The
last time we spoke your album was about to come out and it certainly more than
came out. It went to number five
on the ARIA Album Chart, and number one on the iTunes Country Chart in the
first week of release. Was that
unexpected for you? Did you think
it might do really well?
That was totally unexpected
for me, because I didn’t expect to get that type of vibe back from the album.
It was a few months after the show [The
X-Factor] had finished, and they
were auditioning the next lot of contestants and – no, I didn’t expect it to be
like that at all.
Even
though that album isn’t strictly country music, you certainly seemed to have
built audiences in rural and regional areas really well. Do you think that the rural and
regional audiences are really good keeping faith, I guess, with you?
Yeah, look, a hundred per
cent. There are lot of people out
there that love just pure country western music. And there is a lot of people out there that like that type
of heavy ballad, type of Bryan Adamsy feel.
Now
you are extending your tour with Amber Lawrence, so clearly that is going very
well? Or are you secretly not
getting along?
We are loving each every day
together. We have so much fun together.
It is just that it is a real privilege for me to be on the road with someone
that has been doing it for a little while and they have had a lot of
experience. So you have got to
learn some way. And it has been
amazing.
And
this is your first ever tour experience, and first time, I guess, working with
a band consistently, so as a performer, what have you learnt over the last few
months?
I reckon, as a performer over
the last year, I would have to say I have learnt a lot about performing. A lot about strategy of music, because,
I mean, it is completely different – it is a different world when you are
performing with a live band to what it is when you are performing with backing
tracks, you know what I mean? It is really amazing. And, honestly, to have learnt so much from the band about
music and different things like that, I found it really, really enjoyable.
Q: I
remember when I last interviewed you, you talked about how you warm up your
voice every day and doing vocal exercises. So I was wondering how your voice has been holding up with
such consistent and long tour?
That is a really good
question. My voice has actually
held up very well on tour. There
has been one show that I have had to pull out on, because I actually ended up with
a vocal infection. I had a really
bad case of tonsillitis. And I sang. I sang with a swollen throat. And that damaged my vocal cords. So I had to pull out of one of the
concerts. It was Windsor. And then I went to the doctor, and
everything like that. But luckily
enough there was a month break after that show. So by the time I was ready to come back, I was ready as
well. So it worked well.
So
for a damaged vocal cord is the prescription just to rest? Or did you have to do something else?
No, no, rest. Whatever you do, try and talk the least
you possibly can. Definitely do
not sing or you could ruin it for life.
So it was very, very – it was scary. I wasn’t game to even say “Hello” [laughs].
It
also must have been really strange for you to not sing, because it seems as if,
for you, singing is really an extension of your day-to-day life, and who you
are.
It is. Like, I get with my mates, and you will
sit and the car, and we will just singing along to songs all day, sitting in
the car. And they go, “Aren’t you
sick of it; doing it nearly every day of the week? And you do it for a
living. It is what you do.” And I said, “Well, that is why I don’t
get sick of it, because it is something I love to do.”
Well,
I think they actually should have been sitting there thinking they were getting
a free concert.
[Laughs]. Yeah,
but it is not free concert when you are with them every day, and you
sing and they get sick of you fairly quickly [laughs].
Fair
enough! Speaking of getting sick
of things, you are not sick of singing ‘Islands in the Stream’ yet?
[Laughs] Yes and no at the same time. We have probably sung that about 400
times in the last six months. But
it is a great song. It is a song
that everyone loves. And we have
had so much fun singing it too.
Often,
as an audience member, I wonder how, when artists have a signature song – and
for you and Amber on this tour this is the song – how you manage to make it new
every night. I mean, you possibly
don’t. But do you find different
sort of things inside of it, or different ways to sing it, just to keep it
interesting for yourself?
Yes and no. For the audiences, of course, it is
always something new for them, because it is not the same people see every
show, so of course it is different for them. But, for us, it is the same old ‘Islands in the Stream’ that
we have been singing all along.
But, I mean, we do try and change things around. But, the thing is, with a song like
that, covered by us, and originally from two legends, it is hard to change
it too much, because everyone relates back to Kenny to Dolly.
Yes
[laughs]. It is a big burden. But, obviously, you are carrying it off
well or you wouldn’t still be on tour. People are obviously enjoying it.
Yeah. Exactly. So we can’t change it too much. We have just put our own little spins on it.
Has
it inspired you to think of doing any more duets with Amber?
