australia can feel too cozy.
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