Ep.187 - Dusty Tunes

[Music] G'day and welcome back to the Dusty Boots podcast. Australia's Wildest Country Music and Lifestyle podcast. And today is another episode of Dusty Tunes where we cover all things country music. You're with Shooter and Shooter. No, I'm joking. I never call me Shooter. And Jeffy, what's happening, mate? No, not a lot, not a lot. But again, I'm hoping I'm not doing this. Just sort of think then. I reckon you've done, have you done a full Dusty Tunes show with me? I remember at one stage when we very first started you coming in. I remember you did the dad song with me. Yeah, we came in, there was you, me and Bill, and I think I just sat in the corner. I think you sat in the corner and just observed. And then I reckon you chucked him on and had a yarn about the dad song of the way. That's what I think. So this is your first full, for a Dusty Tunes show. Don't fuck up. Otherwise you'll be gone, right? Is that all I have to do? No, as we know, mate, Dusty Tunes, Bill covered probably CMC last week and did well with Cass, which was really good. Yeah, it was good. Cass has an absolutely wonderful voice and she's got big things coming. So for people that don't know Cass, she's from Bow Act, she's a local. Cass, she's a drill music. I can tell you right now to keep an eye on it because the name of the people are probably going to get pretty familiar with. Yeah, they should be. Because she's working her ass off behind the scenes as a young girl in the industry. Today, being Friday means it's been nearly a week since I was in Melbourne. I went down and watched Jordan Davis as I said on Wednesday's episode, mate. Live at Rod Lever. Rod Lever's good. I do like it. Still like the forum more. I think the forums are completely do you even venue? It's just, I've talked about it like we've talked about it a lot, probably lately in the last probably three months, about what's better. The forum is the forums of forum. Weed they join with a bus every time. Rod Lever's their heads or our big crowds. They cheer at different moments, which I'll talk through tonight of when the crowd got ready when it didn't. But it's just sort of like the forums of forum and it just has that energy built in their walls. Well, it's designed to do. Yeah, pretty as and probably it's not a tennis court. It's not in the ring. No, it's not. Yeah, and they can build anything they want, any stage they want. It's still a tennis court. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's still in the arena. Whereas the forum is designed for it. Like it's you feel the forum. Like even like backstage stuff, probably for an insight for people that don't see it. Like backstage at the forum is a lot of green rooms, downstairs, a lot of big open areas where like everyone sort of congregates together, like you know, say Jordan Davis, Tucker went more like applying those individual rooms off the outside and then there's sort of a big meeting area in the middle where everyone has a beer and sits around on the couches and has a laugh and all that sort of stuff. Whereas Rod Lever on Thursday night and we're walking, we went backstage down around the bottom to go catch up with Tucker and Jordan. It is tennis courts, big chain rooms, like gym chain rooms, everything underneath. But it just made me laugh. I'm like a very commercialised place. And it does its value. You look, I've seen some of the best artists ever. Well, the thing is, you can't fit that many people in the forum. So, yeah, you get, you get a big name. I did not going to play the forums. I always say the pinch yourself moment, mate. I did pinch myself in a musical sense that I sat in 2023. I went and watched Loot Combs and I sat nearly behind the stage on the angle. And I was like, "What's the point of the world with the worst, cheapest seat you could buy?" In 2023. Compared to Thursday night, I was sitting in a box and getting food and beers down to me. It's probably a pinch of self-moment of where we've grown these podcast in the last two years from where I country music dream of absolutely loving it and having a passion for it is now actually part my job. So, that was a very pinch of a self-moment on Thursday night, sitting there going, "Fuck, I sat all the way back there in that shit seat now I'm sitting here." So, not to say I haven't worked hard for it, but we're getting there. As I said, they all played together. Jordan Davis, Rachel, Vincent and Tucker, mate, Rachel, probably first one off the back of it is the Hulver human. She did that whole Pete Murray tour. She was already made a name for herself, but the Pete Murray tour made her eye reckon. Just for the fact that she drove 50 odd shows in her own car all over Australia, just to play shows each night. And Pete Murray didn't sell out thousands and thousands of people. She played in the Hematicism Ball out, what's that fit? 550 maybe? Yeah. I ran the top floor, it wasn't even open, so maybe 250 were there. 200. So, only small crowds, but she was dedicated to doing it, she locked in and she just, she was focused on playing little shows, playing a couple of songs and I think her growth from that has been unbelievable. Well, I think it's a person you grow from and I think it's an artist you grow from because the more people out there, the easier even if it's one, two, three. But it makes you work hard on an appreciate. And you get an opportunity to get bigger. And I think touring with someone like Pete Murray for her is a huge opportunity. Pete Murray has been a staple of Australian country music, but Australian music, I guess folk music for many, many years. So to learn of him along the traps is pretty good thing to learn from. And from that to get onto the big stage, mate, she was a lit. I've been really far along, she did that strumming bird set last year and we're at St. Tron Coast and played that whole strumming bird, like she's had absolutely opportunities. And yeah, I'd seen her and I caught up with her at Couch Channel Awards. And I said to her, I said, I don't know why I'm so proud of an artist like her, but I just feel like it's from the bond we created. We did a 45 minute interview before Pete Murray sat there and she said, do you want to stick around the show and watch it with me because I'm here by myself. I'm traveling with Pete Murray. I don't know anyone. And she sat down and I said, sure, I'll stay on watch the show and Pete Murray, someone I grew up listening to in better days. I'm sort of song, she was doing time after time after again. And when I sat