After more than a decade-long hiatus, the Whitlams have returned with a brand new album.
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Lead singer and songwriter, Tim Freedman, said the album had taken years of hard work and he was looking forward to playing the new music at the Goulburn Performing Arts Centre on April 14.
"I remember playing the RSL maybe more than 20 years ago, but we haven't been there since," Mr Whitlam told the Post.
"One of the reasons I put out new music is because I wanted to play more and not just stick to the cities."
Over the past year Mr Freedman played 70 solo shows traveling everywhere from Dubbo to Alice Springs.
"I was lazy for a decade and now I'm back again with the travel bug," he said.
The new album is dedicated to Greg Weaver, known as "Sancho", the band's longtime tour manager who sadly passed away from a heart attack.
"A few songs are about him too, the title track is about the relationship the band has with its crew and the sort of things that they do to get them on stage, 'the gaffage and clink'," Mr Freedman said.
"There's another song about him too, which is just listing all the things that he loved and how he got into rock and roll."
Despite the sad circumstances surrounding the album, Mr Freedman said he tried to focus on celebrating life rather than his personal sadness.
"I thought, I've done enough of that in the past and I didn't really want to just repeat myself," he said.
"I wanted to focus on his life and our relationship. I tried to be pretty positive even though it was born from tragedy."
The positive focus is evident in the overall jovial mood of the album, particularly in songs such as (You're Making Me Feel Like I'm) 50 Again" and "Nobody knows I Love You", one of Mr Freedman's personal favourites.
"We're really enjoying playing the second track, "Nobody Knows I Love You", which is very jazzy," he said.
For long-time fans, classics such as "No Aphrodisiac", "Blow Up the Pokies" and "Thank You (for loving me at my worst)" will also be included in the set list for the tour.
"We will always fill half our set with our best of, and then the other half we might do some rarer album tracks or on this tour, the new songs," Mr Freedman said.
Not one for conformity, Mr Freedman said he had no desire to take a photo with the Big Merino, a regular Goulburn tourist attraction.
Instead he hoped to check out some local second-hand stores.
"I like to sort of just wander around the main street and look at the secondhand bookstores and that sort of thing," he said.
"The other two guys like to go rifling for old vinyl as well. We basically rummage every secondhand store in every town we go."
Young singer-songwriter Emily Wurramara will be opening for the Whitlams during the tour.
"She's originally from the Northern Territory and she's got some lovely songs. She'll really bring something to the show," Mr Freedman said.
The Whitlams will perform on Thursday April 14 at the Goulburn Performing Arts Centre as part of their 'Gaffage and Clink Tour'.
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