The You Am I frontman and prolific songwriter has two records in the works.

One is an album with his “own band” and the other a full-length album with The Bamboos.

There is also a written You Am I record waiting to be released.

Ahead of his upcoming Maitland and Dungog performances, Rogers is working across both projects.

“I’m driving from a studio in Western Victoria trying to make it to another studio,” Rogers says from his vehicle.

“I’m just making a couple of records at the moment. It’s an incredibly ‘versive’ time, if versive is a word... and appropriate.”

Versive isn’t a word, but given that Rogers’ music is indelibly inked on Australian culture, it makes sense that he also contribute to our vernacular.

When pressed on how his next collaboration with The Bamboos is progressing, he gushes – which is a good sign, because the release will draw plenty of expectation.

When Tim Rogers last teamed up with The Bamboos, their single I Got Burned was voted to number 54 on 2012’s Hottest 100 list.

“I’m having so much fun,” Rogers says.

“Lance, who I guess is The Bamboos really, I was a big fan of.

“Then I met him through Megan [Washington] and I just really liked him.

“How I make judgements these days, as far as working with other people, is just if I like them personally.

“Lance sent me a bunch of music for songs and said see if you can hear melodies and lyrics.

“Even though our musical education was different, we’re finding all these points where our musical tastes cross.

“[The album] is a mix between the Jackson 5 and Eric Burdon’s War.

“We’re trying to avoid too many obvious reference points and when you do that you often come up with something that you ­didn’t envisage, and that’s happening every couple of hours with us, so I’m having a ball with it.”

Before I have the chance to ask the ­obvious question – is there another You Am I record in the works? – Rogers confirms there is.

“I get asked if we’re going to make another record and we have another record ready to go,” he reveals.

“But with our personal lives, particularly Rusty [Hopkinson, 

drummer] who is so busy, and Davey’s [Lane, guitarist] album coming out, and Andy [Kent, bassist] with his work in music, I think we just want to make sure that we preserve our relationship rather than rush anything that might challenge that.

“That’s the love of brothers, wanting their happiness more than [the desire] to make a record so you can go out on tour and drink again.

“When we’re all in the same town we’ll meet up with the intent of talking about the band.

“We talk about the band for two minutes then we talk about the world for the next three days and wake up somewhere where you didn’t think you would.

“I’ve always thought that’s what being in a band is all about, like being in a gang.

“I’ve been in the best gang I know and still am.

“It brings a lot of joy, so I can come into making records with The Bamboos or doing stuff with Baby [et Lulu] with a lot of joy because I know how fun it can be.”

You Am I’s self-titled 2010 record, released through independent label Other Tongues, expanded their sound and took their songwriting to new heights.

Rogers explains that he allowed the band to take control of the songwriting on their yet-to-be released record.

“I’m writing a lot less on it because those guys are smarter than me,” Rogers says of his You Am I brethren. 

“It’s a bit of an anomaly that for nine or 10 records I’ve written everything.

“Everyone’s come back to me with stuff that’s really exciting.

“I’ll maybe do most of the lyric writing but then Rusty’s a fantastic lyricist.

“It’s going to be interesting – I envisage it being more aggressive than anything we’ve done in a long while.

“Davey just seems to be freefalling into a maelstrom of eccentric chord progressions and rhythms.

“So we’re going to have to fight it out, I think.

“It could make for some interesting music.”

Rogers is hoping to have songs from his upcoming solo record ready to perform at his headline show at the Dungog Festival next Friday.

“If I don’t have the songs ready, there’s a lot of records and songs and covers to pick from,” he says.

“I did a show the other night in Perth and on the morning of the show I had no idea what I was going to do.

“I did the pathetic thing of trawling through my own back catalogue to see what I wanted to play.

“To my joy I found a pretty healthy list of songs I’d been involved in.

“It was unexpected and joyous.

“So I try to mix it up every night, but if you hit upon a bunch of songs that you like then you want to experience that feeling again.

“[The Dungog setlist] will be all over the place.

“Hopefully I’ll have a clear mind and be vaguely in tune.”

Rogers says there is no particular part of his back catalogue that he is drawn to perform over others, but he does find special significance in his oldest songs.

“Playing things from a long while back is particularly satisfying for me,” he says.

“Those songs ruminate while you’re singing them, as I remember what the f*** I was thinking when I was 22 or 23.

“I have these odd little existential moments with myself.

“It’s like therapy without the cost.”

Tim Rogers will perform a sold-out solo show at the Grand Junction Hotel on Thursday, August 28.

Tickets remain to the special Dungog Festival performance on Friday, August 29 at 9pm at the Settlers Arms Hotel.

The Maitland Mercury has two double passes to the Dungog performance to give away.

For your chance to win simply fill out the coupon in today's Mercury and return it to our office by noon on Wednesday.