| Dallas, Texas 07/15/2003
Q: How did you get started as a music group? Anthony Field : We all had musical background as we had all been in bands before going to University. Jeff and I had some success in The Cockroaches selling a gold and platinum album. We were at University together and decided to bring together our musical backgrounds with the things we had learned about children and their view of the world. We made a tape like a university project and took it to the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Things started to slowly grow from there as people got to hear our music and liked what they heard and saw. Q: You've been associated with certain color shirts from the beginning. How did you choose the color you wear? Greg Page : Jeff and Murray already had purple and red shirts, so Anthony and I went shopping and just picked out some bright colors." We love our coloured skivvies. It's pretty awesome waking up in the morning and knowing exactly what you are going to wear that day! Q: What is the source of your inspiration? Do you have children yourselves? Anthony Field :We have been inspired by the early childhood education we received at University. We always wanted to offer something of quality and something new to children in the world of music to allow them to discover things about themselves and the world around them. Two of us do, Murray and Greg are married and have two children each. Q: Who or what were your influences as you created the Wiggles? Anthony Field : Our influences are: our Early Childhood Education and lecturers, rock 'n' roll, Gilbert & Sullivan and classical music. We have universal tastes. Greg Page :"We love that '60s feel. There were so many great grooves and different styles of music then. That's what's wonderful about doing children's music like we do. We don't have to stick to one style of music. We can do folk, rock, reggae or pop." Q: You sing songs from many different countries. Did any of you live someplace other than Australia? Anthony Field : Australia is a multicultural society with people from all around the world and The Wiggles reflect that community. We've traveled all around the world but still call Australia home. Q: The Wiggles songs include many words or phrases unique to your Australian homeland. Have you considered changing any of your vocabulary for American audiences? Greg Page : People find it kind of exotic. Initially, we were concerned about whether we should adapt it, but people find it interesting to hear "nappy" instead of "diaper" or "footpath" instead of sidewalk. Murray Cook : I had a theory fairly early on that children don't learn those cultural differences until they're a bit older. They're just learning about language anyway, so they can handle the differences, especially in the age group we're dealing with. They're still learning what things are called. We say things differently, and they seem to accept that quite readily. Q: How much singing and musical training did you have as children? Anthony Field : I learned violin as a child. I started lessons at 5 years old and took them until I was 15. I also played in the school orchestra and took up guitar and discovered rock 'n' roll music. Jeff's been playing keyboards in bands since high school and Murray and Greg have both played guitar in bands since high school. Q: The dancers have become something of a trademark for you. How did that come about? Do you bring the dancers on the road with you? Anthony Field : We started using little children in our videos as children love to see others dancing. We have used various groups over the years, some trained others not. It is good to keep the mixture of those that are choreographed and those that are not. We want the children watching to be able to emulate what takes place on the video. We have taken young performers on the road but we generally don't as it involves taking parents and others to assist. We now use adults as dancers for our big shows. Q: Your songs have a lot dances that go with them. How do you choreograph the steps? Greg Page : We're not professional dancers. We have a test - if we can't do it, the kids won't be able to do it either. Q: How do you keep your energy and enthusiasm levels so high? Greg Page :We began doing what we do because we enjoyed it and that's the reason why we're able to sustain it, and we've combined our musical background with our teaching background. Q: Do you ever feel a bit silly while your performing as a Wiggle? Greg Page : Never! When you are an early childhood teacher it is like you're a performer. Your class is the audience. You have to lose all inhibitions and capture their imaginations and their attention because this is how children learn. So naturally, as a children's entertainer, you must lose all inhibitions and self consciousness. Q: How has your life changed since becoming a Wiggle? Greg Page : The biggest change has been in terms of travelling; prior to performing with The Wiggles I travelled only within Australia. Now touring commitments take me all over the world which is very exciting, but also having a family makes life challenging as well. Q: Did you ever imagine how popular you'd be? Greg Page :No, we never imagined the success The Wiggles would have. Nor did we imagine that 12 years after recording our first album that we would be travelling the world and performing for millions of people. It has been the most fantastic adventure, one that we are very grateful for. One that we are enjoying and will continue to enjoy for years to come. We gauge our success on 'are we producing good quality videos and shows and CDs'" The other stuff we treat as a joke, in fun. Q: Talk about the Wiggles' transition from a band to a brand. Murray Cook : Well, as with most things we do, it happened gradually. Until fairly recently, we haven't really been that great on having meetings and stuff like that [laughs]. Things happen fairly organically with us. But yeah, early on, we just wore colored shirts, and now we've got the Wiggles logo on there. That was so people could see us straight away and know that that was us. And in Australia, any merchandising we've done has mainly been a response to people asking us for things. Q: Do you find that audiences differ in the US and from Australian audiences? Anthony Field : There are obviously some cultural differences like our pronunciation of banana, but in general, they enjoy the show just as much If there is a difference it's that American audiences are a little more enthusiastic in their responses. Jeff Fatt : "In America, we've found the audiences really enthusiastic. It took us by surprise that so many people wanted to come and see us here in America. It's fantastic." Q: What songs do audiences demand the most? Anthony Field : The Wiggles have 11 years of songs to choose from, so a lot are requested. The most requested would be "Point Your Finger;" "Hot Potato" and "Monkey Dance." Q: You toured with Barney the dinosaur a few years ago. Did you learn anything from that experience? Anthony Field : We made a lot of friends on the Barney tour and were amazed to see touring on such a big scale. Q: The Wiggles have achieved a lot through collaboration with other entertainers. Are there plans for further team-ups with other celebrities? Greg Page : I don't think there's any firm plans at this stage. However, now that we are doing fairly well in the USA I guess we would like to collaborate with some of our idols from the US, like maybe John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Q: Although your sound hasn't changed much, you've integrated a lot of new media/animation techniques and computer technologies into your videos and television shows over the last year. Do you think that the nature of children's entertainment is continuing to evolve and change? Anthony Field : New technology has enabled us to do some things we couldn't have in the past such as animation. So this is an area that affords us a flexibility that we didn't have before. People can sometimes forget that entertaining children can also be kept very simple. Children may have many more avenues of access but the fundamentals of child behaviour and understanding remain the same. Q: How can parents ensure that their children are getting the most out of children's entertainment like CDs, videos and television? Anthony Field : By making them a part of their lives, (such as) the trip in the car with music playing. Parents and other siblings can take the time to share in the fun and learning experience. Q: Do you attach a lot of importance to your status as male role models? Greg Page : "Studying to be teachers, we were amazed to learn how may children have single mothers, don't have father figures." Q: Why is Jeff always falling asleep? Greg Page : Jeff likes dreaming, therefore to dream, the best thing to do is to sleep. So that's why he always falls asleep. Q: What are Crunchy Munchy Honeycakes? Anthony Field : Crunchy Munchy Honeycakes are an old recipe of Grandma Wiggle. You can find it at www.thewiggles.com.au. |