there and it was, you know, it became my turn to say her go to the big stages now, it's just incredible, but she deserves it. She's worked hard for it. So yeah, now I'll also, I think you said a couple of snap chats to the night. Yeah, we're pretty impressive. She, um, she even come on and did the, and she, she performed, she's a performer too. I talk about performers and people are staying stage or get to the next block in a minute, which is nowhere near a performer. Yeah. Whereas Rachel moved her in the stage and walked back and forward, she sang songs all over the stage. Perfect. That's exactly what you want from a performer. But she, she's got new music coming, which I'll get to later. Like she's, she's ticking all the right boxes and I can just see her going. She's just one of them names, as I said, Rachel Fheim. Just remember it because it's just going to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. So she even come on and did one with Jordan later in the night as well. It's probably a duo that you didn't think you needed. It was something like you'd see. We've probably green and curly pierced like it was sort of thing. She coming out there with no nerves in her system whatsoever and just blitzed it. So yeah, as I said, I can't speak highly enough of Rachel and what she's doing. She's doing it in the music industry because she's doing it properly and she's doing it honestly. Mr Bid of Vincent, because I think I was when I was down meeting Jordan. And to be honest, I think I've seen him come out the start of him. I didn't, he's got a great voice and he has some great songs, Vincent, Nathan. Did not find him a performer and he, he didn't know how to work with the crowd. Like I spoke to someone that was in Sydney and it said he'd come out and he sung three songs before he introduced himself. He said, "Get out of Sydney. I'm Vincent Mason." And then just started singing another song. Do you think that something's going to come with experience? I feel like he is somewhat experienced though. I feel like he's in a stage. I don't know. Never know what's going on if it was live. I know Bill sat down and had a great interview with him. But just show him us or whether it's just his choice not to be so public. I don't know. But I don't know if that stunts his growth as well, not being out there as well. You might want one of these posters. Music through the talking for it. And maybe that's what he wants to do. But as I said, there's no holding off that he has a good voice and he can sing and he has a couple of ripper songs. But like he came out in Melbourne, I think he sang two songs and said, "Malban how we go on." And that was probably about it. He said, "Thanks for having me, Malban at the end." So as you say, maybe he's letting his music do the talking instead of sort of his performing and chatting to the crowd. So, Taco went more. Obviously, I was still down with Jordan. So I missed a, like sort of the start of Taco. But sort of got the back half probably four songs or so. He is just to perform with that bike. He's one of the embikes he knows he's good looking because he had the top button half way down. And he was bouncing around stage. He's, he man, Jordan, which I'll get to next. They used every inch of the stage. They bounced around and they sang. They saw and stuff. They threw stuff back out in the crowd. He was up the top on the piano. He was unbelievable on the piano. And I can talk quick. Yep. But this man can sing quick. If you go listen, if you never listen to Taco, go listen to a couple of these songs and the way he just goes, do do do do do do do do word after word and it doesn't skip a beat. He's been practicing that for a very long time. So he was unreal. And to say like a piano, like an artist by the piano, you don't really see that anymore. No. Like a lot of artists just have a acoustic guitar and that's it. Yeah. And then that's all you hear. So a piano is good. Still guitars back to. Oh, that's the best thing in the world. It is back. Yeah. And then he's got a lot of songs. And he's got a lot of songs. but look, no one will overtake that brand away from him the way he performs. He will stay to, falls off a stage, you'll invite people on stage, you'll give everyone a go. A man, Luke, if I had lengthy chats about Mac and how good of an artist he is, but now everyone, them chats we've had behind closed doors, man, Luke, and now he's getting seen. Because he-- - I'll open up your feeds. - It's Mac Gogglinger. - That string boy song. - That string boy song is just in the feeds. It's in the millions. And he's honestly in the millions of streams. He's gonna make some noise. He's gonna make some noise and he's gonna be good at it. And the thing is too, which I love, Kay Luke's young followers in the band, obviously in relation. But even like Ashden's, they'll be in the band. Like they're all been mates. They were just mates in a band that were just playing music 'cause they liked music. But now they're mates in a band and they're making it. Like they're making it happen. And I said probably six months ago, I reckon Mac Goggling could be the first full one Aussie to head on CMC. I honestly do. And after this year, man of people were there singing back that song. I wasn't there myself, but the videos I've seen. And the way he took that, people singing back, he didn't stand back and laugh. He did it as serious and as straight as he could singing that string boy song. And everyone singing it back, that was like, okay, tick that box. I reckon he could be a head ball winner. So he's got big things to come. And if he is, yeah, he's young and he's smart. Like I can just, he's gonna go all the way. A very long way. - He's got the right DNA for it. - Yeah, he does. - As far as performance, yeah, he does. - That's true. - And you know, I've just seen Lukey Geiger. And I'll probably try and get Lukey Geiger on next week. I was gonna try and get him on this week. But about the tour, he's just done like, you know, Fudder Wave Tour and the air back trails with Lee Kernigan. - Yep. - And Starmaker winner as well. - Jared Riggley. - I had to think about that for a minute. Jared Riggley, Lee Kernigan, Lee's wife, obviously is well-robby and then Lee. And Luke, but the way he performs, Lee had, Luke come on first, Jared come on, they did their sets, Lee come on and performed. But Lee said, I want you to stay on the stage, Luke. Don't get off the stage. I want you to step back, play the guitar and sing songs with me. Stay on the stage. Which that is a hell