Folk101 concludes its interview with Gregory Page by examining how and why he continues to produce music.
FOLK101: As an immigrant yourself, where do you see the English influence in your writing?
GP: I tend to see it in my lyric writing. I'm certainly a crafter of words. Some writers are very stream-of-consciousness. They write very quickly and they don't go back and craft a lot. But I find myself being more craft-oriented. I don't know how Elvis Costello writes, but I suspect he might write very much like myself. Or someone like Leonard Cohen, where he labors over every line and is very hung up on wordplay.
FOLK101: On your website, you're quoted as saying, "Nothing makes you feel quite as good as a sad song." Why are you drawn to gloomier subjects?
GP: I was pretty much left alone a lot as a child. You know, nerd alert in a way. I was a giant nerd with big glasses, and I was always looking into the party from the outside. So writing and songwriting and especially playing the guitar enabled me to remove myself, go to a park or whatever, and just be alone. And I think that it just stems from those experiences. The songs aren't sad, they're melancholy. I suppose "sad" is the easiest word for me to apply, but I would say that I write from the melancholy side of the muse.
FOLK101: So then, when do you write happy songs?
GP: This next album that I'm working on, called "Daydreaming at Night," is maybe my most optimistic sounding album. It deals with some really heavy personal issues, and I wouldn't say that it's in Jack Johnson land or anything, but its definitely a little more optimistic. I think 'melancholy optimistic' would be the proper term.
FOLK101: Why has the tone changed now?
GP: I spent a few months last year in a hospital with my father, who has recovered now, but there is something very powerful about being around that energy, month in and month out. You really appreciate certain things that maybe before you took for granted. I couldn't help but write about those experiences. And I had a couple friends pass away. So it's just one of those things where you really start to appreciate every day.
FOLK101: You are a very personal songwriter. Why do you think you feel compelled to share your experiences through music?
GP: I suspect it could just be that feeling or that proof that I existed. After it's all said and done, I like to write but I love to have written. I like to record, but I love to have recorded. It is that catalogue that I'm always expanding upon.
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