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‘My friend took his own life about 3½ years ago. That was really sad – it was a hard thing to go through. We were really close. We were supposed to actually hang out the day he did it but our plans got cancelled.

‘I was completely shocked. I didn’t think he’d actually ever do it. He talked to me about it. I was trying to help him through it a bit so I felt a bit responsible and a bit guilty but that passes. Things happen and people have talked to me about it so I feel a lot better now but yeah, just completely shocked.’

If you could go back in time, what would you say to him?

‘I would probably go over there and hang out with him that day and tell him how many people cared about him and that we miss him and that it would be different without him there because it’s definitely different.’

What would be your message to other people who may have friends in a similar situation?

‘Make sure you’re there for them and don’t take it lightly. Even if you don’t think they’re serious, just talk to them about it. They’re obviously doing it for a reason. They need someone to be there for them. Either way you have to make sure you’re there.’

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‘I’ve always sang – at school and stuff. I played trombone for a really long time. I kind of got a bit sick of it so I thought I’d sing instead. I sing in a band called The Venusians.’

How do you feel when you’re singing on stage?

‘It depends. Sometimes you do a gig and people respond to it well and it’s a really nice happy feeling but sometimes it’s just really fucking scary!’

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‘I’m a visual artist who’s not doing a lot at the moment because the art scene is a bit dead.’

‘I’m a lawyer working in tax law.’

What do you like most about him?

‘His art and he’s got style.’

What’s the nicest thing she’s ever done for you?

‘Looked after me – we’ve been together over 30 years.’

What’s been your biggest challenge as a couple?

‘Oh, we’ve had a few problems over the years. I guess dealing with me – it’s not easy being an artist. It’s a very hard profession. In your twenties, it’s kind of exciting but as you get older and if you haven’t become famous, it gets harder and harder to keep carrying on. Everyone I know has problems. Everyone in their twenties thinks they’re going to be famous and have this fabulous lifestyle but it doesn’t work out that way for 99% of people.’

What would be your message to young artists starting out?

‘Study law!’

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‘I knew of a person who passed away for a small period of time and then was revived. They weren’t religious or anything but they said they felt that while they were gone for a while they turned in to an owl that could see in to their sister’s house. Then I maybe thought they’re kind of like gods or icons. That’s the inspiration behind my designs but then it became more just putting them around so they’re recognisable.’

Do you believe in an afterlife?

‘I’m not too sure – probably not at this stage. I think we go to where we came from before we were born.’

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‘I work on an international project in the HIV sector.’

If you could communicate one point that would make people more aware about the issues associated with living with HIV, what would that be?

‘In Australia, having HIV is not a crime and it’s a stigma about HIV that’s the biggest issue that we have.’

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‘I’m doing this because I’ve been struggling with mental illness – primarily depression – for most of my life. I know what it feels like to not have anyone listen or not to have anyone to be there for me. I know how busy everybody is and I know what it feels like to be alone. I hope that by doing this that people start caring about each other and lending a hand, you know?’

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‘I play the Oud. It’s a Middle Eastern lute. There’s a new album out on ABC called “Permission to Evaporate” which is a recent one I did in New York with two great jazz players. One is Mike Stern who was in Miles Davis’ band and Christian McBride – the biggest double bass player at the moment on the jazz scene in the world actually. So I was very lucky to get the chance to record with them.’

If you could describe the Oud as a human, how would you describe it?

‘It’s pretty much like me – short necked, half pear shaped. It’s perfect. I’m exactly like the instrument!

‘I’m playing next Thursday (26th) at Camelot Lounge Marrickville in a repertoire called Angel. We only play that repertoire twice a year to commemorate my parents’ passing. It’s nice to commemorate them through music. This one is to commemorate my mother’s passing two years ago.

‘She was quite sick towards the end. I think there were quite beautiful moments within the short space of time you spend with them in the end. It doesn’t get easy not having your parents around. I think it really gives you fuel for your music. It helps you as a human being and helps you grow. We’re constantly healing and that’s the beautiful thing about music. I guess you’ve just got to take these things as a lesson and grow from them.’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhp-IpRPxIs

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‘The mainstay of my work is sideshow. I swallow razorblades, walk on broken glass, eat lightbulbs and stuff. For a circus performer, I’m neither fit nor flexible. It’s all in my fingers and tongue. I had an act where my assistant would feed me razorblades. She’d then swallow some string and then we’d snog. As we snogged, we regurgitated what we swallowed and tie the razorblades under the string wi…th our tongues.’

How did you get in to this?

‘It’s weird. I studied business. I thought that was the smart thing to do. I didn’t study art and drama like I wanted to because like that’s ever going to make you a living. I picked up fire twirling just by randomness and started getting work for it. I then started to diversify. I went from fire dancing to fire eating to fire breathing to sword swallowing to swallowing other things to just working on controlling responses of the body that are normally automatic that we normally don’t have conscious control over – that your subconscious takes over itself.

‘What I do, it’s not like an adrenaline rush. I’m not seeking death or pain or anything like that. It’s actually more methodical. It’s more mastery of your body. It’s not even mind over body. It’s more mind over mind really. My old assistant used to say, “Everything is in the mind. Even the mind is in the mind.”’

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‘Greg, the redhead, bought a sousaphone so then we decided to make it an official band. People were loving it so then we kept going and started getting offers for gigs. We’re lucky now, we’ve got a bit of a following especially for the busking thing. We can start huge dance parties in the street. It’s awesome – we love it!’

What’s one of the best things that’s happened while you’ve been busking?

‘We were marching down Crown Street in Surry Hills. A lot of the pubs there are double story and people were throwing money off the top. We had our girlfriends there with buckets catching the money. A guy gave us a $100 note once too. That was pretty cool.’