of a respect from someone. - There's pretty much a strange country. - It's traveling, traveling. - He is. To have that respect to Luke, to know what he can do as a performance is unbelievable. And I still take away from that too. Luke's got songs that are out now. I'm sure he's got new songs that are coming. And he will probably tell us about as well. But the interview with Troy Cassadale showed Luke's status to me as a human that has been around for a long time. Luke didn't come into this game and just want to blow up in two seconds on TikTok and be famous. He's been playing this game for a long time. He's been playing the long game and that long game started to pay off for him. When I interviewed Troy Cassadale at Gimpy Mustar this year and he said, is there any collaboration you'd like to do or any show you'd like to go to? And Troy Cassadale would turn me, he said, do you use boys no Luke Giger? He said, yeah, he'd do. He goes, I'd love to go one of him, he shows. Or I'd love for him to sing a song with him. Now, I went to Luke straight after that interview and showed Luke that and he was absolutely blind away. - Yep. - On the Sunday of Gimpy Mustar, he actually, Troy Cassadale actually brought Luke up on stage with him and sang a song with him at Gimpy Mustar. - Beautiful. - And that shows that people of Lee Kurnig and Troy Cassadale have a lot of respect for him. And I can tell anyone that listen to this, if you see Luke Giger come up on a fucking poster in your town, get your mates, clear your Sunday schedule 'cause you're probably still gonna be there on Sunday from the Saturday night. He will play and I have watched him play to his fingers bleed. And as people like that, as you say, it's in the Bob of Mac. If Mac takes anything from that as well, Mac still has his own thing, but if he takes that Giger blood, they're gonna go a long way. - For sure. And I said, I'm only seeing anyone, so I think, I'll eat play with the podcast. Oh, I'll tell you, Johnny. - Luke did. - Luke did. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I watched him. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - The social money, but yeah. And that was even that night was the hell of a performance. - Yeah, he just didn't stop. - It doesn't stop. The best one, and I've spoken about it for a while, never, I will tell my kids as I get older, that night it can be when he stepped off that holy copter with bowed Thomas and Knuckles. - Yep. - And he walked into that bar and he played for eight nine hours straight to a fucking one o'clock in the morning 'til his fingers were wet that much. He'd ran out of, like, peaks, he had nothing left and the speaker went flat. - Yep. - That's when he gave up. - So, as unbelievable. Back to the music, sort of thing is Jordan Davis, mate. He is a hell of a voice, hell of a performer. I was talking to a few messages with James Johnson about it and he said he absolutely loves a boy. And I said, "The thing about Jordan Davis, and this isn't against women writing songs about bikes, about breakups and all that sort of stuff." - It's pretty common. How many women in the industry, your mega-maronies, yeah, everyone you can sort of think of, the girls write the break-up songs. They always write the break-up songs in a theater. - Have done forever. - Have done forever. - Probably a part in "Dollack" - Go all the way back. - Probably will forever. - Yep. - Jordan Davis is for me a boy, he's not a blokey bloke, but he's in it for the bloke. He talks about general life in his songs of being a dad 'til you can't 'cause they grow up so quick. All that sort of stuff, so relatable. And I was messaging James. I said to him, I said, "He's exactly like James. James Johnson writes songs about his life and how he's grown up." And that is why they grow so good. Jordan Davis writes songs about being a dad, how he grows up, all that sort of stuff. And that's why they're so good because they're so relatable to the common person. But I also said to James, Jordan Davis jumps around on stage like you do. - Like James is a small far. He has a few steps on the stage to get him a bit higher so people can see. But he uses every section of the stage. At CMC, there was a set of stairs up and down, which also something to get to in a minute when he got set to stairs. But he used every inch James. And Jordan Davis was the same. Like I mean, they were rock stars. They were everywhere, but just can sing. - Yeah. - And they can really sing. - But it makes it, when you go to a performance like that and they use the whole stage and they don't stop moving. - Makes for an eye of it. - It just leaves you. When you leave, you just think that's just awesome. Like I mean, years ago, and this is not country music, I went to a Guns and Roses concert now. I can't remember the name of the book, it's old. But he used to be the lead singer of Skid Row. And he opened for Guns and Roses. It was hot night. There was lights on him everywhere. He was in leather pants and a leather top. And he just ran the whole time. And it was unbelievable. And I've never forgotten that. And he out-performed Guns and Roses any day of the week. - Yeah. - It was unbelievable. But it's something that sticks with you. And if you're paying good money and you see that, it's the best ever. - It makes it worth going. Oh, 100%. And that's what I said. And James said he got up with Jordan after and just what I however, a father, a parent he is as well as being a musician is just one hell of a human. And I 100% agree with that. And spent a little bit of time with Jordan on Thursday night myself and just in that short time, as I said, it's just such a nice down to earth human that I take a box with a lot of artists I meet. And I'm very fortunate and lucky to meet that you are actually a good boy. And you're a good boy. You can sing, but you are a good boy. So, which is awesome. And as I commonly say to you, like country music is alive and wow. But it is just thriving. And off the back of CMC to walk into Jordan Davis, packed out, sold out, just shows that people all want to go to CMC, some kind of for it, but they're going to back the head, the one shows. - Yep. - And look, I had a chat to one of the people too from Frontier over Thursday night as well. And I said, do you reckon the way the industry is at the minute, everything's getting tough everyone that you know, 300 to $150 tickets and people are going to keep showing up? And she said, well, I think they will. Because it's probably going to be their only time here. - I