Riding The Waifs
Some bands seem to come and go in the blink of an iTunes download, others — like The Stones — appear immortal and hang around forever. Then there are bands that quietly carry on making good music for a dedicated fan base — and before you know it you’re asking, “Seriously? They’ve been together that long?”
In 2017 The Waifs celebrate 25 years in the music business. In that time they’ve produced just eight albums, which isn’t a lot, but The Waifs’ early years involved a lot of promotional touring, including a support gig for Bob Dylan in the US. Lately, it’s been more of a logistics issue. The band’s three members — Joshua Cunningham, Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson (Vikki and Donna are sisters) — are spread across the globe; a very long way from their roots in Albany, Western Australia.
It took almost two years of planning to reunite everyone at Joshua’s half-finished house near Bateman’s Bay on the NSW coast for their latest album, Ironbark. With the group’s 25th anniversary in mind, on the to-do list was a solid month of writing and recording the album.
Ah... half-finished . Surely, we’re talking about some cool, near-complete project studio with state-of-the-art equipment? Nope, Joshua has spent 12 years building a new home from recycled and eco-friendly material, and while the open spaces of an empty house (it didn’t even have a proper kitchen yet) allowed for some creative acoustic treatment, it’s hardly Abbey Road Studios. Not only was the band — along with long-time collaborators David MacDonald (drums and percussion) and Ben Franz (double bass, pedal steel) — travelling from all corners of the planet, they were meeting at a place without a stick of proper recording equipment or someone to operate anything should they get some. Joshua’s home is big on solitude, peace, inspiration and a great vibe, and has over the years become a spiritual home for The Waifs, but the nearest thing he owns to a Pro Tools rig is a four-slice toaster.
