Peter Combe Quirky Berserky Interview

Peter Combe Quirky Berserky Interview

Beloved children's entertainer Peter Combe is delighted to announce the release of his thirteenth album of catchy songs for kids, Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey). Believe it or not, 2012 marks 30 years since the million-selling, multiple award-winning, Adelaide-based singer-songwriter released his first album of songs for the young and young-at-heart.

At a time when many artists might consider winding back their careers and putting their feet up, the indefatigable Peter Combe is ramping things up and raising the bar. Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) is a huge and generous album - double length and with a cast of hundreds.

"There is actually a physical limit to the amount of music you can fit on a compact disc," he says. "There's only about 25 seconds unused on this one!"

Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) both sustains and extends the Peter Combe tradition of producing memorable, engaging music for kids - a tradition that has seen songs such as Wash Your Face In Orange Juice, Spaghetti Bolognaise and Newspaper Mama become enduring classics. It also proves this enigmatic performer is only getting better and will be encouraging another generation of children to love music.

The new album contains a hefty 26 tracks and finds Peter collaborating with a wide array of guest performers, including the Young Adelaide Voices and Glee Club choirs, roots act Bluegrass Junction, Sydney-based a'capella stars The Idea Of North, classical outfit Zephyr String Quartet, the in-house Quirky Berserky band, a whole mob of red-hot session musos and some amazingly talented children. Despite the passage of three decades since the release of his first children's album Songs For Little Kids in 1982, Peter still loves writing for his pre-school and primary school fans - many of whom are the sons and daughters of parents who themselves sang along to Peter's songs while wearing knee-socks and nappies.

"I find I share a similar sense of humour to children," he says. "I laugh at what they laugh at. The inner-child has burned very brightly inside me all my life. I'm very healthy, which helps, and my sense of humour keeps me young. I still very much enjoy making music. I am really very fortunate. I live in a safe, civilised country; I have four wonderful kids; and a very supportive partner."

Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) is nothing if not eclectic, incorporating jazz, pop, bluegrass, and choral music styles, as well as augmented story-telling. Most of the tracks were written over the past two years, but three - Cooking With Jeffery Hill, Mildred Finds The Juicy Juicy Green Grass, and The Dreaded Chopsticks Curse - were originally recorded for the ABC over 20 years ago and didn't make it onto an album until Peter gave them a new lease on life for this CD.

Other curious highlights of the album include innovative retellings of the classic fairy-tales, three very different versions of an alphabet song called Not Zee, three songs commissioned for an Adelaide youth theatre school and a duet between Peter and his three-year-old grandson, Oliver.

"The song is called Red Says Stop," explains Peter. "Oli is an amazing singer. Almost no three-year-olds can sing in tune - they just don't know how to do it. The fact that Oli sings this so beautifully - he even does harmony - makes it an amazing achievement."

So impressed was Grandfather Combe, in fact, that he decided to put an extra song right at the end of the album - Oliver singing Red Says Stop all by himself. "I have a funny feeling it's going to end up as the hit track on the album," he says, "And I'll end up being completely upstaged."

For more information, please visit www.petercombe.com.au

Peter Combe Adults Only Shows
Sunday 23rd September 2012: Tempo, Brisbane: 388 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley QLD
Doors 5.30pm
Tickets: $22 (+bf) | $25 (door)
www.thetempohotel.com.au

Saturday 29th September 2012: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney: 38-46 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW

8pm
With the Quirky Berserky Bellyflop in a Pizza Band
Tickets: $23.50
www.oxfordartfactory.com

Thursday 4th October 2012: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne: 301 High Street, Northcote VIC
7.30pm
With the Quirky Berserky Bellyflop in a Pizza Band
Tickets: $23 (+BF)
www.northcotesocialclub.com

Sunday 7th October 2012: Fly By Night Club, Fremantle: Parry Street, Fremantle WA
7.30pm
With the Quirky Berserky Bellyflop in a Pizza Band
Tickets: $23.50
www.flybynight.org

Thursday 25th October 2012: The Gov, Adelaide: 59 Port Road, Hindmarsh SA
7.30pm
With the Quirky Berserky Bellyflop in a Pizza Band
Tickets: $23 (+BF)
www.thegov.com.au

Peter Combe All Ages Shows
Monday 24th September 2012: Old Museum, Brisbane: 460 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills QLD 11am
Tickets: $17 (+BF) | $19 (door)
www.oldmuseum.org

Friday 28th September 2012: Riverside Theatre, Parramatta: Cnr Church & Market Streets, Parramatta NSW
11am
Tickets: $15
www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Monday 1st October 2012: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney: 38-46 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW
11am
Tickets: $12 (+BF) Adults | $8 (+BF) Kids
www.oxfordartfactory.com

