ADAM PAVITT

It seems strange to finally have a recording of Walkaway….. If I counted up all the times that I have played this song in the last thirteen years…..well it would be alot! The song has been a staple in my set for as long as i have been performing. Walkaway is a song that goes back to the early days of my songwriting. The chord structure was formed way back in 1994 when I was playing alot of guitar with my uncle Mark Robberds as a teenager. I remember one jam session with my uncle Mark and his good buddy Jeremy Betts where I may have formed my first band called Rambshackle. The jam session inspired us to form a band after hearing the recording back. A rambunctious “rambshackle” was proclaimed as the last phrase before the tape clicked.
As the song developed over the years the lyrics began to develop a tragic love story. The underlying theme to this story people’s attachment to different types of drugs. I have had my struggles with drugs and have lost friends to them. So many people seem to love to hate using them. They wake up in the morning vowing to never drink again, only to start all over again at the next party. The youth are told “don’t do drugs”, and yet so many famous people glorify their use. Kids are told not to do drugs, but then hear of their parent’s drug experiments. Or they are told by their parents “do as i say, not as i do” when it comes to drugs. Eventually it comes down to personal choice, however, the toll is shown in the tattered lives of the addicted. The love affair can not go on forever. Drug addiction is mentally and physically draining.
What about legal drugs? Alcohol, cigarettes, caffeinated products and prescription drugs are all sanctioned and taxed by our government. It seems society can accept some drug use and makes illegal others. People can be addicted to so many things TV, food, sex, sugar rushes, adrenaline, shopping, gambling, internet, excercise, stealing…..the list goes on. Somehow finding a balance in this world is the key. So many addictive things are used by businesses to turn the cogs of the economy, and we will always be faced with these activities that give a short term endorphin rush. How you treat that rush is the important thing as it is all too easy to follow the rush into addiction. The patterns can be all too consuming. The rush or thrill is often followed by guilt and/or self-loathing. The vicious cycles can be broken and there is always help if you ask for it.
I feel we should should all strive for a balanced life. One of contentment where choices are made based on the hope of a positive outcome, not one where the choice will lead to that same old place….regret.
The outro of Walkaway is probably my favorite part. I am happy how the layered vocals turned out. There are two parts that i have sung in a solo capacity for so long, and to hear them layered up was a treat. The harmonies are also beautiful. In your mind you are hoping that the parts will layer up, and then when they do it’s like clockwork.
Rocky Rivers added some smooth fretless bass, which upon reflection I probably would have mixed up up higher in the mix. There is also cool guitar line that sits alongside the bass that has a nice tremolo effect. Josh Morshed played drums after the track had been laid down and that is the last time I will do that. He did really well, it is just such a hard thing to do! Feeling the groove of a song after it has been laid down is a mission. I am really happy to have this song recorded after all these years. I think it sits well near the end of the album, as there is a mellow vibe on the song and a long fade.

