Xavier Rudd

Personal life and inspiration

Xavier Rudd grew up in Jan Juc, near Torquay, Victoria. He attended St Joseph's College, Geelong. His maternal grandfather was Dutch, born in Tilburg, a town in the Netherlands, before migrating to Australia. One of his grandmothers was from an Irish potato-growing family and grew up in Colac, Victoria. His father was born with Aboriginal, Irish and Scottish heritage, and Rudd has Wurundjeri background, one of his great grandmothers was an Aboriginal Australian, and her child (Rudd's paternal grandmother) was taken away from her.

Rudd showed a keen interest in music growing up. While primary school-aged, Rudd used his mother's vacuum cleaner as a makeshift didgeridoo and he began playing his brother's guitar. His brother can still play guitar, but went on to become an accountant in Orlando, Florida.

Before his solo career he began playing music as part of the band 'Xavier and the Hum'. He drew inspiration from artists such as Leo Kottke, Ben Harper, Natalie Merchant and multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, as well as music from diverse sources, such as Hawaiian and Native American music. His music first took him overseas when he traveled to Whistler, British Columbia—Rudd was in a band and would play each night after a day of snowboarding.

Rudd met Marci Lutken, an artist from Canada, when she was backpacking in Fitzroy in 1999. The two married soon after, and had two sons, Joaquin and Finojet. Rudd obtained Canadian dual citizenship. Black Water the first track on Rudd's 2008 album Dark Shades of Blue is named after one of Lutken-Rudd's paintings. Lutken-Rudd ended her and Rudd's relationship in 2009, and the pair listed their off-grid, solar powered home in Jan Juc for sale.

Rudd was in Canada when the September 11 attacks happened. Rudd felt "spun out" watching the American media coverage, including graphic imagery of the destruction of the World Trade Center. Rudd wrote the song The 12th of September about the day after the attacks. In 2006, discussing the song, Rudd said:

That's what the song's about, the world waiting. All of a sudden there was an attack and there was these people who were equally as toxic that were going to retaliate. No one could really do anything about it. It's about the next day and that's why I called it the 12th of September.

Rudd became a vegetarian after passing Harris Ranch, California's largest factory farm, during a United States tour. Rudd described in an interview with PETA how the experience made him change his diet, saying:

[The animals] stood crammed together on this piece of land. They could hardly move as the area was too small for all those animals. Plus, they'd already eaten or trampled down the grass and all the feces were just left there. They were standing in their own waste and—what I found worse—even had to eat it because the workers didn't offer them anything else. I asked the driver about it and he said, "Well, that's California's biggest beef producer." I could still smell it after we had driven for another 30 kilometers. That was when I knew it was the right choice to go vegetarian.

Rudd was nominated for PETA's annual "World's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity" award in 2007. In 2008, PETA named him sexiest Australian male vegetarian.

In 2007, Rudd partnered with Clif Bar's GreenNotes program to create the "Better People Campaign". The campaign was about expressing gratitude to the people in the world taking steps to make positive change.

In 2011, Rudd underwent emergency back surgery, to repair three herniated disks, bone spurs and nerve damage. Rudd wrote the track Comfortable In My Skin, on his 2012 album Spirit Bird, when he was suffering from major nerve pain before his surgery. In 2015, Rudd cut his north American tour short to have disc replacement and fusion surgery in his lower back, having again experienced chronic pain over several months.

As at June 2015, Rudd was building a house near Byron Bay, which will include a music studio.

Rudd likes to spend time in the Australian bush often, and champions the traditional Aboriginal way of life. Rudd has taken part in several Aboriginal ceremonies. His album Spirit Bird sampled 30 species of Australian birds.

Rudd is outspoken against racism. The song Shame, by Xavier Rudd and the United Nations, released on the album Nanna in 2015, was inspired by conversations about racism surrounding AFL player Adam Goodes. Over some years, and particularly in 2015, Goodes had been repeatedly and loudly booed by opposition fans at most matches, garnering extensive media commentary. Many commentators considered the booing to be unacceptable and motivated by racism. Rudd had previously declared his support for Goodes addressing the AFL Players' Association 2014 Season Launch.

In November 2015, Rudd's song Let Me Be featured in an Australian TV commercial promoting KFC, a large fast food restaurant chain specialising in fried chicken. Many fans took to social media to express their surprise and anger, and to ask for an explanation. His official social media accounts were silent in response to the anger of fans.PETA responded that they hoped that Rudd had not approved the use of his music for the advertising.

Rudd is a keen surfer, and says at times surfing inspires his music.

Activism

In February 2009, Rudd performed at a public rally in opposition to residential development in Torquay.

Rudd received the 'Rock the Boat Award' in 2009 for his support of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Rudd is friends with Canadian environmentalist Paul Watson, who founded Sea Shepherd. In January 2010, Rudd was one of the last passengers aboard Sea Shepherd ship Ady Gil, days before it sunk after a collision with the MV Shonan Maru 2 Japanese whaling security vessel in early 2010.

In 2012, Rudd was outspoken against Colin Barnett's plan to open up the Kimberley to mining operations. He joined the Save the Kimberley movement to save James Price Point.

In 2014, Rudd performed at the Bentley anti-gas blockade campsite, in support of the Lock the Gate Alliance. He had previously travelled to the Doubtful Creek coal-seam gas test drilling site in February 2013 to voice his concerns about the gas drilling, saying "our government is hopeless ruthless and toxic in terms of protecting our land." The protestor's actions at the Bentley Blockade, where they blocked the delivery of oil and gas drilling equipment for weeks, led the New South Wales Government to suspend Metgasco’s drilling license.

Music

Rudd performs as a one-man band, surrounded by instruments in a complicated array. Typically, he has three didgeridoos placed in front of him on a stand, a guitar on his lap, a stompbox by his habitually bare feet, and an assortment of drums, harmonicas & bells near at hand, or near at foot as the case may be. Several of Rudd's songs incorporate socially conscious themes, such as spirituality, humanity, environmentalism and the rights of Aboriginal peoples. His songs include stories of the mistreatment of the indigenous people of his homeland. Rudd has included both Australian and Canadian Aboriginal vocals in some of his songs. He plays the didgeridoo in many of his songs.

Live performances

Rudd has become a known name at music festivals worldwide including the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the High Sierra (2004 & 2007) and Wakarusa (2005), moe.down (2003), Summer Sonic, Lowlands, Rock Werchter among others. As his popularity continued to grow, he received many opportunities to perform on tour with artists including Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, Good Old War, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Instruments Rudd plays

Live albums