Dallas Crane, No Tricks Just Riffs & Finding The Fire Again

After decades of carving out their place in Australia’s rock ’n’ roll landscape, Dallas Crane are still going strong making music on their own terms now. Front man David Larkin opens up about the band’s DIY revival, the thrill of small-stage chaos like playing at The Grace Emily and the freedom of home recording studios. Also hinting that their debut album might make its way on to vinyl next year. There’s plenty more to come for Dallas Crane proving that the fire’s far from out.

How’s everything going with Dallas Crane? It sounds like exciting times right now…
Yeah, it’s been good. We’ve managed to build a little home studio for the guys over the last couple of years, and we all do our writing and recording up here, which is great.

Has it been a bit of a comeback after some quiet years?
Definitely. We’re trying to claw back ten years of not really putting much out. It’s been fun to create, produce, mix, and release on our own terms. Something we wish we had a few years back, but better late than never.

Has it been tough, especially compared to the early days when the debut album was all over Triple J?
It’s a great question. We haven’t found the perfect method yet. Even just putting on shows, like at the Corner in Melbourne, the way you have to promote and find your crowd now is so challenging. Once upon a time, you could assume most people were on Facebook or Instagram, but now it’s harder to find our crew. Not everyone is on social media anymore.

So how do you reach your audience now?
If you’re not on social media, you’re not going to know we’re playing. We can’t take out TV ads. We do small radio ads, posters, we do it old school. But it’s really hard. That’s the challenge for any band now: finding your people.

I saw you support the Hoodoo Gurus in Adelaide. The reception was great. Does that kind of exposure translate into new fans?
Those gigs have been great for us. Any support with a band of that size helps. We were on pretty early the other night, but other Hoodoo Gurus shows have brought in new listeners. The KISS show drove off-the-charts traffic to our website. Same with Def Leppard. Those big shows get a surge to the pages, not necessarily lifelong fans, but definitely worthwhile. A show like that is worth twenty club gigs.

You’re returning to Adelaide on October 11 to play the Grace Emily. Excited?
We love The Grace. It’s one of the great pubs in Australia. It’s a little smaller than what we probably should be playing, but it’s one of the best gigs. I saw the New York Dolls at Cherry once, only two hundred people, and it felt like you were there at the start of something. Playing smaller venues again is so much fun. I’d take it over a large room any day. You’re right up close, you can see the bar from the stage, it takes us back to the foundation days of playing in a band. We love coming over and doing The Grace. We should probably do a couple next time so everyone can get a ticket. We’re looking forward to it.

That’s the charm of live music, right? Being kept on your toes and seeing everything, warts and all.
Yeah, that’s it. There’s no trickery, it’s all just what’s coming off the stage. It’s a small stage, not a lot of room for error, but it’s good fun. We’re really looking forward to it.

Where Dallas Crane is at now, do you feel any pressure to be a certain thing, or do you have the freedom to release music how and when you want?
The only pressure now is self-imposed. It’s very liberating to have full control over everything, from writing to releasing. That’s not to say we wouldn’t look at a record deal if one came along, but right now we’re just trying to get stuff off our hard drive and out into the ether. Let the public decide whether it’s good or bad, or whether it means anything.

So you’ve got a backlog of songs ready to go?
Literally tons. Our last single isn’t even two months old, it was written, recorded, mixed, and everything done in this room. We’ve wanted to do this for years. Now we don’t have to save up a big bag of cash to record or be under time pressure. It’s all on our clock now, and it’s great.

Is the plan just to keep releasing singles on Spotify, or do you still see a place for vinyl or CD releases?
If I had it my way, we wouldn’t bother with albums anymore. We’d just keep doing singles every few weeks. That would be the ultimate for me as a creator. Albums are a big commitment, twelve songs, finding the gang that works, and you can’t really release stuff during that time because it might end up on the album. Singles keep the output regular and are easier to manage.

Do you think albums still matter to listeners?
Honestly, people only care about two or three songs anyway. That’s how we all behave now. I do the same. If I discover a record, like Them Crooked Vultures, I might listen to the whole album, but only two or three songs go into a playlist. Albums might get you more press coverage, but beyond that, I don’t know, would you bother?

