The Bedroom Philosopher (Justin Heazlewood) : Comedy Interview

“I’m not sure about other musicians but I’m pretty keen to be famous for the sake of it”.

Justin Heazlewood is tired and cold in Hobart, but still manages to foster his trademark dry wit in an interview. Heazlewood, or The Bedroom Philosopher as most know him, has reason enough to be worn out: after the freakish success of single Northcote (So Hungover) from his latest record “Songs From the 86 Tram”, Heazlewood has once again become a local focus and radio darling.

The Bedroom Philosopher

“Stuff gets out there and eventually you become important enough for people to make money off you” Heazlewood explains on, seemingly, how a concept album about a streetcar saved his life. “It’s nice to be back on the map; as an artist you have to have a sense of momentum”.

“If you’re not making much, you’ve only got your only momentum, growing in your confidence and abilities. Once that gets ground to a halt by a series of events, it can be quite damaging. 86 was me digging myself out a hole”.

Part of Heazlewood’s success as a musical comedian (or a comedic musician) comes from his attention to the weird and wonderful intricacies of society. Fashion trends, obscure local slang, arcane references to bands and venues; I mean, who doesn’t like to feel included in the joke, as opposed to simply reacting to it?

Northcote is, of course, a deadly accurate lampoon of the clichéd Melbourne hipster- Heazlewood maintains it is all in affectionate jest: “It’s the first time that that subculture has been included in mainstream Australian comedy. In Australia, if you like someone, you make fun of them”.

At the risk of alienating the rest of the country with a very Melbourne-centric record (and show: Songs from the 86 Tram began as a stand-up performance; look how they bloom), Heazlewood pursued the idea and was rewarded: the album has since become a hit.

“Sydney people are like ‘fucking trams, I don’t give a shit’. Some review in a Brisbane street press said something like ‘Not everyone’s gonna get the jokes, but screw that, this album is for us’” Heazlewood says, “What it’s been about from the beginning is writing something uniquely Australian; we need more cultural archiving of our nation, screw the international audience”.

“I’ve always had Radiohead jokes; half the audience doesn’t really know or care about them, but the people who do love it go: “that was for me, I get that”. People get fear of references: “oh no, what if I don’t get it?”, but how many American and British shows have their own references of their own dodgy celebrities?”

“It wasn’t supposed be a proper album, just threw it together for the Fringe” Heazlewood states nonchalantly. “The ones you don’t necessarily place too much weight on end up becoming bigger and better than you imagine. Brown and Orange [2009] satisfied the musician in me; I was trying to create this genuine fusion of music and comedy, servicing each other”.

“I’ve mixed this album like a music album, hence the vocals are quite couched in the music, like the sad mum song [Middle Aged Mum], the vocals are quite down, that’s the moment where I stop being musical comedian and I’m just a musician who is just trying to do something interesting. I’m just a frustrated musician trapped in this clown. All I wanna do is be Josh Pyke”.

Heazlewood’s rapier wit and self-deprecating, oft sarcastic, air make his songs all the greater to listen to. It comes from, perhaps, his additional projects as featured writer for Frankie, The Big Issue and JMag, amongst others, that his songs should be so rich with cutting social commentary and delicious Stephen Fry-esque (Fryean?) verbose wordplay. Heazlewood explains his evolution as songwriter.

“The lyrics are funny and they’re interesting, not many people tell stories in lyrics much, Paul Kelly types, we don’t have any young upstarts who are writing songs that are character-based or tell a narrative story or try to punch into the Australian subconscious or vernacular. I like to think I’m just writing songs that are interesting on occasion”

“I just love when snobby music blogs give me a bit of attention and the comments “music and comedy are shit together” come out” Heazlewood laughs dryly. “It’s like I pretty much picked the most uncool, cumbersome genre that everyone hates the guts out of. The pay off is nice, though. All I wanna do is make albums and do gigs that people come to”

Well, speak of the devil. As he jets forth on a massive national tour to promote Songs from the 86 Tram, Heazlewood will be working more and more with his band (The Awkwardstra) which, as he mentions, is still taking some getting used to…

“The band helps a lot. I’m excited about the live shows. It’s kind of like, you learn how to ride a bike with two wheels, you have to learn how to ride a bike with six wheels. That’s a confusing metaphor. Getting used to having a drummer, I’m always out of time all of a sudden. I feel like I’ve flown into gear this year, which has coincided with the songs getting more complex. I don’t think people quite realize what the band is; they probably think I’ve turned into Radiohead”.

The Bedroom Philosopher – 2010 Tour Dates

Thursday August 19 – Harpe Hotel, Wollongong NSW **
Friday August 20 – The Factory, Sydney NSW ** *ALL AGES SHOW*
Saturday August 21 – Northern Star, Newcastle NSW **
Sunday August 22 – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW **
Wednesday August 25 – Indi Bar, Scarborough WA
Thursday August 26 – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury WA
Friday August 27 – Rocketroom, Perth WA
Saturday August 28 – Troubadour, Brisbane QLD **
Sunday August 29 – Old Museum, Brisbane QLD ** *ALL AGES Matinee Show*
Sunday August 30 – The Great Northern, Byron Bay NSW **
Wednesday September 1 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC **
Thursday September 2 – National Hotel, Geelong VIC **
Friday September 3 – The Palais, Hepburn Springs VIC **
Saturday September 4 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC **
Sunday September 5 – Spanish Club, Melbourne VIC *ALL AGES Matinee Show*
Sunday September 5 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC **