For close to four decades, Graney has been a subversive figure in the underworld of Australian music. While other figures have loomed large over this country's musical landscape for as long as he has, Graney has lingered in the shadows - watching, chuckling to himself, probably smoking a joint all the while.

His new book 1001 Australian Nights is an unothordox look at the scene that Graney has been a part of since his first band The Moodists made in impact in Melbourne in the early '80s. It's so unorthodox that "The Moodists" don't even get mentioned by name - it's simply referred to as "the band" or "the collective" - and his memorable acceptance of the ARIA award for Best Male Artist in 1996 where he declared himself "The King of Pop" whizzes by in a couple of paragraphs.

"It's not written in a linear style," Graney agreed.

"I found a book company (Affirm Press) that took the book for what it was. They didn't ask for more rock'n'roll, sex and drugs stuff.

"I've always been an underworld, underground artist, not driven by business or celebrity. I'm driven by occult knowledge and the power of music. I didn't want to talk about what was above the ground. I wasn't there.

"I had an idea that if someone didn't know anything (about me) they could engage with the story, so it was written more with that in mind. I haven't really been that big of a cultural force that I have to explain myself very laterally or in a linear way."

The memoir is divided into two sections. The first flows with a mixture of beat-like quasi-poetry and hard-boiled pulp fiction observations as Graney leaves his Mt Gambier home and heads off into the great unkown, while the second documents with refreshing honesty the drudgery and excitement of latter-career touring while casting a unique eye over the Australian landscape and its people along the way.

"The first part is kind of innocence... setting off and driving into the future and engaging in a world," Graney said.

"The second part is more experience, having been a musician for several decades."

Of leaving out such details as the name of his first band or any indicator of years or dates in the first half, Graney said he was trying to capture "a mythic style".

"That scene and the people in it were very mythological. That's how we thought of ourselves. We were talking about our beginnings... bands like Radio Birdman and The Saints and The Go-Betweens... all endlessly talking about our mythology and (The Moodists) were a big part of that. Like giant characters in a dream.

"I also wanted to write a book from the point of view of an insider. I didn't want to be explaining everything and flattening it out or putting too much light on it. I like reading about worlds we're you only see a little way into it. I enjoy just getting a whiff of a bigger story. I wanted to make it exciting and unknowable."

Graney has always been regarded as one of Australia's more literate and thoughtful, if misunderstood, songwriters - a raconteur and a provocateur, a story-teller and a bullshit artist, an eccentric mix of campy cabaret and insightful performance poet.

If nothing else, 1001 Australian Nights is starting to get Graney's immense back catalogue re-evaluated.

"I'm pleased it's had a good reception and made people approach my music in a different way," he said.

"In some ways I was writing the book because I've never done interviews about music things, like I'm never asked about what I'm writing about... (and) I'm talking about the straight-laced (media) people here."

To celebrate, Graney and his band The Lurid Yellow Mist have re-recorded many of his hits and near-misses for a new disc titled Rock'n'Roll Is Where I Hide, which is being backed with a wide-reaching national tour that mixes a rock show with book readings and CD launches.

The band comes to Warrnambool tomorrow night, returning to The Loft where he "played to a room of people who had a cool time" on a solo visit a few years ago, according to his memoir.

"We're looking forward (to playing in Warrnambool). This is a different kind of show we're putting on - I've done the acoustic one there, and I've also done one with the vibes. But we're coming with the band this time. We're gonna do a rock show.

"It goes with the CD. The new disc is really featuring our band. Over the last 10-15 years I've wanted to have a go at making a record that sounds like our band when people come to see us.

"Some records have been studio-based thing or are based around certain sounds and we haven't worried about being able to reproduce it live.

"So this is like our third debut album. You do your first album and everyone knows what they're doing and they've been playing the songs for a year or two years or more and then you go into the studio and it rolls onto the tape really smoothly. With this album, everyone knew the stuff so well it was a real joy to go into the studio and stand in a circle and play, with (not many) overdubs or edits."