I am actually working in the
process of a new album, and I hope to get a duet underway with Amber as well on
my new album. Of course, if it
doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
But she is recording an album as well. So maybe I can jump on her album, or something. But we are loving working with each
other and we really want to keep working along with each other somewhere along
the line.
I
did have a question about your album.
And as you have mentioned it, I will go to that one, which is: I am
always really curious when artists are touring a lot, how they manage to fit
in, or even think about, recording something down the track, or writing songs
for it. So how are you managing
your time?
Being on the road, I get a
lot of advice off the musos, off the band, and they have all been in the
industry quite a long time ... I am doing lots of songwriting in December, but
as soon as you have got a few days off – because usually you perform on a Friday,
Saturday, Sunday basis. It is not
very often you sing on a Thursday or something night, [so] you usually record
during the week, probably, and then go to do your shows on the weekend. It is a lot of hard work. And it is a lot of pressure on your
voice, but you have just got to look after it.
I
would also would imagine with recording, because you are doing take after take
after take, probably, or for some songs you are, it would be quite tough to
keep it going.
It is – it is a hundred per
cent. And it is not easy to record
at all. You get a really good
producer and they want everything a hundred per cent, and that is what you want
in the long run. It might seem
like forever, and ‘Oh my god, I am sick of this’ in the studio, but when your
album is released you will realise that it was all worth the time.
So
have you already been writing songs for this album?
I have got about three or
four songs written of my own. And,
yeah, they are very, very nice songs.
I am very excited about them.
Because
that is a different process again.
It would be quite easy to just be a performer and not worry about that
side of things.
Yeah, a hundred per
cent. If I had professional
writers writing for me, it is a good thing. But it is good to just let your hair down and just start
writing your own music. You just
put a story in place and away you go … I mean, if you write a good song, you
write a good song. But while you
are sitting there writing something on a piece of paper, you never know, it
could be a global hit that you are writing. You don’t know.
Where
does your song writing inspiration come from?
I sit down at home and I just
write the type of songs that come to my mind. Of course, being 19 years of age you go through a bit of love
crisis when you are younger and you just relate back to that, I suppose. A lot of famous artists that have
written love songs, they have all be quite young when they write it. That is
when it hurts. You don’t even know
what love is really, do you?
And
you still go through a lot of chopping and changing, in regards to love, and
who you love.
That is right, a hundred per
cent.
This
is possibly a cheeky question, but I would think there are some young people
who come to see you in concert who would be hoping they have a chance. Have you had to deal with any over-keen
fans?
Yeah, I have. Like, on the X-Factor tour, there was a lot of fans. They would throw rocks at
your window of your room, and different things like that, just to try and get
your attention, just to see you. And to go down in the foyer of a morning, and
they are there and they – yeah.
Look, we have had some crazy fans – pulling their shirts down and
everything like that. You do get wild fans. But I suppose you can’t complain.
I
just can’t believe anyone would throw a rock at your window and expect that you
are going to respond positively to that?
Well, that is what
happened. Nathaniel and I were in
a room once and that happened. And
bang. I said, “What was that?” He said, “Probably just a fan throwing stuff at the
window.” [Laughs].
Does
it make you a little bit nervous – that sort of behaviour?
It does. Because you don’t know what to expect
next, do you know what I mean?
Speaking
of shows and fans, you have a big show in Tamworth with Amber. Have you had any Tamworth experiences
in the past?
I used to do a bit of
recording with LBS Studios, once upon a time, when I was younger, just to
experience everything of the industry.
I used to do a few shows with them at the Festival. Out the back of their studio it was
like an auditorium. But nothing like it will be this year – going to the Golden
Guitar Awards and performing with Amber in the Blazes Room at the Wentworth
Leagues. Big shows. So it is going
to be really good.
Blazes,
of course, is one of the key venues to play at. So do be doing that at 19 years of age is pretty amazing.
Excellent. Thank you much. It has just been an
incredible ride. And I must say,
hopefully I can just keep pursuing the great music for everyone to listen to,
and to grow my fan base. And that
is about you can try and do here in Australia.
I
guess also for you, being so young, it is not as if you have had as many years
as others, to dream about having this sort of career and how you might run
it. So does it feel a bit like you
have been thrown into a washing machine and you are getting tumbled around?
Yeah. I have always wanted to
do something with my music. And
there was a stage there when I just thought I am never going to be good enough,
so what is the point? And I just
drifted away from it. And then all
of a sudden I came back to the X-Factor
auditions. And I went in that just
for the sake of it. And look what
happened. You never know unless you have a go at things.
