Australian music's Mr. Nice Guy, JOSH PYKE, is preparing a set for one of the headlining positions at Stonefest, one of Australia's most loved music festivals. Soon after Pyke will be embarking on his own Variations Tour, on which he will be performing tracks from his second LP, Chimney's Afire, the success of which saw his fanbase grow rapidly.
Pyke's recent collaboration with Chris Cheney, Phil Jamieson and Tim Rogers for the 40th anniversary tour of The Beatles' The White Album allowed him to "witness and pick up tips from more seasoned performers" than himself, among whom in the first rehearsals Pyke felt like "a school kid." While Pyke doesn't believe the tour will change the way he writes, he still thinks of it as a great experience as one of his biggest influences was already, and always has been, The Beatles. Pyke also feels extremely privileged to be able to work alongside previously idolised artists. "I've been aware of and a fan of their music since I was a kid, so to collaborate with these guys and get to know them on a personal level is a real honour for me."
Collaboration, whether writing or performing covers together, is something Pyke is very fond of. He thinks of it as a great way to engage with people who have the same love and passion, in this case for music. He finds the whole concept highly inspirational. At the end of the tour Pyke and his fellow collaborators got matching black bird tattoos to represent the time that they had spent together. Behaviour-wise, this was about "as rock 'n' roll as [they] went".
The recent changes to Stonefest might see Pyke "going out and getting some of those glow tubes and having some strobe lights off his guitar" in order to connect the ravers to the new format as the Friday night of the festival, which has been somewhat of a rave event, has been cancelled, leaving just the Saturday of rock and alternative music.
Pyke's upcoming Variations tour means more new material as he, like so many others, is a big fan of writing on the road. About 80% of Pyke's work has been written whilst on tour as he finds, when he is at home, that he "gets caught up in normal and domestic life," and "doesn't really have the angst" that he has while on the road. "When I'm on the road I'm always missing home, always tired, always excited or nervous about a show," he says. Pyke also reads a lot on the road and therefore there is always "stuff going on in [his] head that [he's] thinking about". This, combined with the loneliness, stress, excitement and the amount of downtime while on tour, provides for more convincing song writing for Pyke in comparison to writing at home.
Following the Variations Tour, Pyke will be gearing up to play some of the summer music festivals and also has "written a bunch of songs" and wants to start refining them and do some rough demos in preparation for a third LP which he "wants to do overseas and have that whole experience."
Be sure to catch Josh Pyke and his glow tubes at Stonefest on Saturday October 31 at the University of Canberra. Tickets through Ticketek.
