#162 Adam Brand
Adam Brand and Rae Leigh talk about his new single Still The One and his interesting upbringing in Perth, Adams detective, “007” Mum and why he switched to guitar at 17 and after married and divorced he sold everything and moved to Sydney in his old Falcon ute to give it a good go at being a Country Music singer. Within 2 years of doing so was nominated for 5 golden guitars and was on his way to the long and successful career he has today.
Featured in this episode is his single 'Still The One'
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Transcript
Rae Leigh: Welcome to a Songwriter Tryst with the one and only Adam Brand. How you doing
Adam Brand: I'm good. Actually, I'm not the one that only, you know, there's another Adam Brand at the,
Rae Leigh: is that
Adam Brand: yeah. But.
Rae Leigh: well, you're the closest one. Is there another Adam Brand who sings and writes songs?
Adam Brand: No
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Adam Brand: And the only reason I know about this is because I get an occasional tweet message or from, from a disgruntled person, because the other one, the other one is actually a, a politician. So I get complaints a bit about,
Rae Leigh: not great.
Adam Brand: because the complaints about its policies come to me sometimes.
Rae Leigh: that is so funny. That's kind of, yeah. That's almost worth the name change. I, my great-grandfather was in politics and he changed his name because there was another man in politics and they both were named Hughes. And so he changed his name to Kent Hughes so that his policies wouldn't get confused with the other guy's policies.
Adam Brand: people are pretty passionate about politics, as you can imagine.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, they are. We don't talk about politics on this show, so we'll just keep moving on.
Adam Brand: very good.
Rae Leigh: All right. I know now you're not the one and only, but to me you were so let, let's just keep it that way. All right. I like to start this podcast by getting you as the artist in your own words, to describe a little bit about who you are and where you come from.
Adam Brand: Oh, okay. Well, where I come from, I was born in Perth. Born to a mother who was quite a bit of a gypsy, went to 13 schools growing up, by the age of probably 10 I'd done an Nullarbor Nullarbor trip, by truck, by bus, by train, by car and by ship.
Rae Leigh: wow. How come?
Adam Brand: mum was just one of those free spirited souls.
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Adam Brand: And my uncle was a tracker and another uncle was and merchant seaman and we start when, when I was four years old mom and I stowed away on the, on the ship, like, like snuck us on. Yeah. It snuck us into the ports magazine. Danny did his cabinet and we did the trip, you know, so as you can imagine, my mom, was real free spirit in. She also used to be like a private detective in a way, like, someone, if, if someone wanted to one of their husband followed because, you know, they thought they were doing a bit of naughty that she would be following them and, you know, things like that.
And she had this little triumph, Spitfire, white trash pitfall with a black vinyl roof, really cool, or Chrome, wide wheels. And she'd go following these guys. And I'd be asleep in the back or she was doing her double oh seven staff. So
Rae Leigh: kind of cool.
Adam Brand: are you getting a picture of my mom? You know,
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: so, so I think it kind of prepared me for life as a, you know, on the road, singing country, singer, and all that kind of stuff.
So my, my childhood was definitely the foundations for that.
Rae Leigh: And did you, Get into any sort of work with your Mum, like, did she ever get you to go and do anything to kind of suss out people?
Adam Brand: No that, but I was, and because we are mama menorah on our own, obviously about separate from my dad. And so there was this, this, this, there was this fierce bond, I mean, you know, mums in their sons as a mama's boy thing going on as well. Yeah. Obviously, but because we, it was, it was Mum and I, against the world and we traveled and did all this stuff. And as a, as a four year old, we had we're in this little flat in WA (Western Australia) and someone was trying to break in and in the front door, you know? Yeah. And as a young fellow, I was only four. I went to the, kitchen, went to the cutlery drawer, grabbed a steak knife and went, stood at the door
Rae Leigh: oh,
Adam Brand: With stake knife as a four year old.
Rae Leigh: as a four year. Gosh, I've got a five-year-old and I actually think that he's the type of kid that would do the same thing.
Adam Brand: Yeah. Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Especially if I didn't have daddy around.
Adam Brand: Yeah. So there was this
Rae Leigh: happened though? When the guy was trying to break in, like they didn't get in or,
Adam Brand: got him. My mum was on the phone and he couldn't get in and, and blah, blah, blah. And yeah.
Rae Leigh: Wow. Okay. All right. Cool. So you're a four year old. And then, so how does, how does you know that with your mum turned into sort of music? Where did your inspiration for songwriting and music come from?
