The Aints!

The Aints! comprise Ed Kuepper, Peter Oxley, Paul Larsen Loughhead, Alister Spence & Eamon Dilworth. Formed in 2017 The Aints! original brief was to recreate the sound and energy of The Saints, the band co-founded by Kuepper in 1973, as they celebrated forty years since the release of that band’s groundbreaking debut (I’m) Stranded in 1977. With such talent at play though, it wasn’t long before this inspired five piece created material of their own. An album The Church of Simultaneous Existence, comprised entirely of Kuepper originals written in the period 1969-1978, was was released internationally to much fanfare and was a hit with fans and critics alike.

5-6-7-8-9 (the name taking it’s cue from The Saints’ 1977 4-track ep release 1-2-3-4) is the next release from The Aints! A 5-track mini-LP comprising alternate versions of album tracks Goodnight Ladies (single edit) and Country Song in G (acoustic) plus reworked versions of tracks from Kuepper’s fifty albums strong catalogue including Memories Are Made Of This (The Saints, 1978), Laughing Clowns (Laughing Clowns, 1980) and Hang Jean Lee (Ed Kuepper & The Kowalski Collective, 2007). Ed Kuepper answers some questions for Hi Fi Way.

Congratulations on the mini album with The Aints!, were you surprised that this material came together quickly?
Thanks, the material took a while to put together but the performance was captured really quickly. The band is really good and we’d played the material live a couple of times so I felt fairly confidant that that particular part of the process would run fairly smoothly.

With the kick arse band you have now is this the most satisfied you have been musically for quite sometime?
A lot of the other things I do are different from The Aints! Project so I’m loath to make direct comparisons but I am really happy with the way the musical aspects of this whole thing have gone… they’re a great band.

How was the recording experience of 5-6-7-8-9?
Fairly intense and over in a flash really, most things were done in a couple of takes.

Were there any dramas or problems you had to overcome?
No musical problems, just a few logistical problems of being able to coordinate everyone considering how little studio time we had.

What is the back story behind Goodnight Ladies?
It’s a composite of three of the first songs that I’d written. All predate the formation of The Saints and go back to when I started high school in 1969 . The idea seemed tailor made for the speculative fiction/alternate reality/ adult fantasy concept that is our beloved The Aints!

Have you been able win over even the most staunchest of Saints fans?
Hard question to answer really, haven’t conducted any polls as yet sorry…

What is about the dynamic that Peter, Paul, Alister and Eamon bring to the mix?
They all come from different musical backgrounds so the way they approach the songs always throws up a few surprises… mostly pleasant I should add.

At what point did you think this is to good to be a once off project?
I think it started to become obvious when we introduced some of the previously unrecorded material that made up the Church of Simultaneous Existence album. The songs were going over really well live and it seemed a shame not to record and release them.

How did the duo Colonel Kramer with Eamon Dilworth One Man Brass Ensemble come about?
I believe they crossed paths in Bolivia, one was exploring the jungle and the other was doing missionary work.

Is there any music release planned for this duo?
I hope so …I think they’re very good.

Are you looking forward to getting back on the road?
I’m looking forward to playing…not that crazy about travelling!!

No Adelaide this time around?
It appears not, can’t say why at this point hopefully next time, the last show we did there was really good I thought.

What’s next for Ed Kuepper beyond the tour?
I’m looking at doing a new solo record to follow up Lost Cities from a couple of years ago, hopefully seeing the release of a recording I did with the Alister Spence Trio which we did a month or so ago, which promises to be really good and, if all goes well maybe look at a second album from The Aints!

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch The Aints! on the following dates…

Also be sure to catch Ed Kuepper on his September tour. Tickets from Feel Presents..