think you're going to select what you do. - Yeah, you are going to select what you do. But I just believe that the one thing people do, if you can go to country movie, you can get a buzz from it. You're probably going to spend your money on going to do on that. Like, it's a big thing. But it is, and look, times are tough and out. And I'm hoping this year we can do more ticket giveaways and all sorts of stuff to help people out and tough times to go and enjoy the music. But it's also the other sense if you've got to get there too. Like, yeah, that's the biggest key. - Yeah, that's the biggest key. - Yeah, it's tough times. As I always say, my inbox is always open for people. If you're having a tough time or you want to want some sort of help, I'm not an expert in no sense in any area. But I'm always open to someone sending me a message mate and I'm sure you'd be the same. - Oh, for 100%. - Yeah, there's no worries. - Talk about stairs. I'll just come across my mind. I'll just, just a mind thought that just crossed. Stage setups over the last, probably, I'm going to only say probably 12 months have changed dramatically because it used to commonly be your lead singer with an acoustic in the middle and your two guitarists to the side and your drums are right behind them. All right, all on the one flat deck. Now, I only probably started to notice this with Megan Moroni from Rod and Hearts last year that the stage was flat, Nate Smith, Sarah, everyone played on a flat stage. But when Megan Moroni come on, they build it up. So they build three T's from the bottom near. So it goes up 900,000, up 900,000. And then there's stairs straight down the middle to the top. - Yeah. - The top row is where the artist walks up and down. The second row is down is now where the drums belong and maybe a guitarist. - Yeah, I know. - And then the bottom row is the flat deck of the actual stage. Yeah, I noticed that with Megan Moroni at Rod and Hearts, which creates like a bigger performing stage and it's exciting like to see because she starts the top, it's dark. The moon comes up behind her. She lights up as a silhouette and then bang lights turn on. She walks down the steps and everyone's yelling and screaming. But then from there, I've noticed more and more artist on it. James Johnson actually did it. That's why I thought of it at Sam Sandeshia. - Yep. - He had the stairs up to the back and that man moves and performs as I said all over stage. And he was running up and down them stairs. And Nate said, last week, you got walk backwards of the camera, like, walking forward, just walking. On stage, he's the same. And like, I've just noticed the drummers are up on the steps. The guitarist is up there. I don't know who thought of that, but I actually think it's great, because the artist keeps moving all over the stage and creates that more energy. So what I'm saying, it gives you the visuals too, because before you're always looking at the singer, but you don't look at the band. No. And, you know, the poor old drummer, he's up the back there. Yeah. He's parked there, there, he's slaving away, and you don't even look at it. If he's towards the front, you can see that. And he's, I suppose, they're more part of it. Yeah. And it gives you more appreciation of what the extra band does. I've noticed too, like, a lot of, like, I love country music, but I appreciate different things now. I appreciate watching the way guitarists go about it or drummers, like, adds you from Wayne Pittman's band. I love watching him and how he goes about it. And I know he's probably with Abby Ferris in that as well. And just the way they perform, like, I don't even Jason, he plays with Hayley Jensen that plays in Lane's band as well. I'm on the guitar watching the way they perform. Like, it doesn't take away from me seeing what the main artist does, but I've got a lot more respect for the people in the band as well. Yeah. Because on over a lot of people, you see Lane Pittman, you see James Johnson, you see Luke Cones and you see them. But what people don't realize that being behind has been with him probably the whole way. Yeah. And they do these days give him a lot more solo time. What are artists giving them this is this person? This is the person's sort of thing. And then one thing, which is good. And like even with the singing thing, like the on the keyboard, Lane's keyboard, by a car like he does a great remix on He's, but in the show and that. But even on the weekend, when the Jordan Davis's guitarist took over, and I've never heard the crowd go so out. So he said, what do you want to do? He's like, I want to sing a song, a bit of a stage sort of thing. He's like, you're not singing a song. He's like, I have any rips his top off and he's in a singlet and the whole crowd erupted probably the loudest band on night for Jordan Davis, which is scary for Jordan. Yeah. Then he walked forward and he actually sang Mr. Bright's I'd which it's a common song in Australia that people know. We've been a common song that people know, people are going to join in. Yeah. And I think we said about it before, like I'll play something in a minute, which is we said before when I played it to you. It's a common song that Australians know that will join in and create the energy. I think more American artists should play more Australian songs that people know towards the start to their set. Just get that energy down. Just get the energy going. Yeah. Like if it's a little bit lower or you're a little bit slower over music, you shouldn't, nothing wrong with that. But if you're just throwing that one remix or whatever it is, it can change things. I know Jake gives and she does a Fleetwood Mac one. And it's unbelievable Fleetwood Mac one. So it's stuff like that where you throw it in there. People actually know that music. Some people don't know everyone's songs. They might know one or two songs. But if you throw that Australian money and people get hyped up, then they're their tensions there. Yeah. What are you going to play next? So you get that buzzer early. You do, mate. The other one I was going to cover is that, well, the few things that cover, I'll get to the, I'll play a song in a minute with the walk-out song which still blows me away. But as I said, every Aussie artist builds sort of touch on last week as well. Absolutely killed at the same say this year. And it just shows that Australian country music is in a good position. Yeah. But internationally, the big acts are great. And I'll get to roll a grain. I'll love