'They Inspired Another Generation Of Bands To Play Hard': Powderfinger Honoured With Prestigious Award

Next Tuesday (20 August), Support Act’s long-running charity initiative, Music In The House, returns to Sydney for a fundraiser and celebration of one of Australia’s most loved rock bands: Powderfinger.

Powderfinger have been awarded with this year’s Excellence In The Community Award, a prestigious honour. The night’s celebrations will be hosted by broadcaster and journalist Jane Gazzo, along with guest presenter Tim Prescott.

Plus, the band will be further honoured with peers in music, including Sarah Blasko, Bernard Fanning’s new bandmate Paul Dempsey, Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley, and Davey Lane, set to perform Powderfinger classics, live and acoustic.

To celebrate the band taking home the Excellence In The Community Award, Sarah Blasko, Paul Dempsey, and Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley have discussed Powderfinger’s impact on their lives – and the Australian music industry – in an exclusive reveal with The Music. You can check that out below.

Tickets to this year’s Music In The House event are already sold out, but anyone who still wants to raise funds for Aussie music workers doing it tough and access some wicked prizes can access the online auction and raffle.

Impressive items up for grabs include a Fender Am Vintage II Jazzmaster guitar with custom art of Powderfinger's Vulture Street album cover; tickets to attend the Leg Spinners Lounge on Day Two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG; studio monitoring headphones and speakers from Sennheiser, a Moog analog synthesiser, original artworks from Troy Cassar-Daley, Reg Mombassa and Andrew Fyfe, VIP tickets to events such as SXSW Sydney, Bluesfest, CMC Rocks, Laneway Festival, Cold Chisel, Pearl Jam, Hoodoo Gurus, Hamilton, Jesus Christ Superstar, the ARIA Awards, APRA Awards, and more.

Entry to the auction and raffle is open from now until 9:05 pm on Tuesday, 20 August, via the Music In The House website.

Sarah Blasko, Paul Dempsey, and Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley discuss the impact of Powderfinger

Sarah Blasko

Why did you choose the Powderfinger song you did? - ‘The Day You Come’

I chose The Day You Come because it’s my favourite Powderfinger song. I first heard it on the radio when I was 21 & I was instantly excited about what kind of album Internationalist would be. It was beautiful, expansive, raw, and angry all at the same time. Everyone assumed it was about Pauline Hanson and her political climb, and it was satisfying to hear her being called out by one of Australia’s biggest bands, so I hoped it was true. There was a rage and confidence on Internationalist that I loved.

What does Powderfinger and their music mean to you?

At first, they were this distant force that I heard on the radio as I aspired to my own career in music. Then, years later, I signed to Dew Process - run by their manager Paul Piticco, based out of Brisbane and with members of the band holding stakes in the label. So, I guess since then, I’ve felt a connection to them by virtue of the fact that we have had some of the same people around us, and I’d kinda been “let in” to their world, which felt pretty huge and exciting at the time. They became more “personal” to me, I guess. The band have each been very kind to me over all these years.

What impact have they had on the industry?

They’re one of those very rare bands that literally everyone everywhere in this country has heard of, so yes, they’ve had quite the impact, haha. It’s extremely rare for a band to cut to the heart of the country like that, so I guess when that happens, it hopefully means that people in the industry start to believe in Australian music a little more & want to build around it, right?!

Paul Dempsey

Why did you choose the Powderfinger song you did? - ‘My Happiness’

It’s pretty impossible to pick which one of their songs is the most iconic, but this would have to be up there, and I have vivid memories of when it was released. Something For Kate and Powderfinger did a bunch of touring together around this time, so I remember watching the crowds react to it all around Australia and overseas as well. A total anthem.

What does Powderfinger and their music mean to you?

I feel very lucky to have been present, with our two bands sharing a timeline for so much of their career, and to have witnessed their growth into the phenomenon they are up close.

When Something For Kate first played with them at a very low-key afternoon all-ages show in Melbourne in the mid-90s, they were five guys from Brisbane bashing around the country in a van like every other band, trying to build an audience of ten people at a time.

The next time we played with them was at the Corner Hotel single launch for Pick You Up, which had just started to go bananas on every radio station in the country, and the venue proved to be about ten sizes too small for the frenzy that had whipped up in a matter of weeks.

In the decade or so that followed, Something For Kate went on to play more shows with Powderfinger than we did with any other band, and I had a front row (or side of the stage) seat to watch them get bigger and bigger and better and better, with each new album another list of undeniable bangers and absolute anthems, with each subsequent tour (clubs, halls, arenas!), I got to see the faces in the crowd and the absolute devotion they inspired in people. We’ve always been fellow travellers and kindred spirits, and it’s been a pleasure to watch those five guys achieve such great things and still be those same five lovely guys.

What impact have they had on the industry?

I think it’s pretty simple, really. All you need is consistently great songs.

Troy & Jem Cassar-Daley 

Jem:

Why did you choose the Powderfinger song you did? - ‘These Days’

These Days is a truly iconic Powderfinger song and one that I have loved since I was a little kid.  It’s powerful, honest and simply divine songwriting! The harmonies are beautiful, and the lyrics always move me.

What does Powderfinger and their music mean to you? 

Powderfinger’s music has been played in the Cassar-Daley household for as long as I can remember! They capture the essence of Brisbane so well through their iconic sound, and their songs are attached to so many good times and memories for me. Whenever I am away, I can put Powderfinger on and always feel like I’m back home by the Story Bridge.

What impact have they had on the industry?

Powderfinger have made such an incredible impact on the industry and changed Rock music in Australia with their unique sound. Sonically, Bernard’s pure and direct vocal tone combined with top-tier songwriting changed the game and inspired so many! They are Australia’s treasured gem.

Troy:

Why did you choose the Powderfinger song you did? - ‘These Days’

It came along at a time when I didn’t feel I was quite in control of our lives as there was push/ pull with life stuff. These Days put it into perspective for me.

What does Powderfinger and their music mean to you?

They spell rock 'n roll to me, and of course, having lived in Brisbane for the last 30-plus years, they also scream Brissy, too, and I love that local feel I get, which is a big pinch of pride that they came from our town.

What impact have they had on the industry?

They made us understand the sound of a band, not an artist with a hot session band, a creative unit that, between them, made bloody great music, and I think they inspired another generation of rock bands to write their songs and play hard!!