Thursday 4th October 2012: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne: 301 High Street, Northcote VIC
2pm
Tickets: 17 (+BF)
www.northcotesocialclub.com

Sunday 7th October 2012: Fly By Night Club, Fremantle: Parry Street, Fremantle WA 11.30am
Tickets: $15
www.flybynight.org

Tuesday 9th October 2012: Queen's Park Theatre, Geraldton: Corner Cathedral Ave & Maitland Street, Geraldton WA
11amwww.queensparktheatre.com.auThursday 11th October 2012: Margaret River Cultural Theatre: 51 Wallcliffe Road, Margaret River WA
11am and 1pm
www.artsmargaretriver.com

Thursday 25th October 2012: The Gov, Adelaide: 59 Port Road, Hindmarsh SA
2pm
Tickets: $17 (+BF)
www.thegov.com.au

Interview with Peter Combe

Question: Tell us about Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey)?

Peter Combe: Quirky Berserky is my recently released album and it's probably the most eclectic album I've ever done in the sense there is enormous variety on it including jazz, folk, rock, children's choirs and the debut of my three-year-old grandson Oli on Red Says Stop.


Question: What's the inspiration behind Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey)?

Peter Combe: The title song is Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) which is a song about Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) that lists all the countries that Quirky Berserky doesn't come from; I learnt 46 country names from Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America and it's quiet a challenging song to sing.


Question: Where does your inspiration come from when writing tracks?

Peter Combe: It's variable. Red Says Stop was inspired by Oli my grandson. The song Rock this Little Baby was inspired by Oli's little sister Eliza who is one year old. When I say rock this little baby I am not using the term 'baby' in the pop sense of 'girlfriends' it really is about a little baby (laughs); it's about rocking a baby to sleep and walking a baby to sleep.

I have turned some famous fairytales into songs such as Pinocchio's Nose and The Emperor's New Clothes. I have a tradition with every album to take a famous fairytale and write a song about it and for this particular album I've done two!

There are three quirky tracks called Not Zee. Not Zee (grandissimo) is me singing as a pretentious baritone in the Sydney Opera House, with no one there and a piano player playing a Grand Piano. In the second version Not Zee (stringissimo) involves a beautiful string quartet and the third, Not Zee (vocalissimo), is an amazing jazz version with jazz vocalists. The idea of the Not Zee songs came from when I was in New Zealand, two years ago, when someone pronounced the 'z' in the '.nz' of a website as 'zee' and I thought 'Oh no! That's another Americanisation of the language'.


Question: What can audiences expect from the adults only shows?

Peter Combe: The show features lots of songs from the albums that they know including Chopsticks, Newspaper Mama and the Wash Your Face in Orange Juice albums. The songs featured are mainly the best known old favourites such as Wash Your Face In Orange Juice, Newspaper Mama, Juicy Juicy Green Grass, Jack and the Beanstalk and Tadpole Blues. Most of the shows are performed with the Quirky Berserky Bellyflop in a Pizza Band and I will feature three or four new songs from the Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) album including The Song About Captain Cook, Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) and Rock Scissors Paper.


Question: How does it feel to be releasing your thirteenth album of catchy songs for kids?

Peter Combe: It's wonderful! I feel lucky that I'm actually still enthusiastic enough to be creative, my voice is still holding up and I'm still healthy. I have enormous enthusiasm for what I do. I want to make albums of high quality and I spend a lot of time writing and recording. I have a high attention to detail and I like to get things as right as possible because I have the belief that children deserve the best you can possibly give them and I try to never cut corners.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Peter Combe: No! I have no ideas of retiring although I know it will happen eventually and I'd like to think that I'll know when I should retire and that probably will be when I can't sing very well, I can't create anymore or if I've lost my enthusiasm. At the moment I'm still very enthusiastic and it remains a love, for me.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Peter Combe: Performing live is always the nicest thing that you do. Recording and writing is hard work; making an album is very long and you've got to have lots of willpower to keep going. In my case I spend over 150 hours in the studio which involves intense concentration. Writing and creating songs is always difficult; not to say some songs don't come easily because some of them do. Some of the songs on the Quirky Berserky (The Turkey From Turkey) album popped out of nowhere such as Rock Scissors Paper as I'm not sure where the idea came from except knowing about the game.


Question: Do you test out your songs on your own family?

Peter Combe: Your own family, in a way, is not really a good or bad judgement of what you do having said that my wife is a very good critic in regards to lyrics. The best judge of an album or song is an audience in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth or Melbourne. You only really know, once you've performed a song which works the best. After doing this for so long I know what songs do work for audiences.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Peter Combe: www.petercombe.com.au