him. But tolle, Braden, I can't get over his performance at the same say. He played Tau Gait a few years ago. I want to mean two years ago. Last year, I can't remember the exact date. But he played there and a few people in the campus bar, right? This year he played on main stage. And he had a how of a lot of people in front of him. And he executed that to a T. Yep. He's just, his voice does the talking. He doesn't move around on a stage. He does a little bit. But he can sing. I was with Chris and Mal, we stood together. And I just think Tau Gait is one of their people. You know when a song comes on the playlist, it's upbeat. This is a good song. But this is a good song. I swear every time I look, Tau Gait is so heronies. And that won't be just a coincidence. But it just feels like he's always got them good pop-up songs where people don't know who he is. God and guns and rosers is probably number one song that I love. Why don't you listen to one of the couple of songs? And there's a sentiment today, if you play us one more tommorow and a fuck a punch between the nose. Because I just think at the moment, which is one of them songs I've just got stuck in me and I woke up singing at this morning and I've been, you know, whistled all day. But plenty of his music is unbelievable. And if people isn't just going on who the fucks Tau Gait? Go listen. Go listen to his top three songs that he's got and come back to me and say that boy can sing and I'll like his music. Because I feel like everyone that transitions to him falls in love with him. So the other ones, Riley Green, I love him. I've probably got a man crush on him, I think. I do talk about him a lot. Just a bit, just a bit, just a bit. The worst way of the lives the best thing ever, I've sent it twice within a week, worst way. And he's just, he's another one like Tuck. He knows he's good looking. He knows he's got it going on. And different around here, I think it's just a leak category of song. But he's walk out song is literally, it's just a, it starts off, I'll play it. It starts off pretty standard sort of song, but it's the Australian sort of like the pump up songs that kick in and then all of a sudden the create gets engaged and you'll see it in this as well. So this is just a standard backing track. (upbeat music) - Yo! - That's a pump up for a Friday morning. - Yes. - Dosh, straights mate. - Classic, classic. - Classic. - Well played in an intro. - Yeah, I'm 100%. Everybody knows it. Look, it's the song. - Yeah, it is. And just to go from that, and you can see the create engagement in that when it changes. Bang, it's like, hello, here we go. - Yeah. - So that's sort of a general wrap on what I've probably witnessed in the last couple of weeks. A little bit of my CMC stuff, as I said, Bill and Cass covered it well last week. So I was rolling with my couple of two bobs worth. And the other two things I had before we get to artists the week and dad song in that mate, strumming bird, I feel like people have forgotten about strumming bird and we come in this year and I don't know what the line up is, but I feel like going off last year, it's going to be big. Now, what they do with it, whether it's just the same locations and they make it right, whether they go bigger, more shows, I don't know. But I'm really excited to see where they go with it. Last year they probably had three really huge names that people probably didn't expect to come to Australia as soon as they did. Like Jolly Rowan, Shabuzy and that. So this year, I honestly think it'll be big. Like if it was me guessing, I feel like someone like Zach Braun, they will literally probably bring someone of that status over because at the end of the day, they're competing live nation with Frontier and they're going to make sure that people want to come to a strumming bird over a CMC. So they've got to play the big game of it. So it will be interesting to see. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see mate. And then obviously the Denny line up, like we're starting to push on through the year. It's Easter time. Like it'll be very interesting to see if the Denny line up comes out soon and who will be on it. Yes. Mate, that gives us the reign of rolling in artists the week. I message you today. I said, I'll find artists the way you know dad's on. And you said, no, mate, I've got someone. And I think you've done a bit of research right even thinking about a spoke to the fella. Yeah, now I'm messaging. Yeah, now what I'm not sort of, you told me this gig tonight. I thought, oh, he's a bit of, a bit of put me, put me money's worth in. And yes, I've discovered this fella just doing the doom scroll on my nightline on the couch. He's a young fella called Tom Brown. If you're looking up, he's Tom Brown music on Facebook. He's not the sports reporter from 777. No, definitely not a sports reporter. Like he's a fairly common name in midly, but Tom Brown music. Now I couldn't find a whole lot about him. So I thought, well, Margaret, I'm just going to be a creepy old man. I'm going to message the young fella. Yep. And I sent him a message and just said, you know, like who are you, what do you do? That sort of thing. Like he's only got 479 monthly listeners on Spotify, which has me, "Bugged Boy," it's that load. He's got a lot of talent. Sure, it's only going to improve in time. He's got a really old, I suppose that's why I gravitate. He's got a really old school voice about him. And I think he's going to go places, that's for sure. But yeah, I did look, I see him a message. I said, you know, "Creep an eye." Yep. So, you know, this is what we want. So he sent me back a bit of a synopsis or whatever you want to call it. Tom was born and raised in a cropping and sheep property in a small town in Central Victoria. He's just completed a degree in Ag Business and Management. He's returned to the family farm to work with his folks and expand the business. So he's got a head on his shoulders as well, and there's a bit of talent. A boy by the sound, too? Yeah. And he started playing guitar at four years old and spent his youth playing at the Can Fire, like all Canter-Answer pub gigs, and he's played, worked his way through uni by singing. Yep. He's got a couple of songs which has released on most platforms. "Rodio Dreams" is his new one that was done in August this year. Oh, last year's song? Yep. And. Don't fright me out on that mate, don't tell me we're going to be sorry. No, and the other one is why I can't use C. He's written a dozen more songs than he plans to record as demos later this year. Oh, that's right. