Emerging Voices - Hobbies

Sise 0:03
Hi, we're in the studio today by myself and my... cohort friend Satria, sorry, Satria... you guys gonna listen to the song [?] i and by... Dub... Darkstone? Darkstone. So... you guys listen to the song and we're gonna get back to our question with my friends here today. Okay, Satria, I'm just gonna ask you... We hear today about the our program, or our interview is about hobbies and and recreation of... so, yeah, I'm just gonna ask Satria some question... What do you, what hobby do you do you like to do?

Satria 1:21
Yeah so, really I like... reading... poker... I like a lot of [?] hobbies of... [?] good, yeah. (OK) Did you want to talk about your hobbies?

Sise 1:49
My hobbies... thank you for asking me that question. Yeah, what I do, my hobbies... listen to music, cooking and I love cleaning... and my free time, I like to spend with my daughter. I got your daughter so always just have, you know, family time, just chat or just playtime. That's my hobby. That's what I do with my time when I'm free...

Satria 2:22
Really good. How old is your daughter? Did you say you have... two daughters?

Sise 2:30
Yes, I have two daughters.

Satria 2:32
How old are they?

Sise 2:33
How old are they, okay? The older one, she's eight. The younger one, she's six. Thank you.

Satria 2:46
What activity do you get up to? What do you get up to?

Sise 2:58
What do we do? Sometime we go to the park or just play games at home. You know, Melbourne weather is really bad now, so we can go outside, but we just do it indoor, not outdoor. So sometimes we play card games. So some game that they tried and then yeah, they will show me, or they will teach me to play with them. Yeah,

Satria 3:29
Yeah, absolutely, it's good to connect with family, yeah.

Sise 3:41
I'm just gonna ask you another question. What hobby do you like to so, say explore.

Satria 3:52
Sorry. What was that?

Sise 3:56
What hobby would you like to play?

Satria 4:01
I'm currently working, [?] because I don't really have any means to keep me active. And yeah, so, that is the main cause... hobbies [?] I'd really like to do some more reading to... being a frequent reader is really good for you. I'm always looking to take hobbies, [?] different [?] that would hopefully open up a world of opportunity, so... those are the main things I would be...

Sise 5:30
Okay, that's really good.

Adam 5:32
We're talking about our hobbies and also, obviously our recreational interests. So I'm Adam, and with me here is Teo...

Teo 5:45
Hello.

Adam 5:46
And Ryan.

Ryan 5:47
Hey there.

Adam 5:48
So with hobbies and recreation that... we all have our interests and hobbies that we like to participate in - obviously, that just human nature. So what... so I'll go through a question to both of you here: What hobbies do you like to participate in yourself?

Ryan 6:08
Well, for me, I always like taking walks with my Mum, around around the bushlands that covers our homes, which are pretty cool, and going to the movies, seeing what's new, I like doing that as well, and visiting some of my family and friends. I always enjoyed that. Listening to music, I sometimes bop along to the beat, sometimes...

Adam 6:36
Nice...

Ryan 6:37
And reading a few books is... pretty interesting. So, yeah, I have a few hobbies and recreational activities, as well as playing video games, watching TV, playing on my iPad... and a few others. So I'm very, I'm a very flexible person.

Adam 6:55
Do you typically go with fiction or non-fiction with the books that you read?

Ryan 6:59
Oh, any kind.

Adam 7:01
Any kind, that's good. And... when you're going for a walk, is there a particular thing you like going... around, like, the... as you say, the bushlands...

Ryan 7:12
Oh, well, yeah, sometimes the bushlands and sometimes other parts as well.

Adam 7:17
Nice. Yeah. And...

Teo 7:19
I would [?] say I'm about the same. First off, I love walking around, just anywhere. I love like being adventurous. I think going on walks is a really good way of getting exercise... naturally.

Adam 7:30
Absolutely.

Teo 7:33
I also like going to the beach as well. It's another way of getting exercise. However, I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say Melbourne beaches, not the greatest. It's not Bondi. To be fair, you're not asking for Bondi. No, you're not asking the Surfers Paradise. No, nothing, yeah...

