Team Player

Few 30-year-olds have got a catalogue as deep as Ron Pope; even less can match the songwriter's drive and enthusiasm.

The New York-based musician broke through via the YouTube traction of 2005 ballad A Drop In The Ocean – 30 million-plus views and counting – but hasn't even considered resting on his laurels. This year's Calling Off The Dogs is Pope's 11th full-length – a record that sees him chasing a bigger, more dynamic sound. And although he admits he was unsure whether fans would appreciate the risks he took, he was never going to be held back by those fears.

“When you're in the studio and you're making a record, nobody knows if they're making a hit record,” Pope says during a press session in LA, “except for Quincy Jones, maybe he knows that what you're doing is a hit record, otherwise nobody has an idea.”

For Pope, outside opinions are meaningless – it's just about making music that he feels is good. However, he still admits with a smile that it's “unnerving to go out and play the songs for the first time”. On this upcoming tour Down Under though, he's got safety in numbers, doing justice to his intricate Calling Off The Dogs material by performing with a backing band on the east coast, the first time he's done so in these parts.

This in itself is exciting for punters, but what's even more interesting is that rather than bring his own crew over, Pope has used Aussie connections – spawned from a friendship with Sydney muso (and tour support) Cam Nacson – to source a full band of crack local players for the shows.

“I'm using all-Australian musicians on this tour,” he confirms. “They're [practicing] without me, but when I get there we'll have some rehearsals and lock it in. But everybody is a pro, so I'm very lucky to be in this position. When I hit the ground we'll rock'n'roll.”

Surprisingly for us though, this situation – a member of a band, rather than a singer-songwriter – is more natural for Pope. And even though he's made his name as a troubadour over in these parts, he's still coming to grips with the fact.

“I [only] released a few little acoustic recordings in 2005 under my own name because they didn't sound like my band [at the time],” he admits. “I had never played solo until, I don't know, I grew up playing in a band, I'd probably been playing music in front of people for ten years before I ever played one show by myself.

“But the acoustic shows are special 'cause I have to reimagine all the songs as something I can play all by myself with my acoustic guitar and my keyboard and that's it. It makes everything very simple – you get the songs, you get me, and there's nothing else.”