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Carpaccio
When eating at this little Italian restaurant on Norton St, you can't go past its speciality e...
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Old Man River
Old Man River is back on the road with leading lady Claire Bowditch.
Where did the name come from?
It all started a long time ago [laughs]. I had to pick a name and I really wanted to somehow incorporate the symbol of the river, it's something that represents constant flow, constant change and I think it's symbolic, both in the project and in life.
Tell us about your music therapy work.
I started that about two or three years ago and I have to be honest, I'm not a trained music therapist but in a way that's what we do in practice. We just go into different daycare centres, mostly the kind that would have disabilities like autism or Down Syndrome and it's amazing. It's really spontaneous and free-flowing. I call them kids even though some of them are 40. The thing with those guys is that they have no inhibitions whatsoever. So if I invite them one by one to jump on the piano, they'll just do it. So those guys really opened me up.
You're going to record your second album soon. can you give anything away about it?
I'm excited about it. I feel there's an evolution there. I feel it's going to be a better album. I can't really tell you what it's going to be like though because songs can go anywhere. Even after they've been written, after you've been playing it on your acoustic guitar and you go into the studio to record it, it could just go either way. So it's kind of like having a road map and driving on the highway and there's a massive black spot; you don't know where you're going to end up. But that's the creative process.
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You're really big in Italy. Why do you think that is?
I have no idea. It's one of those random things. Especially with La, because we were going to put it on the b-side. I think the reason it was so successful is because that song was direct; it's got an instant vibe.
You used to busk in New York to be able to eat?
New York is an expensive town. I always had a dream of making music in New York and when I first got there I got a bit lost and confused for
a few months before I confronted that dream. So when I first got there I had to do some really shitty jobs just to survive, like telemarketing. Then I think it just struck me what I came there for.
What did you do before you travelled to New York?
I was living in Israel. I just finished my army service for three years. I worked a bit and saved some money and went to New York. The whole cliche of a starving artist - that was me. But I loved it. I played every day and I made this deal with myself that even though it's not a lot, you're going to live from this because this is what you want to do. It really switched something in my consciousness.
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Where did the name come from?
It all started a long time ago [laughs]. I had to pick a name and I really wanted to somehow incorporate the symbol of the river, it's something that represents constant flow, constant change and I think it's symbolic, both in the project and in life.
Tell us about your music therapy work.
I started that about two or three years ago and I have to be honest, I'm not a trained music therapist but in a way that's what we do in practice. We just go into different daycare centres, mostly the kind that would have disabilities like autism or Down Syndrome and it's amazing. It's really spontaneous and free-flowing. I call them kids even though some of them are 40. The thing with those guys is that they have no inhibitions whatsoever. So if I invite them one by one to jump on the piano, they'll just do it. So those guys really opened me up.
You're going to record your second album soon. can you give anything away about it?
I'm excited about it. I feel there's an evolution there. I feel it's going to be a better album. I can't really tell you what it's going to be like though because songs can go anywhere. Even after they've been written, after you've been playing it on your acoustic guitar and you go into the studio to record it, it could just go either way. So it's kind of like having a road map and driving on the highway and there's a massive black spot; you don't know where you're going to end up. But that's the creative process.
read on below advertisement
You're really big in Italy. Why do you think that is?
I have no idea. It's one of those random things. Especially with La, because we were going to put it on the b-side. I think the reason it was so successful is because that song was direct; it's got an instant vibe.
You used to busk in New York to be able to eat?
New York is an expensive town. I always had a dream of making music in New York and when I first got there I got a bit lost and confused for
a few months before I confronted that dream. So when I first got there I had to do some really shitty jobs just to survive, like telemarketing. Then I think it just struck me what I came there for.
What did you do before you travelled to New York?
I was living in Israel. I just finished my army service for three years. I worked a bit and saved some money and went to New York. The whole cliche of a starving artist - that was me. But I loved it. I played every day and I made this deal with myself that even though it's not a lot, you're going to live from this because this is what you want to do. It really switched something in my consciousness.
next page »
