Describe yourself in ten words …
Assembled 1970s funk car-chase mixtape. Made driving more bearable.

What’s a typical day like for you?
There’s no real typical day for this guy. Fortunately and unfortunately. Some days I work, some nights I work, run some errands, be a bachelor chef and make a mess of the kitchen, demo some songs, play some shows, travel, sleep, sometimes I don’t sleep, drink a functional coffee, listen to music, power nap, and dish out life advice of varying degrees of helpfulness.

What was your childhood dream?
Career-wise I wanted to be a pilot for ages. I’m not really sure why. Sure it would be totally badass, but that’s a lot of pressure. Mostly though I dreamed of owning a bunch of video games that I could never afford. Too much time reading the Trading Post when it used to be in printed form. I also was very passionate about saving green tree frogs and koalas.

What were your early musical influences – can you remember the first album you ever bought?
I know the first two CD singles I bought were Seal’s ‘Kiss From A Rose’ and Montell Jordan’s ‘This Is How We Do It’, but I think the first album was the greatest hits of KC & The Sunshine Band.

What’s the most embarrassing record in your collection?
Probably the first or second East 17 album … It’s pretty hard to say which one. Although not technically in my collection, I’ve no doubt they’re still in some storage box with my name on it, haunted by a 1990s boy band past.

How has living in Brisbane helped shape your sound?
Brisbane as a whole is super supportive and not overly judgemental, so it’s a good place to make the music you want to make. The music I want to make is many and varied, so I’m living in my dream locale. The freedom to create and the camaraderie with like-minded musicians is what Brisbane has done to shape my sound. Plus, how good is the weather?

How would you describe the local music scene?
It’s pretty exciting really! We’re getting a good amount of national attention and it’s becoming more feasible to tour interstate. I guess that’s the power of the internet but also, as Brisbane becomes a more viable place for artists to visit, the connections between like-minded artists is consistently getting stronger.

Which other Brisbane musicians should we keep an ear out for?
The Good Sports, Johnny and The Fembots, Dreamtime, Major Leagues, Go Violets, Occults, Cannon, Rolls Bayce, Holy Holy, Roku Music and James X. Boyd & the Boydoids.

You’ve toured with a bunch of local bands, what’s been your most memorable gig so far?
The most memorable show so far was probably for all the wrong reasons … I got terribly drunk at a really important industry show a couple of years ago with Velociraptor. Face-planted on the stage. Sang on top of a bar – enough that security threatened to kick me out. Didn’t even sing the last song and instead played tambourine with somebody in the entry stairs to the venue. Sounds more fun than it was. But hey, low-points are important too and everything worked out okay eventually.

We’ve heard tales of audience members and bar staff climbing on-stage with you at your solo gigs … You’re playing Sol Bar and The Zoo this weekend, what can fans expect from the shows?
Pending the availability of Ray Martin, I was hoping to turn the venues into a talk-show-style format where Ray would use his dynamite interviewing skills to help communicate the full emotional punch of the lyrics behind the songs. Failing that, expect an entire line-up of great bands, me talking too much about life, the potential for stage invasion, the token somewhat ironic cover and a bunch of songs in the style of Jeremy Neale.

You successfully funded your debut EP via crowdfunding platform Pozible, why did you decide to take that route?
I thought it was a great way for people to pre-order the EP in an interesting way. As part of the campaign, there were also options for people who wanted deluxe packages including the vinyl, t-shirts, badges etc. I even added an option of a dinner date, which was good because I like dinner and I like people. Besides the fun aspect, the main reason for the campaign was that after a brutal 12 months of touring I was essentially bankrupt with no means to pay for the pressing of the CD and vinyl that I’d spent so long recording. Thanks to the wonderful support of a whole bunch of legends, the EP is now a reality.

How did you dream up the original film clip for ‘Darlin’?
I think cop-themed film clips should be the norm – then they’d all be worth watching. It was a lot of last-minute ideas and a whole bunch of shooting on the fly, but I had a good bunch of friends who were willing to play out some ridiculous scenes and Hollywood veteran Jemimah the wonder pug was keen to lend a paw as the only experienced actress on set.

Where do you hope to be career-wise in ten years’ time?
That’s a pretty tough question because I generally only look at things a year at a time, but I know I’d like my lifestyle to be a little less busy. More time to get more dogs and do more yoga. I’d like to still be making relevant music, however.

How do you like to start your weekend?
Ideally with a sleep-in followed by a late breakfast. If the sun isn’t shining, then I’m off to the abandoned weapons factory where they keep the Soviet Weather Machine to turn things around.

How do you like to unwind?
A recreational coffee (as opposed to a functional coffee), some kind of grounded locale featuring nature, and a scotch and soda to balance out the coffee.

What five things make the perfect weekend?
No commitments, sunshine, the movies, nature and a pub lunch with friends.

What’s something you’ve been meaning to do on the weekend but haven’t got around to yet?
I always mean to go and see the free stand-up comedy at Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm … one day, I’m sure.

What’s your favourite thing to do on a Sunday evening?
Catch up with the family for dinner and then watch a whole lot of total filler free-to-air TV.

What are you reading at the moment?
I don’t typically read because how cool are movies!? But a friend just lent me the book Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell as a good perspective piece.

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is being happy. The real question then is how does one get happy? Well I figure it’s got something to do with having meaningful relationships with the people in your life, which then entails being self-reflective enough and armed with an objective enough perspective to be a truly great person. Said truly great person should also love themselves based on the fact that they are a fully formed person who is focused on accomplishing their goals whilst all the while helping other people along the way.

What are your words of wisdom?
You’ve only got one chance to be you so you’d better be the best you can be and chase down your dreams. Otherwise some jerk will take what could have been yours and if there was any power that went along with that position, rest assured they’ll abuse it to make other people’s lives worse – where had it have been you, armed with a balanced perspective and empathy for your fellow man, you would have been nothing but a shining beacon of positivity and changed many lives for the better. Unless you were the jerk all along, in which case … please don’t chase your dreams.