ADAM PAVITT

There are many things to be thankful for in our lives. If we look around we are surrounded by amazing people. The smiles of a neighbour, the greetings of a shop keeper or a nod from someone walking their rabbit. All small gestures and yet the human connection is strong and far-reaching. I went through a phase where I wanted to say hello to the first person that I encountered when I left my front door even if they were looking away. It lasted a while and I got a pretty good strike rate of smiles.
It’s really important to remind yourself of how lucky you are. For starters being alive is a gift. Throughout the struggle that is life, there are people who look out for us and nurture us. We all have parents, family, teachers, best friends and even helpful strangers to surprise us every day. We are enriching the world by accepting these gifts of social interaction….as they are….natural. We need to hold onto our dreams and create the best reality that we can.
No matter how lonely you may feel at times, there is a chance that the next person you see could change your day for the better. That is the magic of sharing this life that we must hold onto.
Naomi Jones had a nice idea to put some spoken word into ‘Hold on”as a feature. It gives the second verse a sense of sincerity that I think works well. Naomi has a great voice and a real talent for harmonies. We had a jam with good old Garage Band and Naomi just layered up harmony after harmony with ease.
Hold on was written at a very difficult time for me when I left Sydney after trying uni for while. I though it was something that I really wanted to do, but then felt lost amongst it all. Feeling low after not sticking at University and the shock of moving from a small town to Australia’s biggest city stuck with me. The failure to adapt to a new life was a big disappointment for me at the time. I ended up working in a factory by day and a supermarket by night. Luckily for me there were friends and family around to pick up the pieces when I pulled the pin and moved away. Over the years I now feel I have fallen into jobs that I enjoy doing and now that really makes me happy. To get to that though I had to have a year of surfing every day and a year of charity collecting. Shifting my focus from my perceived failure was the right thing to do. I connected with some friends and even got to live with my sister for a year.
Next thing I know the call had come “let’s go to Melbourne and start a band”. So I grabbed my two guitars, two bags and a poncho to keep warm and it was onto a train bound for Melbs. My rough patch had shifted and I was on the right track again. Life throws all sorts of stuff at you. You just have to hold onto what you’ve got and treasure the lot. Life is a gift here to live…here to give.