Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother, the Australian rock band, is in Sydney when we finally get a chance to speak to him over the telephone. “I’m trying to get my visa and after that, I can’t wait to come to India,” laughs the lead vocalist and drummer.

(L to R) Ian Peres, Andrew Stockdale and Vin Steele

Stockdale and the other two band members, Ian Peres and Vin Steele, will perform at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai and Delhi on March 5 and 7 respectively for the ‘Micromax VH1 Rock Rules features Wolfmother’ tour. It’s the band’s first visit to the country and Stockdale says he’s looking forward to visiting the Taj Mahal.

“And you’re welcome to show us around when we’re in Mumbai,” he guffaws. Stockdale also wants to listen to some good Indian music. “Is there some band called Ocean?” he asks us, and when we tell him there is one called ‘Indian Ocean’, he says, “Yeah, they are good.”

The Grammy award-winning band plans to play a mix of some of their old and new numbers. With songs such as Woman (that won them the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006), Mind’s eye, Joker & The Thief, White Unicorn and Dimension, the band has come a long way since 2000. A number of changes in the line-up later (Stockdale started the band along with Chriss Ross and Myles Heskett, who later left the band), the musician believes this it has all been for the best. “The new line-up is the best Wolfmother has ever sounded. We’ve got the groove, the swing and the mojo back,” says Stockdale.

When we ask Stockdale about the USP of the band, he says, “Firstly, our strength is in the groove. Then you need to have great lyrics. It’s a combination of all these things,” he adds. According to the musician, anybody can hold a guitar or play the drums but it depends on the artiste’s personal expression and the person listening to it.

“You have to be able to entertain people and the listener has to be able to relate to the song, whether he’s in Paris, LA or Mumbai,” he says. Giving an example of Joker & The Thief, Stockdale says he wrote it nearly 10 years ago. “But I see that song playing everywhere. I’m just a guy who got lucky writing it,” he concludes with a smile.