A Conversation with Paul Kelly – HuffPost 9.16.11

Mike Ragogna: Paul, how are you?

Paul Kelly: I’m doing well, sir. Thanks.

MR: Paul, you are a well known and highly respected songwriter all over the world, but not necessarily in the United States. What are your thoughts about your music having been somewhat elusive to American audiences?

PK: That’s unfortunately out of my hands, you know? I’ve been writing since I was 21 and I knew then that I was never really going to have a career. I actually started playing music to avoid having a career, so I don’t really make plans like that. Once you write them and record them, it’s sort of out of your hands. After that, it’s not up to you.

MR: Is the perception true that there’s a strong camaraderie between musical acts that come out of Australia?

PK: I’m from Melbourne and we have a really strong musical community there. There’s always been a sort of great cross-pollination between bands because I play with a band and I’ve also got a squad of musicians I play with. So, I think there is a sort of support for each other. We also come from a small country, so when we run into each other outside of Australia we’re always pretty happy to see each other, you know?

MR: Yeah. So, what goes into your creative process when writing a song?

PK: It’s like I’m doodling, really. I’ll come up with something and play it on my guitar, then I’ll add some sounds to that. From there, I’ll just go on and add some words to the sounds. It’s sort of like a kid playing with paints, you know? Just playing with things until it all comes together.

MR: Do you ever find yourself getting randomly inspired and drop what you’re doing to write?

PK: Well, sometimes, you hear or say something that you realize could be good in a song and if I get a chance, I usually write it down. I try to carry a pen and paper with me, but I don’t always have it. (laughs) But as far as writing songs, I think you just have to make time for it. When you’ve got some days free, you don’t answer the phone or the doorbell, and just stick to it. Maybe nothing will happen for a few days, but if you’re lucky, you’ll create a song. But, you do find those little scraps along the way that you can sort of look at later on.

MR: Your Songs From The South – Greatest Hits album chronicles your music from 1985 through 2008. Do you have any favorites from these tracks?

PK: Look, when it comes to that question, I just refer to Duke Ellington because once, when I asked him what his favorite song of his was, he said, “The one I’m working on.” What’s good enough for the Duke is good enough for me. (laughs)

MR: Very nice. Speaking of working on songs, are you working on anything new right now?

PK: Yes, actually. We flew in, for some reason, on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attack and we started in Chicago on September 12th. It’s a shorter two week tour, and we’ll be spending two nights in Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York, then we’re heading back home. The shows that we’ll be doing will be a sort of short version of the “A to Z” shows — over each of the two nights in each city, I’ll be doing a total of 50 songs in alphabetical order starting off with “Adelaide,” which is the name of my hometown.

MR: That’s beautiful. Musically, do you find that the show still works well going from “A to Z” like that?

PK: You know, it actually does. I mean, you can’t really do much about the songs and the letters at this point. (laughs) I sometimes slide the letters around, so it’s not always strictly alphabetical, but it is by letter. And I don’t use a lot of chords, so the same chords just keep coming around and around.

MR: (laughs) That’s great. Will you be giving us any glimpses of the book at the shows?

PK: Well, yeah. There’s a bit of story telling at the shows. Most of the stories are the ones that led to the book, so it’s all connected.

MR: Nice. Do you have any advice for newer artists?

PK: Well, I would say never sign a contract without a lawyer.

MR: Very good advice. Was this advice that you had to learn the hard way?

PK: No, nothing really happened in particular. I think it should just be common sense to know that you should have lawyer present when you sign something. I think things are a bit harder these days because of technology. People are able to make their own records without worrying about the cost of a studio, you can get your music out there without having to go through a major record company, you can find like-minded people around the world who are interested in what you do — I think that’s all great. The problem with it being so easy to make records is that everyone is making records. There’s a whole lot of noise out there, so if you want to get noticed, it’s quite a bit harder. I think for the most part things are better now than they were, but they’re still hard.

MR: Indeed. Any last words of wisdom from a great songwriter?

PK: (laughs) Not really. If I knew how to write a song, I’d write one every day. Songwriting is likeplaying an instrument, you’ve got to tune up every day. And you don’t always catch the fish. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) Nice. Well, thank you so very much for taking time out before your sound check to chat with us, Paul.

PK: Thanks, Mike. Thank you so much for having me.

Transcribed by Evan Martin