Adam Brand: Well, dad was a singer. And so even though that relationship wasn't sort of there, it's still, she still take me to see him and dad, dad, and my uncles all had a band. And so uncle was a drummer uncle. Bass player Dad was a singer and guitarist and, um, so they used to get me up on stage and, you know, seeing like, um, how much is that doggy in the window and funny face. I love you. So from a very young age music, who's part of, part of our life, you know,
Rae Leigh: Yeah. So the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree with
Adam Brand: Yeah, you know, Dad's 70, early seventies down and, he still is still sort of does solo and duo gigs, singing, you know, Elvis and Royal basinet, Neil diamond, things like that. So it's still a,
Rae Leigh: some Elvis. So he's does he write songs as well? That encourage you.
Adam Brand: a little bit, not, not so much. It was, it was more one of those old rock and rollers, you know, it just wants to sing the classic.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Fair enough. I know a few of those. So what about your first song? When did you first write a song?
Adam Brand: I didn't really, I didn't really grow up writing songs. I was always around music and I was always playing music on the drums mostly, and then I dabbled in it,
Rae Leigh: you're a drama first.
Adam Brand: mm.
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Adam Brand: it to be like uncle Sam. I could see him as a drummer and I thought he was cool. So that's where I wanted to be like, and it wasn't until I was like 17 or so that I started to, to realize that the drummer had the raw deal, you know, like
Rae Leigh: The roar under the stick. That's why all of that drama is a crazy.
Adam Brand: the Lego luggage. First, the last, the go, you know, the thing I just waltzes in gets the glory and goes, you know, that's a job for me.
Rae Leigh: Alright. So you want it, you wanted the glory and that happened around 17. Okay.
Said you picked up the guitar around then or
Adam Brand: Kinda I mean, I was never really never, never, it's still not a, not a guitarist at all. Just, just enough to sort of write and just hack along during the gigs to fill in a bit of the spice here and there. But, um,
Rae Leigh: rhythm guitarists.
Adam Brand: Yeah. Uh, it wasn't till later on, you know, and I really started to engage in this, in the whole new wave of country music, this new stuff, because before I didn't know what I was into, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't country wasn't rock wasn't, whatever. It was just music. I grew up on Springsteen and Mellencamp and the Eagles and not, you know, anything that that sounded good to me.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: And then I start to get interested in country and like, I better write some songs and I'm in my first song I wrote. A buddy of mine was a country guitarist, and I said, he might, I'm going to sing you a bit of a melody and tell me what chords, these are on a guitar and then teach me how to play those chords.
And that's how I wrote my first song and on my milestones, 20th anniversary album did the very first recording of that song is on there. I mean, it's pretty embarrassing. It's not
Rae Leigh: Oh,
Adam Brand: but that was my first ever real song I wrote.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, what's it called?
Adam Brand: Hold my hand.
Rae Leigh: I love
Adam Brand: Oh, it's it's cheese for years. It's a cheese ball, but it was my first,
Rae Leigh: Yeah. But if you haven't written a song about something or having that lyric, hold my hand in it somewhere, you're not a real songwriter. I think everyone uses that Lyrica at some point, because it's, it's such a powerful image. Okay. So like, was there something that actually steered you towards country?
You said you started to get a feel for it. Was this, someone like that you were listening to that you thought was really cool or.
Adam Brand: I had this band and we just used to play just anything and everything and, and, and I never even knew what didn't really think about Country. I mean, I used to in grade six, I'd walk to school singing, you know, I love to have a beer with Duncan, but I didn't, I didn't know it was country song. To me.
It was just, just a song that we knew, you know, so it wasn't until I had this band and I was early, early twenties. And this guitars and his name is Rob Robbie, ratty, Robbie. I used to call him and he was real country. And I used to, I used to tease him a bit say, hi, you going to play some country music. I go what's that?
And he goes, I'll bring some in for you. I said, yeah, it brings some in. And I remember with band practice, one day, he comes in to see that he puts it in and this song starts playing. I went, whoa, what's that? And he says, it's country. I said, really? Yeah, I said keep playing.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: That was it. I, I just, I fell hard.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: Um, and that
Rae Leigh: you remember who the city
Adam Brand: absolutely it was, a band called Boy Howdy The song was song was called, Bring On The Tear Drops. This is the singer. Jeffrey Steele was the songwriter and the singer of that band, you know, incredible somewhat. He was one in that TV series, the Hit Men of Nashville, the songwriter he's one of those guys. He's one of the four. So I ended up meeting him and, recorded a whole bunch of other songs ever years. And, but yeah, that was, that was the song. Bring on, bring on the tear drops, let's have a ball. I mean, it's just, it was, this guy's voice was gravelly. Cause I'd love to bring stain and I loved Mellencamp and this guy's voice was, it was all of that.