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. Now, after I sort of said the thanks for that, I hit him with a couple more questions and he's just replied to me now. Just now, boy, on Friday morning, he's just replied. He has just replied. He's on his way back from Queensland and I asked him some pretty, pretty hard-hit questions because that's what we do here. He had to talk a bit of time to think about it. He did, he did. and I asked him what his favourite footy team was and what he'd be a choice was. I always thought he'd just be my mum was hot, he didn't answer that. (laughing) I didn't do that, I'm not that big of a person. - So you see? - So yes, and he said, I said, what's your footy team? He says, "S and a mate would be kicked out "of the family if I wasn't. "I feel he's pain, "I'm an essence of border as well." And he's been in clean land for two months so he's drinking Forex, so we're not gonna hold that against him. - Okay. - Because it's in a long neck. We'll give him that. - Oh yeah, we'll give him that. - We'll pay for bag, we might not be asking if it was in a brown paper bag. - So we'll give you that much, but yeah, like I said, I think he's got a big future. Like I said, he's only got a few, not a lot of listens, but I want people out there to listen to him. - Yeah. - Get on board, I think he's gonna go a long way. - We'll roll about, mate. - He'll refine the way he sings and he writes his own songs, and I think he's just gonna be one of those kids. Might not be this year, might not be next year, but someone's gonna see one day Tom Brown, headline in somewhere. Not breaking news, he'll be actually, he'll be actually singing a few songs. - Yeah. - All right, let's have a little listen to rodeo dreams. (upbeat music) ♪ Well, it's where I am ♪ ♪ It's the Dotties Chops ♪ ♪ And the sight of the morning should ♪ ♪ It ain't as long ♪ ♪ And the winds blow and chains all along ♪ ♪ Right through his eyes ♪ ♪ Who it alone ♪ ♪ He finds in tear that she's I'm slow ♪ ♪ This bound to mean an I suppose ♪ ♪ In the air ♪ ♪ The eroding old dream ♪ - 'Cause he's really early day, like sort of early day, like Zach Brom, but it's got like that guitar rhythm, Zach Brom, but it's got that real, as you said, that old fashioned, like raspberry moza. - It does, yeah. - And I reckon I said with a bit more reform and a bit more experience. I'm sure he's gonna go all the way. He's got a great sound to it. - Yeah, yeah. - And I said, I just found him doom scroll my night and I thought, "Cheer to the night." - I thought this place is gonna be pop-up great. - Yeah, yeah. - But I'm hoping that we can all get on board with him. - Yeah, he knows. - I think he's got a long way to go. He's going to go a long way. - Yep. - And yeah, like some from Central Vic, which is where we are. - Yep. - In fact, I might have to get him in the studio, mate. - I think he's around Bridgewaterway. - I know. - I know he's got some messages, but I think, yeah. - If he's listening to this mate, he doesn't take sufficient spots. - Well, I'm down through Bridgewaterway. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, spot on, mate. - Yeah, so, yeah, no, it's like to him and yeah. And like I said, get on board. - Yep. The next segment mate is called Dad's Song of the Week, which is called in by Jeffy. So what does it call, you're in the studio. - Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? Like instead of me ringing up, you know, calling one another. - You can't edit this one, mate. - No, no, that's right. - I'm gonna get it right first off. Normally I start off by calling you an asshole. - Yeah, what do you wanna call me? - No, no, you're a good bloke. - Yeah, scared there in front of me. - Yeah, now, well, you've got them thongs and I reckon you're gonna get, if you're from that me, so. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, well, do Dad's Song, I suppose. - Yeah. - This works, Dad's Song, it's a classic. I would doubt that we, anybody that doesn't know his song. - Oh, actually, young kids probably wouldn't. The people still watch it. - Oh, look at what I'm hoping to say. My kids did, we got the. - I'm watching a while, but I'd love to watch it again. - Yeah, yeah, no, it's good. It's a great show. - Yeah, yeah. - Like I remember as a kid, well, we better tell people what it is. - Yeah, we better. - It comes from Whale and Jennings. It's Good All Boys, which is the theme from the juke's hazard. - Yeah! - Yeah! - It was written in 1980. And I remember as a kid sitting down, legs crossed in front of the telly, waiting for it to come on. You know, we were fortunate enough to have a television and we had two stations that we could watch and they put it on one of the stations. That was great. - Always win. - Loved it and grew up watching it. If you get into it, and as a kid, you didn't realise, but they did have a lot of country music singers play at Boss Holds Bar. The Bores Nest, I think they called it. - Yeah, oh. - So if you actually have a look, there's quite a few singers and country music artists. - Never looked in that. - From around that era that played in that Bores Nest. You know, like Camille's in that. So, yeah, there's actually. So anyway, just some facts, some random facts. Wailin's actually got a kid named his shooter. - No way. - Yeah, no one in his kid's name is. - Never knew Wailin Jennings would be dead. - No, no. (laughing) I think he's a bit older than you. - That's part of what I can sing. - Yeah, now that's what I thought too. (laughing) Now we're very fortunate to. Oh, Wailin's passed away now, but we're very fortunate to actually have Wailin because Wailin was a guitarist for Buddy Holly. Buddy actually got him sort of into the music and into the recording, so I think, but he was actually a bass player for Buddy Holly, but he gave up his seat on the plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, the big bopper and Richie Valens. - Really? - So he could have been on that plane, but he gave up his seat for someone else, and that plane went down and took out those three legends, and he could have been on that plane. So of course, we wouldn't have had any of his music. - Wail! - That's a yarn? - Yeah, so there you go. - Did you know that previously without any re-- Okay, have you heard that yarn before? - Yeah, I did, only because again when I was young, there was a movie about Richie Valens called LaBamba. - Yep. - A game went to the Beaufort town hall to watch LaBamba. - Yep. - On a probably wind up projector. - Yeah, yeah, there's a tick of noise in the background, but we went to see that. And yeah, so you sort of got the history of what went on and you sort of, you know, you were a bit of out at it, so yeah. - That's wild. - And he's wild there, like I said, he could have been with us. We heard about him, he wouldn't have known anything about this. Felly just would have been another bloke, he'd do it on a plane. