Nick Cave has shared his pre-show ritual and his own advice for finishing songs.
In his latest blog post on his website, the Red Hand Files, Cave was asked by a number of fans how he’s able to finish off his songs. In response, he wrote that his songs, instead of being political, “focus on exploring this mysterious, emergent idea which, if pursued, reveals at its core a necessary, universal message and brings an entire world into existence, opening up a new and unknown terrain.”
He added that it was the initial conception of the song which he found most “agonising” instead, saying: “I cannot predict when this idea will arise, which is the agony of it, nor do I understand why it exists in the first place. What I do know is, as a songwriter, I must see this idea through to the end. It’s the least I can do, Bill!
“Whatever force leaves these occasional gifts at my doorstep knows I won’t abandon the idea, won’t say “screw it!” Perhaps that’s why, after all these years, the ideas continue to come.”
In a separate letter on the Red Hand Files, the musician also explained some of his pre-show rituals, explaining that he will normally arrive at the venue about half an hour before he’s due on stage. After changing into his stage clothes, applying makeup and doing some vocal exercises, Cave added that he sits in silence for about fifteen minutes, calling upon “those dear to me who have passed away, focusing on each person individually, and silently solicit their presence”.
“I assign specific qualities or powers to them that reflect their personalities, and I call upon those qualities,” he continued. Cave elaborated that some of the people he calls upon include family members like his son Arthur, for “his joyfulness”, other son Jethro for “his anarchic spirit”, his mother for “her courage”, and his father for “his dynamism”.
Other people named include Birthday Party bassist Tracy Pew, Bad Seeds pianist Conway Savage and The Pogues’ Shane McGowan, who Cave said were all called upon for their “subversiveness, disorder and wicked humour”. There was also former Bad Seeds singer-songwriter Anita Lane, who Nick looked to for “her pure creativity” and Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S. Howard, for “his extraordinary inventiveness”.
Cave continued: “I appeal to these individuals, and many more, much like a devout person might petition the saints for assistance. I remember all these people and I feel a deep spiritual empowerment, so that when I take to the stage, I am carried along by this unearthly fraternity and their special powers.”
He finally concluded he would be adding one more person to the list – David “Dud” Green, a former school friend who Cave lost touch with. He said he would be assigning Green “the quality of vigilance or attentiveness” – to contact “those who have slipped from my mind, those loved but unremembered, the forgotten living, while they are still with us”.
We spoke to Cave back in 2023, where he elaborated on his thoughts about whether art could come from nihilism. He told us: “I don’t think art can come from nihilism at all. As soon as you start making art, you stop being a nihilist, I guess. You’re doing something, and art is in its essence good – it’s morally good.
“It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from, if you’re putting this particular force out into the world then it is for its betterment,” he added. “That’s why I don’t particularly care where my art comes from. It doesn’t bother me if someone wears a For Britain badge [Morrissey] or is an anti-semite or whatever and they’re making extraordinary music.”
In other news, Nick Cave says he turned down the chance to sing a “slightly silly anti-woke screed” on new Morrissey song.
