Queensland singer-songwriter Brad Butcher will unleash his self-titled debut album later this month. I caught up with Brad recently to chat about the album, his upcoming launch shows, and what it was like growing up in a small mining town.
You’re releasing your debut album later this month. How does it feel to be on the verge of its release?
It ‘s a great feeling knowing I’m about to finally put it out there. Making the album has been a great learning experience for me and I have made some great new friends. I’ve grown as a performer and a songwriter and I’m very proud of the songs I have and I can only hope that others will enjoy listening to them and get something from them.
What can you tell me about the album?
I have always written songs that are quite personal. I’m a very visual songwriter, meaning I find it easier to describe something I have seen or witnessed rather than to pull the image from thin air. This group of songs is almost a diary of my life and the people in it so far. From falling in love to falling apart, birth, death and about not giving up along the way.
It features the single “Conversations and Complications,” which has been embraced by community radio. Did that take you by surprise?
Everything has been a surprise for me over the last two years. I was surprised that other people thought I could do this. I was surprised with how much I liked the writing and recording process and I was even more surprised to find that people genuinely like the songs. I had a dream of making an album and everything since it was finished has been an unexpected but very welcome bonus.
This year’s been really big for you, with some big shows and support slots. What have been your personal highlights?
It’s hard to really say which highlight stands out the most for me. Supporting Mark Seymour and touring with Busby Marou were both fun experiences. Performing at the Gympie Muster and the Bigsound Music Conference were each, in their own right, perfect for me to find out what level I’m at when compared to the more established acts. Each time I take to a stage I can feel myself becoming more confident and at home.
You grew up in a small mining town in Central Queensland. How did that upbringing influence the person you are today?
I spent the first seven years of my life in Dysart, a coal mining town in Central Queensland. My dad was the local milkman there for ten years and my mum was a community worker. In the years that my parents, my older brother, and younger sister were living there, we each made a number of close friends, of which now some 20 years on, are still close. I think the sense of community that Dysart had in that time had a very grounding influence on me. Musically it was hard not to have some sort of a country influence, but it was never my intention to make an alternate country album. I’m just happy to be making music.
You toyed with several career paths. Why do you think you ended up settling on music?
I have always wanted to do something for a living that I truly enjoy doing. I loved playing sport as a kid and I would have given anything to have been a professional sportsman but I also believe that everything happens for a reason and I have ended up right where I’m supposed to be. I didn’t really settle on music; it just kind of worked its way into my life and its now firmly right in the middle.
You’re touring around your home state of Queensland at the end of the month. Are you looking forward to those shows?
Yeah I can’t wait. It’s my first opportunity to perform the album live and with a full band so I’m pretty excited get out there and show everyone what we have done, and since moving to Brisbane in February this year it will be a good chance to catch up with friends and family.
What can music fans expect at your gigs?
I have been primarily a solo performer for the last few years, playing covers in and around Mackay and the Whitsundays. This tour will showcase a completely new direction for me. Fans can expect an up close and honest look at the songs and learn a little of how they came to be, as well as having a footstomping good time.
Will the rest of Australia get the chance to see you soon?
I can’t wait for the chance to get the music the rest of the country. At this stage there are plans for a national tour early to mid next year and I guess depending on how well the music is received will dictate how far we go.
Do you have anything else in the pipeline you can tell me about?
There is already plans for a second album or EP but I can’t give to much away just yet. I am just very excited to get this out there and see what it brings.
Brad Butcher’s self-titled debut album hits stores on October 25. He’ll play the following launch shows to support its release.
25 October 2012 – Mackay Convention Centre, Mackay
26 October 2012 – Studio 2 Nightclub, Rockhampton
7 November 2012 – The Tribal Theatre Brisbane