ARIA award winner Josh Pyke makes a pit stop in Canberra on his To Find Happiness regional tour at The Jetty on Saturday 12 November. CW spoke to Pyke before he hit the road.
You’re heading out on a regional tour. Why are you hitting the smaller towns?
Every time I do a record, I do a capital cities tour and hit the far-flung places. I really believe in taking your music to the people, not expecting them to travel to capital cities. Obviously, the last few years has made it a bit more difficult.
The new album is titled To Find Happiness. What is happiness to you?
It’s fleeting, to be honest. It’s a false and potentially damaging kind of plan to be happy all the time and to teach people to be happy all the time. You have to search for those fleeting moments. To be happy and then to be content with what I have, what I’ve done, and who I am around.
I don’t think it is realistic for anybody to have that constantly. It’s about a search for that, not expecting to have that all the time.
You’ve also released your 7th children’s book, The Bewilderbeast. How do you find the process differs between writing books and songs?
It can be difficult; it is more the actually promoting both sides of my career, they are different beasts. I will find myself signing books for three-year-olds then a couple of days later I’ll find myself at a festival.
With songs, I’m waiting around for lightning to strike then I will pick up a strategically placed guitar around the house. Some days I will come up with something, most I won’t.
Books, it’s about knuckling down and doing the work. I reverse engineer the idea down to the editing and then chip away at it, a much more academic process.
Do you have a favourite song to perform?
Middle of the Hill, people know all the words to, it is really magical. It is one of those moments of pure joy and fleeting happiness.
Any advice for those trying to find happiness?
Just follow your joy, whatever that is; don’t buy into other people’s idea of happiness. Just make the time to find it and don’t expect it is going to be a constant state of being.
Hear Josh Pyke in his To Find Happiness regional tour at The Jetty, Saturday 12 November from 4pm; tickets.oztix.com.au
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