It was a cricket ad, and it was just a bad move and was handled really badly and got out of control. It was a long story, but I had to go into a major surgery at that time and wasn’t really with it. I’ve never had any problems, you mentioned that ad – that was the only time I reckon in my whole career when people got stuck into me. I’ve been so blessed with an amazing career. I’m so thankful for everything that has come of it, I never had too many plans. What goals do you have left for your music career? I feel like I’m lucky to be able to connect with people from good places, doing good things all the time.Īt this point you’ve had a pretty massive career – you’ve been releasing albums for about 16 years and you’ve become a massive name in Australian music.

Good people and good organisations are drawn to my music because it’s of the earth. I don’t find that hard, I think it kind of flows. My values are what they are, and they definitely come into play for sure a lot of what I do is based around caring for the earth and different humanitarian things, that’s kind of the circle that I move in. Because I make my living from live touring, that’s the way I’ve always been, that’s how I live and get by. Is it challenging as an artist, especially as one whose personal views come out a lot in their music, reconciling personal values with making a living, and do you think artists get held to a higher or even an unfair standard compared with businesses? Essentially, it’s about life and the lessons of life and the things that we learn and the things that we grow from.Ī few years ago your song ended up in that KFC add. Life’s a journey, and I feel like music is a bit of a diary in a way, sometimes it’s behind you and sometimes it’s ahead of you. I also don’t plan my song-writing, it just comes to me, and I don’t push it, so I’ve never had a period where I felt like I’ve had writer’s block. Thirty years later, I’m still doing the same thing. I spent a lot of my time outside I liked to be outdoors and not contained so a lot of my music I wrote on my own, with my dog out around Bells and Anglesea area, out in the bush there. Just life man, I’ve always written music, ever since I was little, I was always singing songs about what was happening around me. In general, what inspires you to write music? We just made a really nice record with a bunch of really great musicians and good people, and did it in my house too, which was pretty special. I’d worked with producer-type people before but no one had really inspired me too much, I sort of ended up producing my own stuff, but this guy Chris Bond was awesome.

I worked with a producer on this album which I never really had done. There were similarities but also differences. How did you feel going into it, and has your process changed much since your earlier records?Įvery time you record, you learn different things than the one before. Last year you put out your first solo album in six years. I haven’t seen her play live yet, but her music is really cool. Yothu Yindi are one of the most important bands in Australian history and to have them down on the Surf Coast is really special, and Sampa the Great is amazing. Playing back in my home where I grew up is extra special though, it’s gonna be beautiful. It’s rare these days that I get to play very much in Australia, I’m always overseas, and when I’m home it’s time off. What’s it like getting to play back in your home region? So, you’ve got the Summersalt Festival in mid-March. We caught Xavier on the phone recently, as he was watering his plants and preparing for a surf, to have a chat about the event. In the last sixteen years, he has become renowned for his relaxed blend of folk, blues and reggae the world over, and on March 16, the man is returning to his home-region to headline Summersalt, a huge event at Leura Park Estate along side other Australian legends Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project, Sampa The Great, and Tay Oskee. I’d say Torquay’s second biggest export, trailing closely behind Ripcurl, would have to be Xavier Rudd.

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