| Paul Dempsey | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | 1976 |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Alternative rock, Australian rock, folk |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, drums |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Sony/BMG, EMI |
| Associated acts | Something for Kate, Scared of Horses, T-Rek, Paul Dempseysolo |
| Website | [1] |
Paul Dempsey (born 1976 in Melbourne) is the lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of Australian rock group Something for Kate. Paul was a founding member of the band, and in August 2009 released his first solo album, Everything Is True whilst continuing his work with Something for Kate. A multi-instrumentalist, Paul has also produced and co-written records for other artists.
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Paul Dempsey formed Something for Kate just after leaving high school in 1994 with school friend, drummer Clint Hyndman. They then found bass player, Julian Carroll from an advertisement in a record store. The three played only a couple of shows and released a demo tape before they were approached by Chris Dunn, then A&R representative for Sony subsidiary label Murmur Records, who signed them instantly. All members were 17 years old.
Dempsey wrote all songs and lyrics, and after releasing 2 EPs, the band went to New Zealand to record their first album, Elsewhere for Eight Minutes. In 1998, he then released a solo album under the name Scared of Horses, for which he wrote and played all the music whilst inviting guest vocalists to record the vocals. After this came album number 2, Beautiful Sharks for which Paul and the band won a Music Critics' Award for Best Australian Album and Best Australian Live Band and 2 ARIA nominations. This album gained much critical acclaim in particular for Paul's insightful lyrics and unique and understated observations on science, physics, astronomy and a general questioning nature.
Echolalia, Something for Kate's third album, established Paul as one of Australia's most gifted songwriters. He was voted Best Male Vocalist in Rolling Stone and the album was nominated for 5 ARIA Awards. It debuted at #2 on the ARIA Charts and has gone on to sell double platinum, or over 140,000 units.
Paul experienced writer's block and depression (see below) at around this time. He and the band toured the U.S. and Europe while he tried to write lyrics for the band's fourth album. No doubt feeling the pressure from the band's success, it was not until 2003 that The Official Fiction was released. Debuting at #1, this album displayed Paul's lyrical talent and maturity and a sense of anger at the political events of the time.
In 2003 Paul also produced and played drums, bass, guitar and keyboards on The Givegoods' 2003 album I Want to Kill a Rich Man, the side project for Tom Morgan and Evan Dando.
In 2005, after another bout of writer's block and debilitating depression, Paul and the band went to Los Angeles to make album number 5, Desert Lights, which again displayed another leap in Paul's songwriting abilities and unique observations on the world around him. The album was released in 2006 and again debuted at #1, pointing to the longevity of the band and Paul's uniqueness in an ever changing musical climate.
In 2007 Paul began writing his first official solo album and produced the debut album for Melbourne singer-songwriter Brendan Welch titled The Gleaner.
Paul has also appeared on several of Melbourne dance artist T-Rek albums, playing a variety of instruments on the albums as well as playing keyopards on Melbourne band, The Nation Blue's album, Protest Songs.
Recording was completed for Paul's debut solo album in April 2009 in Los Angeles with mix engineer/ producer, Doug Boehm. The first song to be released from the album was "Out the Airlock" and was initially given away as a very limited free download on http://www.pauldempseymusic.com. The single was then released through iTunes on 15 May 2009.
The Daily Telegraph revealed on 29 May that the title of Dempsey's new album is Everything Is True. The album was officially released on 14 August 2009.
In April 2010 Paul produced and mixed Sydney rock band Papa VS Pretty's third studio EP Heavy Harm, released 13 August 2010. In June 2010 Paul and Stefanie relocated to NYC where Paul has been playing the club circuit in solo performances featuring songs from "Everything Is True".
He has filled in as a guitarist for Brisbane band Fur, and Perth band Ammonia. He also played drums for two shows with Bluebottle Kiss and drums in his sister's band, John Smith. He has also played bass and drums in a one off show with Evan Dando.
Paul is a multi-instrumentalist and a producer and possesses perfect pitch.
He appeared as a panellist on RocKwiz on 24 February 2007, performing a solo version of the song "Monsters" and a duet with Kate Miller-Heidke of the George Michael classic, "Careless Whisper".
He appeared on Good News Week on 26 October 2009, performing the song "Fire" by Bruce Springsteen as part of the Strange But True segment.
It has been widely documented that Paul has suffered from bouts of clinical depression and complains about getting periods of writer's block. In 2000, on a day where Something for Kate was having a frustrated jam session going nowhere, the trio simply walked out of the room and across the street to the travel agent where they saw a vacation offer for Thailand. After a relaxing day on the Thai shores and traditional boats, Paul got inspired to pen the song Monsters, which led to the production and release of their biggest selling double platinum 2001 album Echolalia.
In 2006, he married bandmate and longtime partner Stephanie Ashworth in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]
Dempsey's first solo album titled Everything Is True was released on 14 August 2009. The album debuted at No. 5 on the ARIA chart. The album has been nominated for three Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards as well as a Triple J Award for Best Australian Album of 2009. The album has been named iTunes Album of the Year for 2009 and was voted by Triple J listeners in the Top 10 albums of 2009.
Dempsey won The Age EG Music Award for Best Male for Everything is True on 20 November 2009. Everything is True has been named as one of the Best Albums of 2009 by Rolling Stone magazine.
Critics' reviews of the album have been extremely positive: