Through rain and local flooding I headed off to Brisbane tonight to go to an interview and book signing with well loved singer songwriter Paul Kelly. His new book How to make Gravy is an unusual mix of biography, creative insights and Australian stories. I recommend it for a good solid read. In the book Paul includes some of his songs such as If I Could Only Start Again, and Careless, amongst others. During the interview he told of how the songs came about, and then promptly jumped up and sang a few of them to us. We were all spellbound especially when he sang From Little Things Big Things Grow with a guest singer, Kev Carmody.
Before the show I was talking to a stranger seated beside me, as you do sometimes, and we discussed how Paul Kelly worked his way to the acclaim he has now. He didn’t shy away from the harder gigs, and the persistent grind of entertaining in bars and clubs. I recalled an interview Paul had on prime television with Andrew Denton some years ago. Ever the professional musician, with a long history of achievements, he came across as very humble and full of humanity. For that very reason I love to watch musicians play as they inspire my own creativity. They manage to achieve mostly through the strength of practice, and persistence, yet it is very obvious they love what they do.
Here is a photo of Paul Kelly signing my copy of his new book. I do look like I was having a great time, the cat that got the canary even ?