It was, it was bluesy. It was catchy. It was, you know, it was just, I was just like, that's it. That's what I want to do.
Rae Leigh: I love that. And you've, you've been back to Nashville a few times now, haven't you to record and stuff? I think I actually spoke to Chris Wallen. He mentioned you in his podcasts that you guys have written a little bit together, but it was a while ago. Do you remember Chris Wallen?
Adam Brand: Yeah, absolutely.
Rae Leigh: He mentioned something about you I'm offering to lend him your, your van or bus to go around Australia. I was like, oh, well, if I, if I talked to him again, I'll mention it. But, he was incredible. I mean, and just incredible songwriter. I, I fell in love with his songs. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Amazing. So tell me, like, It's one thing. I mean, you had, obviously music was always around your dad was doing your mum was on the road, teaching you how to live on the road, which is a really big part of being a musician, but, and then you had a band in your twenties, like what was the transition of.
Like, and this is something I ask most people because it's one thing to play an instrument when you're in high school, a lot of us do, but usually we drop it to pick up a, what they call in quotation marks a real job
Adam Brand: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: and, and go to work. And the music usually tends to fall aside. So what was that process like for you?
How did music become your career and your life?
Adam Brand: So I was doing it just for fun and I was, I got to a point and I was, what was the 25? I finished an apprenticeship. I'm a dental technician by trade, like my close teeth. What I did my time. I couldn't, I couldn't do it obviously now I've never, you know, never, never practiced it, but I did my apprenticeship qualified or then when did some other jobs and Mr.
Ron and I was just. I felt just like a, a ship lost at sea, you know? Music was always something that I just loved. And so I finally just thought to myself, I'm just gonna try this and, you know, cause I discovered country. And so when I discovered the country music and I was loving that.
Then I started thinking, well, maybe I could do this. And then, then I started reading up about Tamworth and people go to Tamworth and then having careers and record deal. So I started researching record companies, you know, who, you know, how does it, how does this all work? And what is, what is this all mean?
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I'm still trying to work out Tamworth. I don't, I didn't get it,
Adam Brand: If you think of it as just a place where everybody is, you can meet, then let, it's just a starting point, you know?
Rae Leigh: yeah.
Adam Brand: And so I, yeah, so I would say in that sort of head space, and then I just thought to myself, if I don't give this a go, that I never will, and always is one of those otherwise regret moments, you know?
So I started to. Cielo my stuff, not that I had a lot, you know, but just sort of prepare myself and I thought, that's it. I'm going to go to Tamworth. I'm going to go to Sydney and I'm going to, I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to give it two years. And I sold up all my stuff and I had, I had just over $30,000 after I sold everything I had and everything I owned was left in the back of an old XFL Falcon Ute
Rae Leigh: okay.
Adam Brand: it was white with rusty and the seals had busted door handles at vinyl, trims, red, brown vinyl seat, and three on hundred tree column
Rae Leigh: That's not the car you offered to Chris. Chris Wallen.
Adam Brand: nine. Now it's slightly better than that. So this, all this classic old XFL Falcon ute, and everything I owned in the back of it.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: And I said, I'm off and that's it.
I'm gone. And I wait, I came to Sydney, and I said to family and friends, I said, right, I'm going to give it two years. And after two years I've spent all that money and I've got no way I'll be coming home to get a real job.
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Adam Brand: So I didn't go over with this huge head full of self-confidence that I was going to be a star.
I was actually coming over going, what money doing this? So I don't regret it. Don't worry will come to me. I'll be back in two years, maybe before the money runs out before
Rae Leigh: Okay. You just wanted to give it a, go
Adam Brand: I just, yeah,
Rae Leigh: things live. Okay.
Adam Brand: I was swinging, I was going to swing and I was expecting to miss put it that way, but
Rae Leigh: That type of swinging.
Adam Brand: but I was swinging with every ounce of energy I had and I was swinging, I was swinging at it with, with no, with no fallback position.
Well, this is it. I'm going to go. But yeah, yeah.
Rae Leigh: Okay. And did you go home after two years will happen?
Adam Brand: But
Rae Leigh: mean, obviously you still doing
Adam Brand: yeah, T two years later I was nominated for 5 Golden guitars, a record deal album out and all that kind of stuff. It was, it happened really quick.
Rae Leigh: Wow.
Adam Brand: It happened.
