was going really red in the face, and I was hoping whatever make-
up that was on there was covering that.
The last time I thought about doing something else for a living
Within this last six years of doing this album. The last six years
have been really intense and testing. All that self doubt about,
willIberelevantwhenIcome
back, is this going to work, have
Iwastedsixyearsofmylife?At
thatpointIwasthinking,sure-
ly there’s got to be something
elseIcandothatIdon’thave
to stress about so much. What
isajobwhereIcankickback?
DoIbecomeasurfinstructor
or something that’s just a cruisy
job? I’ve been waking up at 3 in
the morning with anxiety and
sweats,it’sbeenprettyfullon.
Idefinitelyhavebeenthink-
ing about what else I can do. I
haven’t figured that out yet!
The last time I was starstruck
IrememberseeingSteveMill-
eratBluesfest,Iwasabigfan.I
triedtotalktohim,andIdon’t
know whether it was him that
didn’t want to talk to me or I
couldn’t talk to him, but I said,
“Hey, I love your music”, and I
went to say something else and
he was like, “Great, thanks, see
ya.” And that was it. I might
have come across as a freaky fan.
The last body part I signed
Ididacharitythingonthe
weekend, and this guy’s wife
wasjokingwhenshe’dhadafew
drinks the night before, saying,
“I’m going to get Pete to sign my
boobs.”Sotheguycameupto
me and said, “Can you go and
embarrass my wife? Here’s a
pen,canyougouptoherand
say,‘I’mreadytosignyour
boobs.’”SoIdidthat,andhe
andIwereboththinkingshe’d
go, “Oh my god, I’m so embar-
rassed”, but she was like, “Yep!”
And[herhusbandandI]werelike,“Woah,holdon!”Shewasjust
jokingandtotallygotusback.Iendedupsigningherforearm.
The last time I threw a tantrum
Checkingintoahotelyesterday.I’djustflowninandtheroom
wasn’tready,andIreallyhadtodropmybagsandgetgoing,and
theyweremuckingaround.Mytantrumsareprettypoor.Iliketo
thinkI’msoundingprettytoughgoing,“Guys,Ireallyneedthis
room,hurryup”,butthat’saboutashardasitgets.I’mprettylaid-
back about that stuff. ROD YATESThe last time I busked
ItwaswhenIfirststartedplayingguitar,andIwasinCana-
da.Itwasmyselfandamate,itwasfreezingcold,Ithinkitwas
minus-10orminus-15,andthefirstpersonwalkingpastcameup
andgothiswalletout.Andwe’rethinking,“Thisisgreat!Wemust
be pretty good!” We were playing a
Neil Young song, “Comes a Time”,
Ithink.Hecomesupandhesaid,
“Here,boys,here’s$20,it’stoo
cold, you should go inside.”
The last time I was mistaken for
someone else
Igetmistakenformeallthe
time.Withinthelastsixmonths
this has happened, and I find that
it’s always at the urinals. When
you’reatthepubandyougofor
apee,somedudewillcomeand
standbesideyou,andyouknowin
your peripheral vision, you can see
someone there, and they’re looking
atyou,andyou’rethinking,“Here
wego.Thisisnotagoodtime.”
Sometimestheywanttoshake
your hand [at the urinal]. Anyway,
thisguywaslookingatmeacouple
of times, and he went, “You know
what mate?” And I looked at him
and said, “Yeah, what’s up?” And
hesaid,“Youknowwhoyoulook
like? You look like that singer, Pete
Murray.”Isaid,“Ihatethatguy’s
music.”Andhesaid,“Yeah,heisa
bitofawanker,isn’the.”
The last time I spent more than I
should have
I’ve banned myself from going
intovintageguitarshops.Because
everytimeIwouldgoinI’dcome
outwithanoldguitar.Itwould
beveryhardformetogointhere
andseesomethingandnotwant
to buy it and bring it home. And
I’ve got about 30 guitars at home.
I don’t know when the last time
was. It was a few years ago, but I’ve
stopped it.
The last time I felt out of my depth
Ontheweekendweweredoingalittledocoofthisalbum[Mur-
ray’s latest,Camacho]andwehadagirlwho’sinvolvedwithsome
of the shooting, and the guy who was directing wanted me to get
upanddancewithher.AndlikemostAussiemales,whentheword
dance comes around, the fear goes through you, especially when
there’s a camera on you. I felt way out of my depth and I could feel I
“Thisguysaid,‘YoulooklikePete
Murray.’ I said, ‘I hate that guy’s music.’
Hesaid,‘Yeah,heisabitofawanker.’”THE
LAST
PAG E
Pete Murray’s new album, “Camacho”, is out now. His national
tour starts on July 12th in Lismore.
90 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com July, 2017
Pete Murray
The singer-songwriter on being snubbed by Steve Miller,
signing boobs and his fear of dancing