Through candid interviews, brutal honesty and lacerating wit, Justin Heazlewood (aka The Bedroom Philosopher) provides a fascinating portrait of life in Australia for artists and aspiring artists alike.
The book goes far beyond the hype to show what it’s really like to be a working artist in Australia. Heazelwood explores every dark corner of the arts. From starting out to giving up, running a business to burning out to the trappings of fame to the advantages of failure and the obstacles and opportunities. The book also includes interviews with over 100 artists including Gotye (Wally De Backer), Clare Bowditch, John Safran, Tony Martin, Amanda Palmer, Christos Tsiolkas, Tim Rogers, Adam Elliot and Benjamin Law.
Describe your book in five words?
Artist memoir meets self help
Where did your inspiration and ideas come from?
I was down and out! I was thousands of dollars in debt from an overly ambitious Melbourne Comedy Festival campaign. I was bitter and burnt out and hadn’t been enjoying live performance for a couple of years. I was suffering social media anxiety and felt resentfully self conscious on trams. I was having coffee with Martin Hughes from Affirm, the one publisher who had taken particular interest in my self-published book The Bedroom Philosopher Diaries when he said, ‘So… Do you have any ideas for another book?’ Grey-faced and slouched, I replied, ‘Someone should write about what it’s like to be an artist in Australia’. And there you go. As I say in the introduction, I needed to do an emotional audit and travel back in time via writing and deduce at what stage I let the business of my art ruin the pleasure of creating it. I unleashed my black box recorder, with jokes.
Were you a bookworm as a kid?
Yes. I smashed Grug and Gillian Rubenstein’s 'Space Demons' about kids that get stuck inside a Commodore 64 game. I played a lot of Commodore 64 at my best friend Nick’s house
Fav line from the book and why?
“If depression is the black dog then jealousy is the black cat.” It felt pioneering to find a new animal/ emotion metaphor.
How was the process of writing for you? Easy? Hard? Therapeutic?
A beautifully-challenging routine of free-flow, fashioning, fastidiousness and fury. Writing a great line is like giving yourself a hug and a high five.
What would you like people to say after they've read the book?
People say the book is like getting a hug and being punched in the face.
Can you tell us some books you've read that changed your life?
'A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius' by Dave Eggers. 'A Confederacy Of Dunces' by John Mark Toole. 'Grug And The Rainbow' by Ted Prior.
Anything else our readers should know?
The 'Funemployed' live show is intimate and compelling. I’ll be reading excerpts from my book and performing new songs as Justin Heazlewood that have been written for a forthcoming Radio National series. It’s not often adults get to be read to — you need it.
See Justin Heazelwood on July 18 at Avid Reader and July 20 at Southside Tea Rooms.
