Adam Page Newsletter Interview

 

What can we expect to see from you over the next year?

I will have a presence at a stack of the big festivals in NZ over the next year (can’t tell ya which ones yet!!) both with my solo show and also with a new duo I’m putting together with NZ drummer Riki Gooch (ex TrinityRoots, Fat Freddy’s Drop etc) called ‘Band of Thousands’. You’ll also see me collaborating with some of your amazing musical minds over here.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Don’t give up! It’s a hard, hard industry at the moment with so much disposable music at the publics finger tips. If you have a concept you are proud of, just keep hammering at it. The concept of ‘making it’ in the music industry has certainly changed to a more media based, image specific idea, but as long as you are staying true to your music and are happy it doesn’t matter if you’re on TV or not! Also, set up a bandcamp site or something similar… this is a great way of sharing your music AND SELLING IT to the world without the stress of printing CDs etc etc… although I do enjoy making a physical CD, a lot!

Who are your favourite NZ musicians/bands, and why?

Riki Gooch, coz he’s my home boy! Mara TK, what a voice, what a vision. Little Bushman, classic psychadelic jams. Julien Dyne, again, what a vision. The Troubles, a classic Sunday night raucous jazz hang at Happy in Wellington, love those peeps.

What will your next release be?

An EP of Band of Thousands with Riki Gooch… and also an EP called ‘Whip my Beard’… all songs played and recorded with my Beard alone, seriously!

Who would you most like to support live?

Anybody who’s out there doing their own thing. I think it’s really important to give anyone ya big ups if they are being creative and individual.

How do you believe you fits into the NZ music industry?

Well, moving from Australia recently I am just skimming at the top of this immense Kiwi musical lake… I plan on purchasing a deep water suit soon and plunging into the deepest, most murkiest of the waters though!!

What can you never leave home without?

My legs.

How do you describe your music?

Doo bee doo, bah pow, bap bap kazing, blam blam yap!!

What is your favourite NZ venue?

I’m a big fan of Downstage Theatre in Wellington. I have presented some of the best shows of my life there. The staff treat you like a rock star too, which is an added bonus! Love the place

What is the best part of being a musician?

It is the profession with the most amount of truth involved. You can be in complete control of your pathways, you just need confidence in your art… Musos are also the greatest peeps to party with!!

What is in your CD collection at home?

One minute i’ll be listening to John Coltrane, the next J Dilla. Or I’ll be digging on some old Burning Spear record and then decide to listen to some Van Halen. It’s like the great jazz composer Duke Ellington once said… “There’s two kinds of music, good and bad. You decide”.

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

In my solo show I often choose a member of the audiences name to make a loop out of with my pedals. I was on tour in Australia recently and a girl called out her name, Sophie Corfaiz… I thought she said Sophie Whoreface… and off I went. I was mortified when the venue manager told me her real name at the end of the show!!

What is your favourite place in NZ to be?

Right here, talking to you.

What inspired you to become a musician?

My grades in all of my other subjects.

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

There are 2 actually, within 3 weeks of each other. The first was premiering a piece for solo sax and loop pedals co-written with NZ composer great John Psathas at Downstage Theatre in Feb this year. It was a very emotional journey on stage and quite a difficult piece to execute. I had a 3 minute or so applause at the end and then broke down in tears backstage. It was pretty intense. The second best gig was being featured at WOMADelaide this year. There was nothing quite like playing to thousands of your home crowd. It was a beautiful day, I was on a beautiful stage… it was just the most beautiful experience.

How do you keep in contact with your fans?

I wait at the bar.

What rumour would you like to start about yourself?

I’m a bearded lady.