Each interview I do is, obviously, different because each artist is different – they have unique backgrounds, sounds and stories. Some of them turn out to be packed with lots of interesting elements – subjects I could have pursued for much longer conversations, except I’m mindful of trying to keep the chats relatively short and focused on music.

This interview with Jo Page, a country music artist from Port Lincoln in South Australia, was one of those. I start off asking Page about Port Lincoln – which is Australia’s seafood capital, which I didn’t previously know. Page also mentions that she won Port Lincoln’s Got Talent as part of Tunarama at the age of 20 – and, well, I had to ask her about something called Tunarama! You’ll have to watch/listen to find out what she said …

Page has been performing live since that time, although, as she says, at school she was ‘always the nerdy choir chick that would give up lunchtimes to do music stuff’. But it was the competition which led to her being introduced to a local producer with whom she formed a duo and then a band. She has only recently started writing songs, however, because she only started playing guitar three years ago. Now she’s written hundreds – as she says, you need to write a lot in order to find the gems – and one of those is ‘Fire In His Eyes’, which she wrote with Kevin Bennett and recorded with Matt Fell at Wilder in Tasmania. The character in the song, says Page in the interview, is based on how she envisages her grandfather, who was a cowboy – and there’s more to it but, again, you’ll need to watch/listen to find out!

Page is pursuing her music while also being a frontline domestic violence worker and mental health advocate. We talk about how she takes care of her own mental health, and a lot more besides. Maybe next time I’ll get to pursue those other subjects in more detail, but I certainly enjoyed this chat and hope you do too.

Listen to ‘Fire In His Eyes’ on Apple Music

Listen to ‘Fire In His Eyes’ on Spotify

Watch/listen to the song on YouTube

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