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Well, is that all he had? - That'll do me a mind of talking about me out or not. - No, I'll do that behind your back. (laughing) - Well, there's no reason we can't play this 'cause I reckon there's a bring back a few good old memories. ♪ Just a good old boy ♪ ♪ Never meaning no harm ♪ ♪ These are all you never saw ♪ ♪ Then in trouble with the monster ♪ ♪ Today they was born ♪ ♪ Straight into curve ♪ ♪ Flattenin' the hill ♪ ♪ Someday the mountain might get 'em ♪ ♪ With the Lord ever would ♪ ♪ Make it their way ♪ ♪ The only way they know how ♪ ♪ Next to the little people ♪ ♪ With the Lord ever would ♪ (upbeat music) - How good is that? That brings back memories. How many people are trying to think of the moment in their head right now of where's that play in the movie and they're just stream on it? - Well, and of course Daisy Duke. - Yeah. - The shorty short shorts, that's why they're called Daisy Duke shorts. - Yeah, she made those short denim shorts. - They're the ones you wear. - I'm the unspacious. - She Kasi Marsden waist. - Oh, yeah. - I'm still scarred from that. - Yeah. (laughing) - If you wanna see them short shorts, there's a wonderful human called Kasi. (laughing) And they're in our Dusty Booters group. You'll find the photo and you will be stunned. Video clip of the week, this week, mate. (upbeat music) - The best I've seen. - Bloody Ripper Mate. The Dusty Boots podcast video of the week. (upbeat music) - It is brought to you by James Johnson. The man I've just been praising and talking about earlier. One more. Now, great song, but on top of the song, it popped up on YouTube the other day, big on YouTube at home, just when you're playing up or stuff and around YouTube, music playing, you learn new things, I see new video clips and that's sort of how this segment started. Now, this is actually filmed live at Strombing Bird on Sunshine Coast when we were there. And it's sort of, it bounces back and forth between Strombing Bird and between him to sort of just stand in there. But the Strombing Bird stuff shows what I was talking about earlier about his stage presence him walking around. This video clip one more shows him the way he performs on stage, he step ups and running around and all that stuff. I actually think this might even have stairs in his video clip, which I've also just touched. So, however man James Johnson and I absolutely love this tune. (upbeat music) ♪ Spend all my money on this ticket ♪ ♪ I spent the rest down at the bar ♪ ♪ But I got one life and I'm here to live it ♪ ♪ So tonight on earth, ♪ he saw the end stars and gonna raise a break up ♪ Do all my new friends ♪ ♪ Yeah, do all my new friends ♪ ♪ Well, here's tonight that we don't want to end ♪ ♪ So give me one more beer ♪ ♪ One more song ♪ ♪ One more chance to play it on that long ♪ ♪ One more dance baby ♪ ♪ One more kiss ♪ ♪ I'm gonna wound up wishing for one more night like this ♪ - What a man. - The energy that that black has. - Every song, every performance, it brings the same energy. everywhere. And he's an incredible human too. He's a great role model for his kids. He's a great role model for other parents that have kids. He's a great role model as a husband. And he just, he loves his life. And he is the honest, just himself. He's so, just he doesn't put no persona on. He's just authentic as fuck. He just projects happiness. Yeah. And it's infectious. It is watching film clips or watching shorts or watching, you know, he's ticked tocks or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. It might be 30 seconds, but it projects such a positive vibe. It's unreal. 100% mate. That puts us into music news, mate. And to start off, music news is probably a big one is Big Red Bash for 2026 has officially been canceled. So we did have a little bit of a chat around it, possibly getting canceled because of the weather that's sort of gone on in central Australia. Yeah. But now it actually has fully been canceled. So a lot of the way it is is because of the weather, but also rising fuel prices for a what we call when the industry is a green site. So a green site is you are building a site from scratch to bring in generators, water, fuel, everything has to come in. Yep. So for a festival of that size, and it's a green site, I would hate to know what their fuel bill is normally. Yep. Let alone what it is in the current situation marine. So it's another one that gets put on the list in the last probably four months or reckon three months that drops off. We've seen Boran Bay's blue first. We see that drop off. It's scary because I am a believer that I hope they bounce back, but a lot of things that disappear never come back. Yeah. That's the most. And I really truly hope that they do come back because it's a hell of a vent. And I've always wanted to go to Birdsfield Big Red Bash. So yeah. My sister's been to a couple of times. Yeah. I just loved it. It's just one that I wish a hope it comes back for the sake of everyone and for the sake of the festival itself, but I would love to get along to it one day. Jade Gibson made a sort of touch on her earlier. She's released the new song Smoke Me Out. I sort of off the back of CMC 2026 in her performance. Now she did play this live and I think Jade Gibson's energy is of James Johnson in a girl. She is very vibrant. She's very exciting. I've known Jade since she was young. Probably you've known Jade for 10, 12 years. I've watched her go from a little shy girl on the stage of a guitar to a very bright bubbly, exciting girl to watch. And she loves this industry more than anyone else and she gives it a crack. So I love to see it. Mate Piper Butcher, she's killing it in the scene, but she's just released a new single called The Bullet, which actually teams up with friend and one of the hottest names in Australian Country Music. And probably one of my friends too, which is Austin McCoy. So they co-wrote the track a couple of years ago and they're pretty stoked with what they cooked up. Austin sort of generously agreed that he'd sing the track and if and when Piper