AXLE Whitehead, known for exposing himself at the ARIAs, may be enjoying musical success, but he's still having wardrobe problems. Plus, watch his new video here.
While doing the promotion for debut single I Don't Do Surprises, Whitehead endlessly relived exposing himself on stage during the 2006 ARIA awards.
If the endless discussion of his nether regions began to grate, it was nothing compared to the video shoot for Surprises.
��I had really bad chafe that day,'' Whitehead says. ��I had the wrong jocks on. We tried to do nine locations in one day, it was 40-degree heat, everything went wrong. At least this is a nice, controlled environment.''
We're on the set of Whitehead's second video, Anywhere. It's an insanely cool warehouse apartment in West Melbourne. Whitehead's been here since 5am and he's come prepared.
Click here to see the video of Axle Whitehead's new single, Anywhere
��I have the right underwear on today,'' he notes. ��Never wear big seams on your boxer shorts, they destroy you down there.''
Whitehead's parents have made the trip from Warrnambool to spend the Saturday watching their son in pop-star mode.
��It was interesting watching my father see me with a face full of make-up,'' Whitehead says.
��They've never been part of the process, I guess it's good to see your child doing what they do.
��He doesn't know what goes on behind the scenes. Wait 'til he sees me in drag.''
Director Bart Borghesi (The Living End, the Galavatrons, Eskimo Joe) has filled the warehouse with many props - bicycle wheels on stands, pendulums and gyroscopes.
��Bart heard the song and went �I'm hearing motion','' Whitehead says.
��I love how directors link sounds to visuals and rhythms. So we're playing on the concept of motion, rather than just having some dude chilling in a warehouse.''
The video for I Don't Do Surprises followed Whitehead prowling the streets with a mysterious parcel, with the clip ending before revealing what was inside the box.
Anywhere solves the mystery from the get-go.
��We thought of so many things we could put in there,'' Whitehead says, ��from a wedding invitation from an ex-lover to my grandma's ashes.''
As the video shoot drags on, Whitehead finds himself endlessly singing Anywhere while doing everything from riding a bike indoors to taking a bath - in front of a crew.
He's the opposite of a diva, talking to his mother (who calls him Alex) about opera and hanging with his local friends on the set he hasn't seen since relocating to Sydney last year.
��Videos are still a novelty for me,'' Whitehead says. ��I know people moan about them, and the last video was a 20-hour shoot, but being a country boy you've got to work from sun up to sun down.
��I love working as hard as I possibly can.I've got the easiest job, the crew work far harder than I do. I love the challenge of working hard and not settling for second best.''
It's the same approach Whitehead has taken to his debut album Losing Sleep.
The record was made with Robert Conley, best known for his work with Darren Hayes' solo career.
Anywhere is one of only two songs Whitehead had no creative input on.
��Rob came home from London with this song,'' Whitehead says. ��I had no idea he was doing it, the album was pretty much completed. But I loved it, we had a crack at it, gave it a new arrangement and in two days we had the next single. It came out of left field. As long as I can connect to a song, I don't care who wrote it.
��Rob and I are already planning the next record. We want to go to Africa and India and record some music there and bring it back to make into a pop record.
��This album's eclectic as well, it goes from pop to country to electro, there's something for everyone. We're trying to get it released overseas and see what happens over there.''
After moving into a jazz and funk trio in his post-Australian Idol career, Whitehead has now put together a pop band to showcase Losing Sleep.
��I hadn't played a show for a year and a half and it was like not having sex for a year and a half,'' Whitehead says.
��I've released. I have to be playing live. I feel like a whole musician again.''
More info