Andrew Stockdale from Wolfmother said they’re not doing vinyls or CDs anymore because you can’t take your vinyl player in the car.
Yeah, he’s probably got a point. I love vinyl, though. There’s still a bunch of people who love having the official vinyl release, it’s tangible, you can hold it, and it probably sounds the best too. We’re not turning our back on vinyl. We’ve got enough of a fan base that cares, even if it’s just a small run. I’d assume Andrew would too.

But vinyl’s expensive, right?
Major expense, yeah. And if your songs are tied up with a publisher or label, it’s even bigger. A whole realm of fuckery to get it out. But there are vinyl production houses now that can do one-offs, which is great. I’m definitely looking into that. Like drop shipping for t-shirts, limited edition stuff.

If you’re spending on vinyl, does that mean gigs like the Grace Emily might not happen?
It’s swings and roundabouts. If we put up a kitty and said, “Who wants Dallas Crane vinyl?”— we’ve had a lot of calls over the years to press the self-titled one. I think it’s considered one of the better sounding records, and it’s the one a lot of people discovered us through. There’s nostalgia attached.

Any plans to press that one?
We’re hoping to do that in the next twelve months, get it pressed and do a little tour where we play it cover to cover. You heard it here first.

Surprised no one’s asked about doing the same with Lent?
That’s not gonna happen. Do you have a copy of Lent?

I’ve got it on CD!
That’s amazing. You’d be one of about four hundred people. Funny story, we got one thousand copies printed, gave away one hundred, and I reckon no more than four hundred ever circulated. We didn’t have a distributor, so we manually consigned them to shops. The other five hundred fell off the back of Chris’s ute on the way back from Sydney. I saw one for sale on eBay for $250. I nearly bought it myself, I don’t even have a copy. Lent’s pretty far removed from what we turned into as a band. There’s not a great sense of urgency to put it out from our side.

I really love new single Trouble Knows My Name.
Yeah, thanks. Funny story connected to that, Steve Pinkerton, our drummer, has been on my case lately saying I need to show my voice off more. He reckons that’s what makes Dallas Crane unique. He said I can get right up there and should show off a bit. So when I was writing it, I had those comments in mind and gave him my best Noddy Holder. You can thank Steve for the lofty heights of that song.

Do you think that track hints at where future singles might go?
Not particularly. It’s just a mood thing on the day when I’m writing, there’s no master plan. But I do have to be mindful that the older I get, the harder it is to reach those stupid high notes. And it’s harder for the audience to hear me try to reach them. But never say never. I like singing up there when it works and the song allows for it.

Any more collaborations like the one you did with Sarah McLeod? That was a gem.
I recently got in touch with Dallas Frasca. I’d seen her name around and met her at gigs, and she was popping up more on festivals and good shows. I listened to her new record and was blown away by Force of Nature. I emailed her to say how great it was, and she said she’d love to write together. We did a collaboration about a month ago and started working on a song. We didn’t have much time, but I’d love to do more. I haven’t been that outreaching with collaborations, and I should be. You get a lot out of it.

There’s always been the You Am I connection. It feels like a Dallas Crane/ You Am I collab is begging to happen?
I’d love that. I’d especially love to do something with Tim. We’re good mates, and I think if I asked and the timing was right, it could happen. My dream would be for Tim to be the words guy and me the music guy. I wouldn’t worry about lyrics, he could steer the project, and I’d just be down in the basement pumping out riffs. That would be the dream. I’d also love to do something with Tex Perkins. I’m a massive Beasts of Bourbon fan and have bags of riffs I could send him to finish off. These are both guys I know pretty well, I’ve just never proposed it. But I’d really like to. I think it’s important for artists to do that.

So what’s next for Dallas Crane?
We’re really trying to finish album six. Once it’s done, it’ll be out there, and depending on how fans respond, we’ll either book a tour or we won’t. We’re working toward getting a record out in 2026, though we’re not putting a firm date on it. We’re about two or three songs away from having a really coherent gang to put out. I’m just hoping we can be more prolific than we’ve ever been, now that we’ve got home recording and the tech to do it ourselves.

Interview By Rob Lyon