Interview With The Adelaide Show

Last week I found myself siting in a cinema foyer, at a table full of microphones and recording equipment, sipping wine and being interviewed. It was one of my most pleasantly surreal experiences and, as far as I can tell, just another evening in the office for the delightful crew of The Adelaide Show.

One of my favourite podcasts, The Adelaide Show comes out every week and interviews a wide range of guests, from the arts, science, business and government, discussing themes around life and work in Adelaide. The host, Steve Davis, got in touch with me last year, after I moderated the WeAreAdelaide twitter account, about appearing on the show, and with my book, No Missing Tools, having come out in April, it felt good to do it now, while I was back in Adelaide for a few weeks.

How We Wound Up In A Cinema Foyer

With the interview date looming, Steve asked if there was a venue in Adelaide I’d like to record in. The Adelaide Show often records in guests’ places of work, but given how small, modest, & cold my Adelaide studio is, I couldn’t quite imagine recording there.

So, I suggested The Palace Nova EastEnd Cinema, partly because it’s a personal favourite, but also because I believe it’s a mark of any healthy, creative city, that it can sustain a vibrant cinema hosting world and arthouse films. Over recent years I’ve seen a lot of my favourite new releases at the Palace Nova EastEnd, films that haven’t seen commercial release in Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo, and always enjoyed the properly grown-up environment of the cinema (wine served in real glasses, ample tables and chairs for pre and post film conversations).

The Interview Itself

Of course, we discussed No Missing Tools. The first draft was completed this time last year and so naturally, there were some questions on the process of writing and what made Adelaide an inspiring place to focus on this kind of big creative project.

We also discussed various topics around the nature of creative process, especially the role of routine and exercise, and whether it’s better to live in the city, or the suburbs as a creative soul. Although some of the questions were focussed on Adelaide, there’s plenty in our conversation that is universal really, addressing creative work anywhere.

And, as for the wine, it was rather nice indeed, a 2012 Single Vineyard Premium Shiraz from Braydun Hill, in the McLaren Vale. Like everything else about the night, it was fun and truely memorable.

Listen To Interview

You can listen to the interview on The Adelaide Show’s site here (or, check it out on iTunes).

And, you can enjoy the promo video on YouTube, where I’m subjected to some rather fiendish creativity tests and even get to clown around behind the snack bar in the cinema!