Joe Camilleri, performer, Here Comes The Night
In the 1960s the world changed and music played a big part in it ...
Joe Camilleri is a legend of Australian contemporary rock music. Through his bands Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows, Joe has earned his place among Australian music folklore and has recently lent his talents to co-creating Here Comes The Night, a tribute to the great Van Morrison. Joe, along with Vince Jones and Christine Anu, will take the stage at Jupiters Hotel & Casino on Friday October 23 for one show only. We caught up with Joe ahead of Here Comes The Night to chat highs, lows and everything in between.
Here Comes The Night is coming to Jupiters Hotel & Casino on Friday October 23, can you give us a hint as to what audiences can expect from the show?
Well greatness, that’s what they can expect! It’s a really well-rounded show with lots of great songs that everybody would know and some songs that are a little bit more obscure. Van Morrison has written 900 songs so there was a lot to choose from. My job as one of the principles was to bring the spirit of his music and make the audience feel alive and happy to be there.
Does the show stay true to his original compositions or have they been reworked for a modern audience?
Some do and some don’t. We have the license to interpret the songs and some songs need interpreting and stretched out and delivered in a certain way whereas others don’t. I’m not going to change ‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’ for instance, it’s such a beautiful song that is at its best when it’s sung as it was written. But there are other songs where you can add a little something.
As you mentioned Van Morrison wrote 900 songs, how did you go about deciding which ones would be included in the show?
There are two other principles and we’ve all just chosen the songs that have value to us and then a couple of songs we’ll sing together. There’s a song that I love called ‘Haunts Of Ancient Peace’ and it’s just a beautiful song, you don’t even have to know the song but you can get carried away inside it, that was my choice. That’s what is kind of nice about this show, it’s not carved in stone.
It’s been 45 years since Van Morrison released Moondance. What do you believe is the secret to his enduring popularity?
I think he is a great songwriter and an incredible singer. He was very soulful. His writing and his poems were heartfelt and I think that resonates with people. Van Morrison was part of a generation that was changing the world. In the 1960s the world changed and music played a big part in it.
Do you have a favourite track in the Van Morrison back catalogue?
I have lots of favourite songs so this is always the hardest question to answer but I am going to say ‘Someone Exactly Like You’ because I’ve been singing it today.
You’ve also achieved incredible success in your own career with Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows, what have been some of the highlights?
Being able to play around the world has definitely been the highlight. I just got back from 21 shows in 25 days in Scotland and Scandinavia so I’m a bit exhausted but I just love performing. Having people come out to see you perform your music is the greatest thing for me.
We’ve read that you were quite literally thrown into your first gig, can you tell us about it?
It was just my mates being silly, they just grabbed me and threw me on. Whatever song they were doing I just had to jump in. It was for their entertainment more so but people seemed to like it, well sort of, your friends are never going to tell you you’re crap, you just have to watch The X Factor to find that out! We started a little band and I just got the bug.
How are you finding the break from singing your own songs?
I am actually really enjoying these Van Morrison shows because it’s like a mini-holiday for me, I don’t have to worry about my own crap. At the moment, I’m deep into my next album trying to get all of the songs ready to record them so it’s a nice break from that.
What does your song writing process look like?
It’s an empty page, or in my case an empty screen, and you’ve got to fill it with stuff. Some days you’ve got nothing and you just end up walking up and down the corridors of your house and other days you’re just full of music. It’s exciting, I love it.
What do you love about making music?
I don’t know really, it excites me. Some people like books, some people paint, some people make stuff, I like the idea of making music. The first 30 songs were easy, I thought I could write forever but the next 300 have been hard work. You have to dig deep to find something in you that you haven’t found before. It’s a lovely thing to be able to do and I am grateful that I still feel the need to want to keep trying to find something.
You’ve experienced the ups and downs of the fickle music industry. What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt on this journey so far?
Well the greatest lesson I’ve learnt is not to believe the bullshit. Stay true to who you are and know that music doesn’t owe you a living. Whatever you do, do it because it is part of what makes who you are. And be kind to yourself because you’re going to fail at some point, you might do very well for a little while but you can’t rely on your looks forever. That’s all I’ve got.