Colin Hay has been playing “Who Can It Be Now,” of Men at Work fame, for 35 years now, but he doesn’t get tired of it.
In fact, he tries not to think about it at all.
“You play the song and as much as possible you let it be. You don’t input too much about your psychology about what you feel about the fact that you’re playing that particular song that’s 35 years old. You just play the song,” Hay said.
Hay has made a name for himself outside of Men at Work after about 29 years of touring on his own and 13 solo albums. His touring will include a stop here at The Foundry tonight at 7:30 p.m.
“You have to really get out of your own way when you’re playing old songs — or I do anyway. You have to just treat them with the respect they deserve because they’re very important songs to me, and they’ve been very good to me over the years,” Hay said.
There’s a dedicated crowd of people who support his solo career, he said, making it possible to still do what he dreamed of doing.
“I wanted to be in a great rock band, and I wanted to make great records and tour the world and live fabulously, and I did that and I still get to do that so I guess I’m lucky,” Hay said.
The best part about all the fame and the career, he said, is the freedom it provides.
“I wake up in the morning and I get to do whatever the (expletive) I want. I don’t have to go to a job or hang out with people I don’t like,” Hay said.
Hay plays shows for his audience. He hopes they leave people feeling better than what they came in and that the show will live in their memory.
His favorite part of being a musician is being in the studio, not playing live shows.
“I like the process of recording songs and seeing where the song goes,” Hay said. “You’re producing something and creating something and then recording something and you’re putting it down for all time. When you go out and play live you’re reproducing what you’ve already created. In that sense it’s not so exciting because you’re reproducing something,” Hay said.
Still, the audience always keeps it interesting, Hay said.
“The audiences are very lovely and kind and generous wherever I go,” Hay said. “I have fantastic audiences. It’s very nourishing, actually.”
His most recent album is called “Next Year People” named after a thought Hay had while watching a documentary about the Great Depression. People living during that time just had to keep going, hoping that next year things would change. Hay thinks that’s part of human nature.
The singer-songwriter is originally from Scotland, but moved to the United States in his teens. Hay released his first solo album in 1987.
He is known as a solo artist for appearing on the soundtracks for “Scrubs,” “Modern Family” and “Garden State.”
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and tickets are $25.
Follow reporter Hilary Butschek on Twitter @hilarylbutschek or at https://www.facebook.com/hbutschek.