Adam 7:50
But still. But there are nice yeah... but yeah. Same for me. I absolutely love... I have a Australian cattle dog named Alice, obviously a Blue Heeler. And she loves going around for walks around the area. And I obviously love taking the fresh air with her, taking around and yeah, obviously other interests I've got, obviously, because you're listening to a radio station, I'm going to assume you're interested in music, just like all of us, right? So obviously, attending gigs and being particular local gigs around the area is all has always been a passion of mine. It's kind of funny. 

I feel like the smaller artists in particular, those are almost the most enjoyable gigs because of how pure they are. You know, because a big artist like, I don't know who's, who's the biggest one touring right now. I mean, obviously we've got the Taylor Swift with the ears to it, you likely not going to be able to get that close to Taylor in a stadium of 100,000 or so? That's just how it's going. Not going to work, you know, so but these Australian, local artists, they're desperate to they're just desperate to get a following around and and we'll be happily, happily talking to the crowd, talking, engaging with the audience. And I think the majority of local artists in particularly in Melbourne, are as good, if not better, than the majority of your commercial artists that everyone listens to. So, yeah, that's just my opinion.

Teo 9:47
I agree, I absolutely agree. I think something special. I like both, yeah, like. I like both. There is something special about getting a local artist. Yes, around, like, either from Melbourne or just other Australian, like, small Australian artists doing their like, tour, yeah. I think that's really cool. I really agree with you, because there's something also especially about the venues. When you go to one of the small venues, you get really, you can get up close to it, up close. The stage is just... really cool. With the stadiums, you really can't do that because there's only so much room, I think. And also the sound, the sound is not as good in an arena. It's like, Oh, it's only gonna go for it's only gonna go for so long, I think.

Adam 10:36
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, the MCG is renowned in particular for the AFL Grand Finals, it's a nightmare to perform at. But how about you, Ryan, what do you think of like going to gigs? And how about your first gig as well? Just, just for our listeners?

Ryan 10:54
Well, yeah, I agree that seeing your that seeing your favourite gigs is... always, always a joy for yeah, for young people out there with music tastes and seeing their favourite bands perform, I think it's very excitable. As my first gig, well, my first rock band was Fallout Boy, and my first concert I ever saw was... Ed Sheeran, which was absolutely amazing. So I reckon I recommend to all the music-goers out there, find whatever music you love, and if it's playing at a concert somewhere, go see it, because it will be one of the best days of your life.

Adam 11:34
Yeah, and I definitely second that. Teo, how about you?

Teo 11:37
I agree. I wholeheartedly agree. I like, I like both. Like... I do. I used to really enjoy the international bands a lot more, but now I'm like, now... the pendulum is switching the other way, which is like, Okay, now I'm liking the local bands a lot more, yeah, but I like both. I think... as long as you have a good mixture of both, I think you should be okay.

Adam 12:02
No, absolutely. I mean... that's the thing. Like, you're not going to have an international act coming to the country every weekend. For example, small independents are going to be around pretty much every, every day, if you feel like it. So what was your first gig, Teo?

Teo 12:22
My first gig was Aurelio Voltaire at... a place called 24 Moons...which is in Northcote. And it was really fun. I really enjoyed it. It was one of the fun days of my life. It was fantastic. It was a great birthday present.

Adam 12:39
I love that. Yeah... aside from Play School, which was technically my first gig (LAUGHS)... my first one, proper one was Bruce Springsteen at... the Melbourne rectangular stadium, otherwise known as AMI Park. But yeah, it was, my Mum was, has always been, a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and... she wanted that to be my first experience. And seeing as it went for two to three hours, of which he performed the entire time, it was such an incredible first initial impression of music, and... since then, I've always been looking for my... own experiences in music and just, I mean experiencing the journey. So how about... you mentioned movies earlier, Ryan, what..?

Ryan 13:37
Ah, yes, I did.

Adam 13:39
What would you say your favourite movie is?

Ryan 13:41
Well, I think my favourite movie was proba... is probably Ready Player One by Steven Spielberg.

Adam 13:48
A good choice, for sure.

Ryan 13:49
Yes. And it's a very interactive, enjoyable movie.

Adam 13:55
Absolutely. Teo?

Teo 13:57
I would say mine was... Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock - an absolute classic.

An absolute classic for sure.