Tags: Album, Seasons Will Pass

I once read a sticker when I was young that had a strong impact on me. The message was clear ‘disarm or peace will come in a flash’. It really is quite frightening to think that we as humans have the means to destroy ourselves at the push of a button. The advancement of the human race has seen some sinister twists.
We stand on Aboriginal land and so much has changed in just over two hundred years. Over ninety percent of the forests have been decimated and the land is divided up into salable lots. The indigenous people of Australia join others around the world caught in the turmoil of rapid change. We are trying to move forward together and yet so much has been lost. For a young country (from a European perspective) we have a shocking record. There are entire peoples, a generation of children, languages lost and even the Victoria Market stands on an Aboriginal burial ground. Aboriginal people now account for 1% of the population. These are people who have fought for survival and equality in their own land. We even allowed the British in the 1950’s to test nuclear bombs on Aboriginal traditional lands (around Maralinga S.A). These tests resulted in the local people being exposed to dangerous radiation, with some of the area being contaminated for and estimated quarter of a million years!
Ashes attempts to look at what it would be like to see your world turned upside down and divided up to create wealth for those who have stolen it. It is crazy to think about the massive imbalance of inherited wealth that has gone to people of a European background while Aboriginal people were only just getting the right to vote in the late 1960’s. Even the name of one of our states, Queensland hasn’t changed it’s name to accompany the official apology from our Prime minister…how about a state called Aboriginal-land? Some things change quickly and others change at a snail’s pace.
Traditional stories about the Ancestors in the starry night sky must be hard to tell in the cities, as the Milkyway seems to resemble a milky grey. For such a young country (from a European perspective) we have a shocking environmental record. We need to look at reforestation and a re-injection of organic minerals into the soil. The connection to our indigenous traditional owners and caretakers must be acknowledged and embraced. For too long the forests and arable land have been exploited. In a global sense we must look at look to the ancient wisdom and look after Mother Earth.
There is a very fine balance balance between humankind and nature. We stand poised to either destroy ourselves militarily and environmentally, or throw off all harmful practices. Organisations like the United Nations, Red Cross and Oxfam are working day and night to bring about equality and peace. There is hope for future generations and our own as we increasingly insist on leaving a legacy of positive change. We are beginning to expect those we support to represent this ethos of change and in our everyday lives. We look to those that represent us to act on our behalf, rather than just pay lip service to promises and that is important.
Ashes has some nice tribal vocals that drift over the last sections of the song. My friends and I enjoy having a tribal ‘hey yar’ as we call it, where we can explore our voices in a nonsense syllable sing/shout along. My friend Cameron Spike-Porter could feel a shuffling reggae vibe and so he added some acoustic over-dubs. For me the reggae helps the song reference the type of vibes that Bob Marley had in songs like ‘Get Up Stand Up’. A song where change is asked for from people. I was at a festival a few years ago and got to meet one of the original members of the Wailers (Bob Marley’s Backing band). In a conversation we had, I was told that Bob used to say that when you are singing you must sing as if you are in mourning, wailing and every part of your being needs to be released. Sometimes in ‘Ashes’ I feel as if my heart may break as i call for us to “bring in peace”. Recently while playing Ashes live a spoken word section has found it’s way into the song
that ties in with the themes expressed, it goes like this “Water, food, shelter, love. Family, good friend, keep you thinking of, All those who do not have enough, and we are sending it out in the hope that it does, remove some of these brutal border lines, all the fear and ignorance and greed that divides, maybe then we wouldn’t have to rely, on all the politician’s lies”.

Tags: Album, Seasons Will Pass

Steal Words is an optimistic song about finding what you are meant to be doing. I am at my happiest when i am doing something i love. We should all try to follow our dreams. Find what it is that makes us tick and just go for it!
So many people are doing something they hate for a living and complain that they are too scared to try something new. Why not try and repalce what you are “just doing” piece by piece with the things that you were “born to do”. A great many secret desires to be more creative are swept aside. When we are young we are told that we are great dancers, great singers, great painters and actors. Then as we grow our performances get judged more harshly, until our creative talents are often snuffed out all together. The once prolific creative soul becomes someone who “cannot dance, draw,sing in key or write a story”. Society has crushed the idea that art is ok in whatever form it takes. The individual must be allowed the freedom to express without the commentary stating “trees are green, not red”, or “your fingers are too short to be a pianist”. All the criticism can cripple the inner artist. If you are an artist say it loud and proud. The world would be alot more beautiful if there were more of us.
The fear is the problem. With talent shows pulling people up for a few out of key notes or attacking their song choices, what hope do we have for new or interesting sounds to develop? So much safe and re-hashed music saturates the airways. This is often because the taste-makers have never sung a note onstage. They are interested in what sells or what can be repackaged and sold again.
So many teachers crush creativity because their art has been stifled. It is a vicious cycle and yet there is hope. It makes people happy when they express themselves. Often the urge to create is so strong that nothing or no-one can hold it back the flowering. The knock backs just make the artist push harder and eventually they are surviving..and then thriving off their art.
Music is a great connection between people. Young, old, female, male, rich, poor- music is a global unifying force. I have made it my business to take my guitar to work now for the last few years. I run music groups for people with a disability and have seen some amazing things in the process. Music brings us out of our shell. It taps into some thing deep in the psyche. I have seen someone ‘walk like an Egyptian who could barely walk at all. I have heard people sing who barely ever speak. All this has come from sharing music together. Every day i am thankful that music is such a big part of my life.
I have struggled with confidence and technique and i am constantly trying to improve. I have learned to relax in the moment and enjoy the sound of the vibrations.
I did a few demos with an artist known as Ray Right a few years back. He rented a house by himself and had a nice studio. Along with an extensive collection of guitars and bass guitars, he had a lage number of cats. Ray survived off busking, singing and selling hard waste. He introduced me to a book called ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron and convinced me that living your art is a daily practice. Besides great advice Ray also gave me a great companion in my cat ‘Madam Pat The Cat’.
Steal Words has a nice build in the second chorus that lifts into a dreamy crescendo. It reminds me of the amazing feeling that i can get from playing music. when i listen back to this track the moment that springs to mind is from a day at Richmond train station (VIC) when Ray appeared. He told me that he had been standing around the corner out of sight for the last 20mins, as he did not want to interrupt me. When he told me how much he had been enjoying my music and that he wanted to record me i was thrilled! When you feel that your music has truly connected with someone, it is hard to describe the overwhelming positive feeling that it gives you. Steal Words is about just that….You can steal the words to someones song to put on your wall or a t-shirt. you can have your own ideas about what the song means to to you. You can even use it as “our song” for you and your partner……and the artist will most likely be thrilled. The spark of inspiration that made them write the song or even pick up an instrument in the first place, has warmed someone’s heart and the world is a better place for it.

