Dawes | Interview & Acoustic session

Interview by Tim Cooper | Film by Kathy Magee

In a double-header that might well have gone down in mid-Seventies LA as “One Of Those Nights” (to coin a phrase), a sold-out Borderline hosted a stunning show by Dawes and Jonathan Wilson.

On a steamy July night Dawes opened the show with their Seventies-influenced jams, evoking echoes of everyone from Little Feat to The Band, before being joined by Wilson, showcasing songs from similarly Seventies-influenced solo debut Gentle Spirit.

It was a night of tight rhythms and harmonies, loose guitar solos and keyboard improvisations. After two hours of spellbinding interplay, and in one of the worst kept secrets in town, up jumped Jackson Browne, who was doing this sort of thing before the guys onstage with him were born.

He gave the rapt crowd, including luminaries ranging from Roy Harper to Caitlin Rose, half an hour more including These Days and a tribute to Warrren Zevon before closing with – inevitably – a mass singalong of Take It Easy.

It was a magical night and it’s a tribute to the present-day keepers of the Laurel Canyon flame that both Dawes and Wilson held their own against the living legend alongside them.

Before that we caught up with Dawes backstage and persuaded them to tell us a little about themselves before playing an acoustic version of ‘How Far We’ve Come’ from their album ‘Nothing is Wrong’.

Sean Dunne – Director | Interview

We stumbled across Sean Dunne after seeing his short film Stray Dawg featuring Jonny Corndawg (who will be playing a series of UK shows in the coming week and soon to be featured on here).  One of his first documentaries, The Archive, was selected for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and he has gone on to direct several noteworthy documentaries.  We love what he’s doing and got in touch for an interview and to get him to share some favourite tunes with us.  Check out some of his short films below, we’re pretty sure you’ll love them as much as we do.

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

• How long have you been making films? And what got you started?  

I have been making films since around 2007. When I graduated High School the film schools I wanted to go to wouldn’t have me.  I guess I didn’t have enough experience or show any potential whatsoever, so they told me to fuck off.  Instead I went to Purchase College, a small state-run school just north of New York City. There I studied cinema history and criticism. Nothing hands on. When I graduated college the jobs I wanted wouldn’t have me. I guess I didn’t have enough experience or show any potential whatsoever, so they told me to fuck off. I worked in a goddamn deli for a year after college, gaining no experience in film.

Finally I caught a break and was given a chance to be a postproduction assistant on Pepsi corporate videos. I got to see all aspects of postproductions. Eventually I worked my way up the ranks and was given a chance to do some writing for them. I guess I was pretty good at that because it led to an opportunity to write and produce for the History Channel. Once I was over there I was exposed to other creatives and given a chance to have my ideas heard and see them through from concept to completion. Basically that became my film school. I was lucky enough to be able to learn on the job and discover what I liked and didn’t like and develop an aesthetic. I gravitated towards documentary because I really liked talking to people and hearing their stories and I thought I was pretty good at developing a rapport with my subjects and telling their stories in a unique way.

In June 2008 History Channel sent me to Pittsburgh, PA to direct some commercials for an upcoming show they had. On our way out of town I convinced my Director of Photography (DP), Ed David to stop off and shoot a little piece about Paul Mawhinney, the owner of the world’s largest record collection. We spent 6 hours with Paul and the result was The Archive, my first short documentary.