In our weekly series asking the big questions of high-profile people, iOTA reveals his solution to procrastination, his greatest fear – and his desire to know whether dinosaurs had feathers.
He’s played Hedwig, Dr Frank-N-Furter and that Doof Warrior dude with the flame-throwing guitar in Mad Max: Fury Road, so iOTA’s Kiss T-shirt makes perfect sense as interview apparel. To this day, the Pinjarra-raised singer-songwriter and actor scours eBay for vintage posters and merch for his inner child’s favourite band.
He’s no Peter Pan, though. His first album in 10 years finds him in much more contemplative acoustic territory, his flamboyant theatrical creations packed away as he considers the existential implications of its title, Hours Disappear.
The album re-thinks several songs from iOTA’s 1999 debut, The Hip Bone Connection, alongside new material: a neat way of addressing how much life has happened while reminding him to get cracking on what’s left.
“In the next 20 years,” he promises, “there’s going to be a lot of music.”
Worst habit?
Procrastination through fear. Fear of the unknown and just never really knowing what the right decision is. I’m getting better, but it has been something that’s perhaps slowed me down. I’m always trying to second-guess everything, worried about not taking the right step and what that might mean. You can overthink it so much that you don’t end up doing anything. All you have to do is make a decision. Flip a coin and away you go. You’ll be OK.
Greatest fear?
A loss of freedom. Not being free to do whatever I want to do, not being free to think the way I want to think. If you spend any time on social media, you can see those walls close in. If you spend enough time looking at one subject, it keeps feeding you more of that sort of stuff. And I definitely go, “I see what you’re doing here…” but it just makes you think, “What else is influencing me?”
The line that stayed with you?
“Your life is your life. Know it while you have it. You are marvellous, and the gods wait to delight in you.” [The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski]. It’s a beautiful poem, but I think that’s the nice part of it; the best part of it. I only found it about two years ago. I was doing a cabaret show based on light and darkness [iOTA in the Dark], and I was looking for ideas and that one really stuck with me. It’s just beautiful. And he’s such a great character.
Biggest regret?
Not being present. Not always staying in the moment. I suppose you get better at doing that, like you get better at everything as you get older. When some big drama is happening, when it’s over, you come out of that drama and you go, “Where was I then?” I don’t even know. I was just too busy yelling and screaming or jumping up and down. You kind of lose yourself in all of that and I regret that. Also, just being so far away from my family [in WA]; not being present enough with my parents as they get older.
Tell us about your turning point…
When I turned 50 [in 2018], I had this profound realisation that there was less time in front of me than behind me, and it really was a visceral recognition that I had. I mean, we all know it’s not forever, but just make those calculations. Twenty years doesn’t seem that long ago, but think 20 years ahead and oh my god, I’m going to be 70-something! It’s kind of scary, but it also brings this urgency to your life and to the work that you do. It really made a difference, and I like the change that it’s made in me. It’s brought more of an urgency to my life. It’s made life feel more profound and important, and it’s given me a way forward.
The artwork or song you wish was yours?
I don’t want anybody else’s song to be mine, or wish that I’d written it. I love so many people’s music and art … but when I think of David Sylvian’s album, Secrets of the Beehive, and also Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual de lo Habitual album, or anything by Kate Bush … I’d love to be able to find the spirit of those albums and make that mine. They’re edgy and they’re not too commercial, but they’re just in this nice sweet spot of cool and interesting and strange and magical. I’d like to find something like that for myself, to make an album that felt like those albums.
If you could time-travel, where would you go?
I really want to see dinosaurs. That’s the first thing. I just want to go and see some and finally put to rest whether they’ve got feathers or not. But I would also have to see a Kiss show on the 1976 Destroyer Tour, standing there at the sound desk … that would be really fantastic.
Hours Disappear is out now. iOTA plays Brunswick Ballroom in Melbourne on October 16 and The Vanguard in Sydney on October 21 and 22.
Take 7 appears in Spectrum every Saturday
From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
