Xavier Rudd walks onto a stage resembling an oddball music shop more than a place for a performance: His chair is set up in the middle of a collection of endless instruments, surrounded by didgeridoos, guitars, a gong, an Aztec drum, a stomp box, a bass, a slide banjo and more.
Rudd, an Australian Dave Matthews meets Ben Harper, uses his musical playground to its full extent, allowing him to operate as a one-man band.
Popular in his home country and Canada, the connoisseur of jam band folk has seen moderate success in the States: He’s performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, the All Good Music Festival and toured the country as a headliner. But, Rudd says he doesn’t see much of a difference between playing to U.S. audiences as opposed to Australian audiences.
“It’s much the same between people,” he explains. “The spirit of the land varies between places. That’s how I find them to be different.”
While Rudd has played in different bands and with sessions musicians on his first studio album, To Let, he says he was never comfortable with being in a band – and, as a result, has always toured as a solo musician.
This could change in the very near future, however, as Rudd says he is thinking about putting a band together – specifically a drummer and bass player – for the album he will start recording in February. Rudd has even contemplated touring with a band.
“It wouldn’t be much different,” he says. “I’d still do everything the same, but I’d be playing along with the other musicians.”
Rudd’s unique roots sound comes from the didgeridoo, or yirdaki(its traditional name). He plays the didgeridoo and guitar simultaneously and also uses a stomp box as a drum.
“White people called it ‘didgeridoo’ because of the sounds it makes,” he says.
The yirdaki, which was discovered more than 60,000 years ago, is made from a giant piece of wood about four to six feet long which has been naturally hollowed out in the center, Rudd says. Beeswax is put around the opening of the wood as a mouthpiece, and the player then blows into the instrument to create sounds ranging from monotonous droning to animal-like yelping.
The Australian has released three studio albums in Australia and a variety of live albums. Food in the Belly, his third studio album released in 2005, will finally hit the United States in January.
“It had been two years since I recorded [Solace] and it’s been an amazing few years of connections with people and spirits across the world,” he says. “[Food in the Belly is] kind of gratitude for being who I am and where I’m at.”
Rudd describes his songwriting as very personal, and “a reflection of how I feel on my journey,” he says.
With so many different instruments at his disposal, it may seem difficult to choose which one to write a song on – but not for Rudd.
“The song usually has a mood that touches my emotions and comes real strong,” he says. “It’s clear to me which instrument is going to suit the mood. I let the instruments find the mood.”
While some of Rudd’s writing – such as “The 12th of September” and “G.B.A.” – has a clear message about his view of the world, Rudd says he doesn’t really follow politics.
“I find politics negative. I prefer to stay on the positive side of life,” he says.
Xavier Rudd performs at the 9:30 Club tonight. He is co-headlining the show with State Radio. Tickets are $17 and doors are at 7:30 p.m.
Contact reporter Rudi Greenberg at greenbergdbk@gmail.com.