sort of planned to release it. A man of his word, he'd sort of pair with the recent hit the studio with the producer and they sort of paired up Andy Mack and they result pretty much simply stunning. Mate, it's a great tune. It's nothing less than I'd expect from Austin. She sort of said, Austin and I wrote this song while reminiscing on the sweet moments of a new relationship. I'm going to truckload of feelings, hit you blindly and blissfully, but you let them wash over you and take control. She's sort of laugh, but just sometimes it's quite scary to let a new person into your wharf, but you'll never know what a beautiful experience might lay ahead if you don't let the walls down. So I thought that was very well said and Austin's continued to kill it as well. And as he sort of said, he's one of the hottest names. He's been over on tour in America with Max McNeown and he's also doing his own tour over there. So that shows the sort of status he's growing over there as well as in Australia. Headline your own shows in America. Mate, that's a pretty big thing. And actually something pretty exciting for him was that his mum and dad are actually also on the way to America to go watching play just last night. I think I seen him put something up. So exciting to see people take their parents along for the ride and you know, parents doing what they do. I'm sure they'll be very excited to get over there and support him. And I know his life changed. Austin spent a lot of time on the road, living out of a van, playing long beach sides with a hat in front of him or a guitar case open and he sold his van now. And you know, I think he said he's had it for like 10 years and he's lived out of that van. He's gigged out of that van and now he's starting to make up places. He probably doesn't need the van anymore. So really exciting times the way I had for him. And it's great to see the collaboration with Piper Bullshut. Winey Wilson, mate, probably another person. I sort of have a man crush on Riley Green and a girl crush on Liny Wilson, as we all know. But I just got to move across a little bit. Have a try to reach me toes out. Now I watch you produce nothing short of amazing performance again, mate. This time it was at the I heart 2026 awards. Just she is a performer. And I just love the way she goes about it and I love her music. So she even said on her insta she put a thing up and she said this she is for the girls and she's photography. We're sort of with Taylor Swift and she's with Molly Cyrus. Ella Langley. She's got photos of all of them. So it's pretty cool to see sort of status. She's got the people that were growing around her. Lowly Fleetmate has been brought into the Gibby Music Master lineup Friday, August 28th, adding another international act to the 2026 lineup. I think a few people got excited when they see them. Barry Fleet on the lineup. So Gibby's building and continues to build to be one of the best family friendly country outback experiences. And if you've never been, get along. I'll be back there again this year. It's just one however weekend. Yep. Rachel Fahim, as I said, spoke about it lots earlier. I did want to say that she's announced a national album tour and shares her new single Deep End from the who you are, which is out on May 1st, which is creeping very much closer. The last one I sort of have made is the Wolf Brothers. They're hitting the road with Australian made tour. Their their boys are killing it. They've been in the industry a long time. They've played over a while and then now they're just at a point where they are peaking. They're popping up at every festival here there and everywhere. But it's great to say the people that are taking on tour with them. Jake Winnie Carhoo, obviously just took care of breakthrough artists of the country. Channel Awards, Taylor Moss. She's been over in Nashville, cooking up some new riding recordings and that sort of stuff. Will Day, Abby Ferris, they'll be all joining the boys at different stages on the road. So I even know the Wolf Brothers are coming to Bailar out as well. So if you get the chance to go watch them whether it's Bailar out or all over Australia where they go and get along and watch them, I can tell you they put on a halva show for a couple of older boys. Mate, do you have any music news? I'm not in the gossip. So I don't get as much news as you. I don't get to sort of catch up with the latest gossip when you're the garbage truck. But I think last week I mentioned that a country rap artist/country singer, Ryan Upchurch has been giving jelly roll a bit of a hard time. It's a long, complicated affair and if you want to fall down the rabbit hole, you'll go down the rabbit hole. If you've been in the rabbit hole. Yeah, been in. He's put your head in the rabbit hole. Yeah, because I've been following Ryan Upchurch for years. He's a very talented out. He's as good as you're going to get for a rap lock on the rap fan. But he's a very talented country music singer and he writes always, he's incredibly independent. And that's where all this stems from, his independence. He doesn't want to be involved with mainstream music. He doesn't want to be involved with that. And jelly roll tried to get him into it. Yeah. So anyway, that's been blown and if you get on the internet, you'll say, you know, and you'll think, Ryan's just a stoner. But there's a fair bit going on. I don't really want to get like too political in involved. But there's there's there's Jeffrey Epstein vibes going on and all that sort of stuff like it's it's pretty heavy stuff. But he's actually, and this is the first time I've ever seen this in country music. He's written a diss track. Yeah. Against jelly roll. So like the rap stars, we all know rappers do diss tracks all the time. But he's, yeah, this is the first time I've ever seen two country artists write a diss track about it. Yeah. So yeah, it's called Bean Behind. It's fairly rapid because that's what he does. But yeah, I just found it really amusing that country music has come to diss tracks. Yeah. Yeah. That's the only news I've got all my gots. Bit of goss. A bit of goss. Falling the rabbit hole. Yeah. Fell deep into that rabbit hole. Still can't understand it. But yeah, it's quite amusing to look at. Wow, mate. We've got through pretty solid episode there with some good inside, I think. Thank you for joining me, mate. And of course, thanks for joining me, Wednesday as well. From there, mate, as we always say, get your boots dusty and you choose country. Yeah. Dusty blues.