I
am curious about you saying that you thought you were never going to be good at
it. Was that because you had been
sending off demos? Or you had
tried to get shows? Or you just
thought, look, it is all too hard in general?
No. I just never thought I was good enough. I never had any self-confidence. Everyone
used to tell me I was really good and I just never believed them. Of course, they were going to tell me I
am good, because you don’t get many people who will turn around and say, “Oh,
mate. You sound like crap.” Especially
where I was from, in a little town.
There was like 20 of us at the pub on a Friday night, or something,
and who wants to start a fight?
[Laughs]. That is a very good point Jason. I wouldn’t have thought of it like that.
Oh well, it is true [laughs].
So,
were you getting up and singing in the pub on a Friday night then?
When I was younger I did. When
I was, like, 9, 10 years of age we used to go for dinner, and they set up a
little amplifier and a CD player.
And you could sing Kasey Chambers, and Shania Twain, and [laughs] all
those types of artist when I was little, so.
A
lot of blokes wouldn’t touch a Kasey Chambers song, I don’t think. So I am really interested that you were
covering Kasey Chambers and Shania Twain.
Oh, this was when I was,
like, seven or eight. A while ago. I couldn’t sing John Denver back then. My voice was too high [laughs].
Fair
enough. But, still, I think it is great you were singing Kasey Chambers
songs. So has your band changed at
all during the tour? Do you get to
continue with the same band in 2014?
We are until May but once I
release my new album, I will be finding my own band.
Does
that mean you essentially operate as your own band leader? So you are making all those choices?
Definitely, when I go on tour
by myself I will be choosing the band.
Choosing my songs I am singing.
Choosing the act that comes with me, whether it is a double headliner,
or whether they are supporting me, or no matter what. It really all comes down to how the next album goes. I think if the album sells well,as good
as the first, then I can take someone out the road that wants the experience of
touring big time. Like, not a
double headline. And I will just
take someone out that is just starting and to give them a go.
I
would imagine it is quite difficult to choose someone, because there are
probably quite a few acts who would love to have the spot. And so it is a question of working out
not only who wants it, and not only who is good, but who is a good fit with
you.
That’s right. You definitely
want someone who would fit in well with me. Because I am quite out there. You don’t want someone that doesn’t swear, doesn’t do this,
doesn’t do that, because I’m the total opposite, you know? So you want someone
that can fit into my type of genre and my type of feel.
Is
there any part of you that looks around at your friends and thinks, oh, I am
doing all this work – essentially I have got more than a full-time job, and it
looks like it is going to continue for a while now, maybe I should have just
kicked around and gone to uni or done something else? Are you missing your late youth, basically?
There are always thoughts
about what is going to happen. Nothing is ever certain in this industry. Like, prime example, we have been
touring this year [2013], and have had the third biggest tour in the year in
the country music. [Some big acts]
just aren’t drawing the people any more.
And it just goes to show how hard it is in this industry. It is not an easy industry at all.
But
what people do respond to is entertainment. And you and Amber have very definitely billed this show as
being entertaining. Plus, because
there are the two of you, for punters coming along, that is a really good night
they are going to have. A lot of
people, I think, worry about who a support act might be. But if they know it is you and Amber
both doing sets, then that is a great night out. So it is, essentially, a sure thing for a punter.
I 100 per cent agree with
you. You have got to be very
careful who you take on the road with you, and what they sing. You don’t want someone accompanying
with me singing jazz or something, because that just wouldn’t work. So you have got to very careful of what
you do. You are a hundred per cent
right with the support artist. If
the support artist is not good, then people aren’t going to want to come and
see the show, do you know what I mean?
And
it is also a responsibility because you could actually break this person’s
career out in the open. You could
be giving them a lot of exposure which sets them up for their own career. That
is a lot of responsibility for you, as a young artist. I can’t think of many
people who have been in that position so young to, essentially, almost be
moving into the position of being an elder, being able to break to someone else
in the industry.
A lot of people have said
that to me, “You are quite a young artist to be doing what you are doing. And if they are going to make it, like
Keith Urban did, or so forth like that, they all start where you are. You never just straight into the
limelight. You always built
it. But you have had an amazing
start. You have got 15,000
followers on Facebook. And that is
just an incredible achievement for your first album, and everything like that.” So, yeah, I am very excited.
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