I've seen, I've actually seen all the Psycho Series. I've seen the original, and I've also seen the sequels that we, that I don't think... no-one should talk about, because in my opinion, they're, they're terrible. Yeah, don't, don't... wait, have you seen the sequels?

Adam 14:23
I have? I have, actually.

Oh no... (LAUGHTER) yeah, what I said about...

Teo 14:33
And also the remake, which was one of the most confusing, baffling, pointless remakes I've ever seen.

Adam 14:40
Yeah... my one is probably, actually, it's a pretty simple one, but it's a really nicely made Australian film...

Zimona 14:50
Hello, everyone. You're listening to Emerging Voices on SYN. You're here with Zimona and Imogen. You've just listened to Shiver by Ed Sheeran... and we're continuing today's topic on hobbies and recreational activities.

Imogen 15:03
Although I have to say quickly, Ed Sheeran is one of those artists that crept up on me - in the sense that I didn't really know who he was, and then suddenly he'd been the biggest pop artist for like, years, and I still didn't know who he was, and I had to catch up. So, yeah, I don't know Shivers, is it any good?

Zimona 15:19
I don't know it either. We have to actually, yeah... (LAUGHTER)

Imogen 15:25
All right, I'll catch up on my huge pop artists. Yes, bit of a deficit for me. But yeah, we're going to be... talking about our hobbies and what we enjoy doing in our spare time. Passions, I think, is another way to look at it.

Zimona 15:39
Yeah, passions is a good word for it, I agree.

Imogen 15:41
What we do because we, not because we have to, but because we really just want to.

Zimona 15:45
Because we love it, yeah, exactly. What will be some examples of hobbies or, well, passions that you like to participate in?

Imogen 15:52
Well, one we have in common, I think, is music - making, listening to, yes. I mean, obviously not always Ed Sheeran, but other things and making - but I don't know much about your background in music, how you got into it, what you enjoy most? Give me a bit of a snapshot. How did you start making music? What was the journey like for you?

Zimona 16:13
The journey started quite young. So guitar was my first love. I've got steel string guitar and a nylon string guitar, and I enjoy playing on both of them. And then later on in life, my mom introduced me to the ukulele, so I've got an emerald green ukulele that I received for my birthday.

Imogen 16:34
Wonderful!

Zimona 16:35
And that's, I always call it my mood booster, because you can never be really grumpy and play the ukulele. And then later on...

Imogen 16:42
It's tricky, yeah. You have to really try hard. (THEY LAUGH) It's like singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but in like, a really sullen voice,... (LAUGHTER) I'm sure it's a creative challenge for someone there - be grumpy and play the ukulele, sell it (Exactly!) Make us believe it. (LAUGHTER)

Zimona 16:42
And later on, djembe... and I've also played the harp in a series of workshops, and that was promoted or organised by Schizy Inc, Inc, which is a lovely community of artists with diverse and complex mental health issues. And that was set up by Heidi E.

Imogen 17:19
A lot of great work done by that organisation, I know. And so what was the intro to the harp? Like I know it's not a simple instrument.

Zimona 17:25
Yeah, so it was... a miniature version of the harp, and you could actually sling it over your over your back, and then hold it on to you and at the front of you, obviously. And then, yeah, anything you really did with your fingers, it just sounded beautiful. So it was a very accessible instrument, and we played in a group setting. So that was really lovely.

Imogen 17:46
Oh, that's fantastic. I think it's really nice to have an experience with an instrument where it sounds nice even when you're just starting. (LAUGHTER). That is not the case for all instruments like you give... I mean, even, I learned violin for three years when I was very young. If you put a violin in my hand and I try to play it, it's not a pleasant experience, like the sound is not one that you're gonna be coming back for.

Zimona 18:10
Yeah, the violin is definitely one of the hardest instruments, I think, to learn. For sure. What kind of music do you enjoy making? Like you mentioned, I think singing?

Imogen 18:21
Yeah, I've been doing more of that in the past few years. I basically reached a point... so my whole life I've played instruments. Quite, spent quite a lot of my time playing various instruments. And I think I had a bit of a... defiant thing of like, oh no. Everybody expects girls to sing. They don't expect them to play instruments, which was a real shock to my system. When I got out of school, I was in a girls school, and I was surrounded by these incredible musicians, like incredibly skilled, talented, just really phenomenal. And then I went out into the rest of the world, and I realised this thing called sexism exists, and it influences people's attitudes towards things, and suddenly the assumption is, if you're a girl and you're doing any music, you must just be the singer, because a lot of bands, the only time you see any female representation is if they're the lead singer. 

