One was the frontman of Powderfinger and the other continues to lead Australian alternative rock band Something for Kate.

Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger) and Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate) have also had very successful solo careers.

Now they write music together and perform as Fanning Dempsey National Park.

They will perform at the Canberra Theatre Centre on 18 May. Tickets are available at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Bringing their electrifying debut album, The Deluge, to life on stage, the setlist will deliver surprises for fans with additions from their collective songbooks and record collections.

Fanning has released 11 studio albums across Powderfinger and his solo work. He has seven number one albums, 23 ARIA Awards, five APRA Awards, and 23 Hottest 100 entries, among other accolades.

Dempsey has led Something for Kate for more than 30 years, with solo work and collaborations peppered in between. He has nine top 10 albums, six platinum and gold awards, 11 ARIA nominations, and 14 Hottest 100 entries, among other accolades. 

What do you like about performing in Canberra?

From the beginning in Canberra, Powderfinger played at The Asylum in Civic and all the tiny bars, Australian National University, then eventually we played a tent show (the Across the Great Divide tour) with Silverchair and Jet on the parliamentary grass in 2007.

I love going to Canberra. I feel like a lot of people criticise Canberra for being too designed and straightforward but coming from Brisbane – which is quite haphazard – I like the organisation of it.

Canberra is a really beautiful city where autumn is nice, but winter isn’t as fun.

When we started coming there it was students coming to gigs, so that always made for a lot more excitement and enthusiasm at the shows.

But, as your band/act grows, you end up in theatre spaces that are a bit more sedate.

Paul and I played in theatres on the last run (for The Deluge tour) it was great, we designed the show around that in the way it looked and whatnot.

You’ve both been in the music industry for so long, both successfully working in bands and solo. How has it been working with Paul on this album and tour?

It’s been amazing. We have such a great time, we went into it with a sense of adventure. The idea was to do something different for both of us.

We started out by not doing the singer-songwriter style or a straight rock album that people would expect. We used synthesisers and keyboards and approached the writing in a different way, which was really exciting.

Paul was locked down in Melbourne during the time of writing, so we were sending things through email and Dropbox. We were finishing off each other’s ideas. It was a totally unique way to write.

When you watch the band’s songs on YouTube, people are commenting you can hear the music of both your bands in there.

We were trying to separate from that, but you will never be able to run away for what you’re known for – unless you make a super death metal record. You’re always going to have certain signatures – because we’re both singers – so that tone of the voice or the way you sing isn’t going to change with each record.

What would a Fanning Dempsey National Park look like?

Hopefully it would have a bit of everything and hopefully it would have some mountains. It would be the kind of alps in Australia around there. It would be nice to have mountains rolling into the sea, with lots of native animals jumping around and maybe a pub next to the beach.
Fanning Dempsey National Park the name developed as a joke. We were joking around and making the most pompous names we could.

How did you choose whose name would go first?
The crowning glory of pomposity; we ended up with what sounded better.

What does the future hold for Fanning Dempsey National Park?
We are doing the Summersalt tour and all these regional shows – some with SummerSalt and others with theatre shows, until the end of May. It’s 25 gigs. That’s what we have planned for now. We’re not totally sure but this is likely to be the last time we tour like this.

Beyond May, we don’t have strict plans of what we will do. Paul may do a Something for Kate or a solo album.

I’m just going to wait until after this to see. I’m planning to make another record pretty soon.

Plus, Powderfinger’s Tea for Sympathy is 20 years.

How does it feel making it to 20 years? with the album

It’s pretty amazing. With Powderfinger, it’s 30 years or longer. We started in 1989 so it’s been a pretty long road. It’s an incredible privilege to be able to do that for so long, make music for a living, go around the country and be generally received positively. I feel very fortunate to have been able to do that.

A lot of people attempt to live their lives as an artist and it’s way harder for younger bands now. It’s an incredibly competitive environment. With the cost-of-living conditions in Australia, with every ticket that you sell, you appreciate what you get.

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