Hey, Nathan’s back!
HE PLAYED GUITAR ON TV WITH MARK KNOPFLER, BUT NATHAN CAVALERI NOW HAS HIS OWN ALBUM TO SPRUIK
TO MANY he’s still the super-cute guitar prodigy who performed on Hey Hey It’s Saturday when he was just eight, not long after he’d beaten leukaemia and won a charity wish to play with his hero Mark Knopfler. But Nathan Cavaleri’s all grown up – 38 years old to be precise.
“I’m not sure how that happened either,” the happily married father-of-two laughs, as he chats with Hibernation. After stepping away from the limelight in his mid-teens and a battle with anxiety and depression following a return to the stage, Cavaleri’s well and truly back this week with the release of his new album Demons and tour planned for October-November this year.
Much of the album was written when he was struggling with depression. He couldn’t even envisage a return to life in music, which, ironically, was liberating. His creativity was uncorrupted by career goals or pressures to write a massive hit.
“It was just a time of self expression because the writing didn’t stop,” Cavaleri says. “The performing did, but not the writing. There’s so many reasons why I’ve come out of this with a new perception of the silver lining of adversity. It definitely woke me up and creatively got me back in touch with why I play music. I found myself lost in self expression like I did when I was kid before I had any idea of career.”
The first single Before You Check Out was written for his cousin who lost his battle with mental illness a few years ago.
“I strongly identified with what he went through and wished I had reached out to him,” Cavaleri shares. “Having battled my own demons, I wondered whether my experience would have helped. I contemplated what I’d share if time could show mercy.”
It is the most moving song on Demons, Cavaleri admitting he’s never written a song that can make him tear up.
“When I play it, I’ve noticed, in reflection, that it’s like I have to mentally step back from the lyrics to make it bearable to sing. So I can get through it,”
Cavaleri says. “It’s not how I like to be on stage, but it’s something I’ve realised I have to do.” Cavaleri collaborated with stars such as Jimmy Barnes, Tommy Emmanuel and Diesel at 10, who all appeared on his 1993 debut album Jammin’ With the Cats. He headed to the States, where he was signed to Michael Jackson’s label, after a bidding war between the labels of Madonna and Prince. You’d imagine he’d never tire of talking about those glory days. But Cavaleri confesses he spent many years trying to bury his achievements while at school.
“I felt like there were some demons that I had following me from my school years,” he says. “All of that stuff happened when I was at school so you can imagine how challenging that could be.
“It was also when music was in transition from the 80s and early 90s where you felt proud to be a guitar player to post-Nirvana where it was anything but flash to play guitar. I really felt like I didn’t have a place any more and I was embarrassed by it I suppose. That embarrassment then turns in to a habit so it was just my general state to bury the past.”
It was not until he was in the depths of his spiral into depression that Cavaleri was able to reflect on his incredible history and draw strength from his accomplishments to help him return to the stage.
And while the stage isn’t quite the safe place it was, he is looking forward to touring – COVID-19 restrictions permitting – Australia later this year.
“The stage had always been a place where I felt untouchable, but with that last year or so where panic attacks were starting to happen, I lost that feeling of invincibility,” Cavaleri shares. “When I get up there now, it’s getting easier. When I’m in a flow of gigs it gets better and it’s definitely a source of joy now. When I get off the stage and even during it, I’m so high and contented and at peace.
It’s absolutely amazing.” Cavaleri’s refreshingly candid
and generous with his time – even offering to call back in case I didn’t have enough content, as our chat has to wind up with his next interview looming.
He’s also sharing his powerful story in the opening episode of the latest series of ABC’s Australian Story. Cavaleri didn’t want it to be another where are they now story. He’d had great feedback from sharing his stories in between songs while performing and he wanted to explore that deeper and share with a wider audience. It was an intense experience.
“I didn’t expect it to be so educational for me as a person,” he says. “They were really asking some tough questions about parts of my life I had buried.
“Bringing that stuff up taught me a lot about myself. We really dived in as to what the experience of going through leukaemia was like – I mean even before I was embarrassed about being a child guitar player, I had buried (my health journey) as well. Bringing that up was a little bit tough, bringing up my cousin and talking about that was tough, but in a strangely therapeutic way.”
Cavaleri’s excited, but nervous, to see it all unfold on television tonight. Possibly not as nervous as his parents though.
“It was way more tough for my parents,” he says. “I’m used to do doing interviews. My parents probably haven’t done one since I was 11. The first thing my mum said was ‘Ooh, I cried’ and I said ‘That’s fantastic, that’s great for ratings’ and she added ‘But I’m an ugly crier’. I said, ‘Who’s a good looking crier? As long as you didn’t snort’.”
Cavaleri’s been a screen composer for some years – making music for TV commercials and films. He’s also become an affiliate for Twitch – the live streaming platform. It means he's been able to keep a semblance of performing to a crowd through these uncertain times of COVID shutdown.
And while it doesn’t quite replace the thrill of a live gig, there’s still “good performance chemicals” and it’s keeping him match fit.
While many others have struggled in these crazy times, Cavaleri’s thrived, saying he went in with a positive mindset and prepared for downtime. But that planned time to recalibrate didn’t happen at all. He’s even glad, in a way, that COVID-19, meant the rescheduling of him supporting Jeff Martin of Tea Party fame on his planned tour of Australia.
“I was struggling to get the album finished,” he says. “I had a fair bit of screen composing work and then trying to film a documentary with Australian Story … I think it’s the busiest I’ve ever been. To think I had a Jeff Martin tour as well – there’s no way I would have been able to do it. “It’s been just a strange year in general because I’ve had wins. I haven’t had these type of wins since I was a kid. There’s been a lot to celebrate but then a lot of struggles at the same time.
“But I’m still smiling. I’m healthy. I love my family and we are all in a good place.” Australian Story, Monday, 8pm, ABC + iview. Demons is out on Thursday.