Tags: Album, Seasons Will Pass

Song 8 : ‘Til you’re gone’
This is a song of heartbreak and loss. For me the first time I played this song live was the time that the person it was written about turned up unexpectedly at a gig. Looking out through the crowd, I knew, that she knew the song was about us. I only just made it through the song and I am quite sure she left before I got off stage. It still stands as one of the most difficult songs that I have had to sing, up there with a Wake song that I wrote and performed in honor of for my grandfather. The feeling of being in a room with over sixty people and yet feeling that there were only two. When I realised she had left the gig and was gone, I knew something was gone forever.
It is quite amazing the way we can process emotions through music. One of the first groups of songs i wrote came out of a break up. I vented my hurt and my anger and created some beautiful music from it. I also wrote a song for my grandfather when he passed away, and found that even though i did not know him very well, it made me feel closer to him while documenting some of the few things that i did know.
Music is a healer and i have found this time and time again in the work that i do. I was working for a year with kids who had cancer and often it was a song sung with a puppet that would get them to come out of their shell and interact. Despite being in pain and suffering emotionally, a song could quite often bring a smile. The same results are often found when working with adults with a disability. During the past eight years working with music appreciation groups i have seen some astounding things. I have seen people who can barely walk, independently get up and ‘walk like an Egyptian’ across the floor. I have experienced very shy individuals who completely come out of their shell and sing at the top of their voices. I have also seen the sheer joy that comes from getting people together and enjoying different types of music.
Even a sad song can sometimes remind people of just how precious this life is with all it’s emotional ups and downs.
Adz

Tags: Album, Seasons Will Pass

Loneliness Don’t Pay is a song that is about when someone knows you just about as well as you know yourself. You can try to face things alone, but if there is someone who is looking out for you it makes it all that much easier. My favorite line in the song, “put you heartbeat next to my head and you can stop me frowning now” is all about putting you head on your loved one’s chest and letting your troubles drift away.
The feel of the song is bluesy with a bit of a soul feel for the second half. The song has a bit of a bounce to it and at times only relies on a mainly two string rhythmic strumming pattern. Once Rocky Rivers added his fretless bass line the groove started to fall into place. Cameron Spike-Porter also really added the icing to the cake with some solid slide-guitar licks. What started off as a rather sparse track was buffed out to tap into the raw emotions of the song. The main riff has hints of Diesel’s ‘Right On The Tip of My Tongue’, where as I have always favored playing his song ‘Cryin’ Shame’. So the influences of my youth have come filtering into my songwriting again.
I found a nice riff that has some strange chords that I had not played before and added them as a secondary layer in the second verse. It seems to give that section a nice lift along with the backing vocals. Naomi Jones and Joanna Flemming sang together in the studio for an old-school backing vocals natural vibe. This song was a heap of fun to practice before going in to get the vocals layer up. Jo, Naomi and I would be on the soul train and getting down with some soul claps and plenty of “shoops”.

Tags: Album, Seasons Will Pass