You don't... I mean, it's getting a lot better, but for a long time, you wouldn't see them be the drama or the guitarist or the bassist - not because there aren't amazing women out there, women and gender diverse folk out there, doing, playing these instruments and playing it well. But there have been so many barriers in the industry, and often a lot of danger in participating, and that's just created this really exclusionary... anyway, that's my, that's another rant, but... that led me to sort of yeah, be like, No, I'm a terrible singer, but I can play like five instruments. I got to the point where I was like, You know what? I actually really like singing. I don't want to be a terrible singer. I'm gonna try to get better at this - and if, in the meantime, I end up becoming the cliched woman who sings, I'm totally fine with that. I care more about singing than I do about that. 

So I've been working on that the past few years, and it's been really fantastic - it's a big process, and I feel like often get worse before I get better.

Zimona 20:09
Is there any genre of... singing that you really enjoy?

Imogen 20:14
I'm... really weird with it, in the sense that I really like scales and technical exercises. Because if you do a lot of those, you tend to get better. However, with singing, if you just sing the same song over and over again, you don't necessarily get any better. Just like, think of someone who does karaoke regularly, you can do karaoke for many, many years and never really improve your technique. And for me, when I sing songs, I just feel like, Ah, like, unless I'm singing along to the radio or just something for enjoyment, I'm just like, Ah, I'm not... really... progressing myself here. I've got to go back. But, yeah, I've been doing... dabbling a little bit in beginners opera, which is good foundational training.

Zimona 20:59
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's amazing.

Imogen 21:02
Well, the aim is that people don't wince when I start singing. (LAUGHTER)

Zimona 21:06
I love, I would love to sing, but I'm not a natural singer whatsoever.

Imogen 21:11
Neither, that's the thing.

Zimona 21:12
Yeah, it's, it seems so cathartic to just use your voice in such a manner. It's a dream of mine, like I actually had a couple of lessons here and there, but I just yeah, I didn't have the confidence to actually continue it, if that makes sense.

Imogen 21:28
Look, I think it's a really tricky thing with voice, because we all... all of us who who speak, are using our voices on a daily basis, and we when it comes to singing, I think a lot of people have this misconception that... natural talent, or being sort of naturally gifted, is the only way to get good at it, and we expect ourselves to be good straight away.

Zimona 21:55
Yeah, that's true.

Imogen 21:56
Whereas for I mean, the occasional few are born and use their voices in a way that their technique is incredible when they start. Maybe, I don't know, I'm not an expert in the field - but a lot of us, we actually do have to work at it, and we have to learn it as an instrument like we would any other instrument.

Speaker 1 21:56
Yeah, 100%. For me, self-confidence has been a barrier to actually accessing hobbies. Have you had any barriers or... what makes an accessible hobby for you?

Imogen 22:27
Yeah, well, I mean, singing is... one that I really enjoy because I have spent a lot of time in bed or just generally, like horizontal, I've got a number of chronic illnesses, including Potts, which can make it very difficult to stand up for long periods or be upright. So singing is great because you can... do it in bed, you can do it lying down, sitting up, standing up... and... yeah, you've, you've got your, I've got my voice with me wherever I go.

Zimona 22:56
That's so true.

Imogen 22:58
As long as the people around me don't mind my ... (LAUGHTER)

There are a few barriers to accessing that. And yeah, another, another passion I think we share, but sometimes struggle to access, is reading. Yes. So I love being part of a local book club - because it gives me a deadline to finish a book. Otherwise, I can be terrible at just dipping in and out and taking years to finish.

Zimona 23:26
That's a good tip for sure, definitely.

Imogen 23:28
Yeah, gets me, gets me finishing them, even if it's the day before speed reading. Yeah, exactly. I would just, I consider it. I call it bingeing, which I don't think it's really used very much for reading, but it's a similar thing where you're just immersing yourself in it and you're getting through the whole story all at once.

Zimona 23:45
Yeah.