In less than two years Australian rockers The Temper Trap have gone from anonymity to international stardom – all it took was a song everyone loved, writes JIM CARROLL
ASK DOUGY Mandagi what’s the weirdest thing that has happened to him since The Temper Trap’s career went into orbit and he has the answer right to hand. It was last month in Los Angeles and the lead singer is still chuckling in disbelief.
“We played the last show of our US tour and had a little after-show party upstairs in the venue bar and there was a security guard allocated to hang around me. Yeah, for real. And I didn’t know this!” he explains.
It was Mandagi’s friend who clocked the security detail.
“My friend said ‘what’s up with that security guy?’ and I said ‘what security guy?’. He said ‘the guy who has been behind you all night’. I looked behind me and there was this big dude standing behind me. I thought he just worked there, but when I moved around the room, he followed me. So weird.”
Security is beginning to come up again and again as The Temper Trap adjust to life in a faster lane. “I actually had a weird talk with my tour manager the other day in Mexico about security,” he says.
“Funnily enough, we had no security in Mexico where people go missing every two hours and end up floating in the river. We’re touring Indonesia soon and there’s going to be five dudes in suits following us everywhere we go. It’s getting a bit out of hand.”
No one was thinking about security in 2005 when Mandagi started working alongside drummer Toby Dundas in a clothing store in Melbourne and set The Temper Trap in motion. They were just another new band so they decided to leave.
“It’s really hard to get noticed if you just stay. So we were determined to move,” he says. “Melbourne was starting to feel like it was too small for us. We were working two jobs each to gather the money to get out.”
That’s when their work paid off.
“A lot of things just fell into place and we got picked up by Infectious Records who put up the cash for us to move to London. We were very fortunate in that we had the means to get out and that it worked out.”
Even though Australia has a healthy music scene, Mandagi says, the local music industry tends to favour acts only after they have attracted attention elsewhere. “That has been the case for bands like The Vines, Jet and ourselves,” he says. “Australia didn’t take notice of us until the press in London or Los Angeles wrote a nice little piece on us. London, LA and New York are definitely the trendsetters when it comes to what the rest of the world listens to.
“Australia waits to see what everyone else is listening to and will latch onto that. It’s frustrating. So a lot of bands try overseas and end up going home totally broke.”
By the time they landed in London early last year, the band had their debut album Conditions recorded and ready to go.
That album contained Sweet Disposition, which has become their ace in the pack thanks to its epic melodies, beautiful riff and Mandagi's vocals.
Since its release, the song has conquered radio station playlists, featured in TV commercials, turned up in a movie and become the centrepiece of their live show.
Mandagi knows he will be singing Sweet Disposition every time he goes onstage from now until the day he hangs up his boots. “Of course, it gets boring,” he admits, “but the crowd reaction, that chemistry, the give and take, that never gets old. Truth be known, it’s probably the hardest song for me to sing, pitchwise. I’m petrified every time Lorenzo starts busting out that riff. I’m thinking ‘oh no, I’m going to mess this up’. It’s nerve-wracking. I’m glad when it’s over.”
Yet it’s also the tune that has brought them a lot of cash and traction because of the amount of placements it has had.
Sweet Dispositionhas been used to hawk mobile phones, cars, soft drinksand TV channels. It also turns up in Eat, Pray, Love, which stars Julia Roberts.
“We have said ‘no’ more than we have said yes,” says Mandagi about these placements.
“We’re selective with it because we have to be smart with how we steer our career.
“We can’t be too idealistic though because, in the big scheme of things, we are nobodies. We have barely scratched the surface. It would be stupid to say no to having your song on a big ad, especially in America which is so huge and vast. It’s an amazing opportunity. We weigh the pros and cons and sometimes the camp is divided but we try to do what’s best.”
Their next task is write enough material for a new album with, hopefully, a bunch of new anthems. The problem is finding the time to do this. As the band’s profile has increased, the touring has continued. Next week, for instance, they will make their fifth visit to Ireland since their debut album was released.
“We are trying to figure out where the time is going to come from to write,” says Mandagi, with a sigh. “When we wrote Conditions, we weren’t touring at all. We couldn’t even get a gig in Melbourne, so we had all the time in the world to simmer in the studio.
“Now, we are so busy on the road that we are excited to put out something new. But it’s not easy for us to write new songs on the road because we’re not an acoustic band.
“There’s a lot of toys that we use. So, ideally, a studio works best. There’s pressure to keep touring but there’s also pressure to write new material. It’s a bit of a juggling act.”
