HEMP head to tour
GIG
Darren Guthrie
Rockingham Hotel
7pm on Saturday, April 12
Free entry
Rockingham guitarist Darren Guthrie has combined his passion for music and politics to produce a protest-led EP, End the Prohibition.
Guthrie said his songs were a snapshot of his life, so expect plenty of political messages from the HEMP Party WA branch president.
The six-track EP was produced by Guthrie who wrote, recorded, mastered and mixed each song.
“It was a big challenge,” he said.
“But the benefit is I’ve been able to offer this EP for free.
“I just want to share my message as much as I can.
“I’m always a little too critical, but I’m quite happy with the songs overall because I think they tell my position in life and my story quite well.”
Guthrie will promote the EP during a mini tour throughout Perth, Fremantle, Rockingham, Busselton and Bunbury before the launch on April 20.
His talents as a multi-instrumentalist will be showcased thanks to looping at each gig.
“I like to keep the shows quite energetic,” he said.
“They are very full-on, they are a lot to plan.
“There is always room for faults when looping, trust me, but that’s one of the interesting things about it.
“It’s all about precision.”
Guthrie said he had lost track of how many instruments he could play and he inherited his musical gift from his mother.
“She’s been playing the piano for so many years,” he said.
“Something she is really good at is listening to a song on the radio and then within 10 minutes she can play it on the piano.
“That’s where my knack came from.”
End the Prohibition is a mix of reggae and blues, but Guthrie said he did not want to be typecast.
“It’s a hard one to box,” he said.
“I don’t think you can define music too much, otherwise it restricts what you do in the future.”
Guthrie will be supported on the tour by Perth musician Trojan John.
He hopes to release his first album in December, which will feature guest musicians and vocal harmonies with brother Stuart Guthrie.