Rae Leigh: so what was the catalyst for that? Do you feel like other than just obviously committing and swinging
Adam Brand: I left July 13th, Perth, September early September. I went to a industry lunch. which anybody, it sounds, sounds fancy, but anybody could go to it. You didn't have to be,
Rae Leigh: it's a networking
Adam Brand: yeah. Anybody in anybody went and I did, as long as you pay. 50 60 bucks for the dinner. That's all I care about that, man. So I went to this and I was sitting at a table with a bunch of people.
I had no idea who they were. One guy just started talking to me and we were chatting away and he asked me who I was, where I was from. And I said, oh, I am Adam from Perth, come over here. I said, what, what, what have you got some place? I'm not just over here. I'm just coming over to. Have a good crack at it is what you just for a month?
Or I said, nah, I moved up. I sold everything like I'm here.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Yeah.
Adam Brand: And he looked at me. He goes, well, that's commitment
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Adam Brand: week later, the same guy, the same guy offered me record deal. Cause he used to see festival records.
Rae Leigh: Uh, shut up. What are, what a wonderful
story
Adam Brand: And.
Rae Leigh: Oh, peaches from
Adam Brand: Well, you know, I said to me, he said, look, if you, and later on, he said to me that you were, um, you know, you had that much conviction and commitment to this another way.
What would that kind of commitment I'm going to, I'm going to get on board with as well.
Rae Leigh: That's
Adam Brand: Yeah,
Rae Leigh: He believed in yourself first and then that gave other people inspiration to believe in you as well. And I, I do think that that is something that you need to get around.
You know, you got to believe in yourself because if you didn't believe in yourself, why was anyone else going
Adam Brand: Yeah, a hundred percent. You got to give yourself the best. I mean, there's, there's two, there's different ways of blaming yourself. Some people, you know, believe in yourself and that guardian got on the best. I'm going to do this to me. That's not believing in yourself. Somebody that's just,
Rae Leigh: just arrogant.
Adam Brand: that's just a big bath.
Right.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: if to put yourself in the position and to, you know, to be open to whatever comes.
Um, so that's
Rae Leigh: And that's, that's the truth is you never know what's gonna come,
Adam Brand: absolutely. Yeah,
Rae Leigh: you just got to say yes and then do it and then just do the next thing. No, I love that. Okay.
Adam Brand: Um,
Rae Leigh: Record deal, golden guitars. You know, you've had a pretty successful run and you've been doing for quite a long time now, when it comes to co-writing, where did that start for you?
And what would your advice be when you're co-writing a song with someone?
Adam Brand: co-writing started very early for me, especially when I got to Sydney and, you know, cause that's what everyone did. So, you know, people said, oh, you write a song to get. I said, oh, okay. Let's try that. You know? Obviously, I hadn't done any co-writing with anyone up until I got to Sydney and everyone, everyone in Sydney, co-write.
Everyone was riding with each other. So obviously, you know, I did it and I got a publishing deal with Graham Thompson who ended up being my manager as well. So that obviously the first thing that I did was start to plug me into writing with people. And then, so here I was only been in Sydney a couple of months and hardly knew anybody.
And. And then they're putting me in a room with grand Connors and Colin Buchanan to write songs.
Rae Leigh: Wow. I love Colin Buchanan Yeah
Kevin.
Adam Brand: yeah, it's amazing. I mean, legend. So, so, you know, I sort of was very, very much out of my depth turning the deep end, all that kind of stuff. Those, you know, lots of songs come out of those. And I once with a guy called Clive Yarman, the first song, any song we write was the last man standing, which ended up getting gold guitar for and becoming one of my first big songs.
Rae Leigh: yep.
Adam Brand: So it was really, a baptism by fire. It happened quickly. I was 27 years old at that stage. I was 28 when the, when the album was released.
Rae Leigh: Yep.
Adam Brand: So in some ways,
Rae Leigh: fresh blood.
Adam Brand: Yeah. You know, at that stage, I'd already done a bit in my life. I'd already been married and divorced once
Rae Leigh: Oh, wow.
Adam Brand: so already
Rae Leigh: to play fast. Are you.
Adam Brand: well, I already had life life under the belt, you know? So there was stuff to write about rather than just a kid who just wanted to sing, you know,
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And I think that there is some depth that comes from that, life experience before you start writing, with all the writing that you have done now, you know, Sydney and Nashville and just everyone that you've come across. What would you say you feel like the number one lesson is that you've learned to do when you're co-writing with someone.
Adam Brand: uh, never settled that, um, when you're writing, when you're writing a song and you're, you're battling, you're fighting, not fighting the other person, but you're fighting for that song. You're fighting for that. You know, you're looking for that. Punchline the great title, the great the line that ties it in together.
And so many times, you know, you can think of, you can think of 10 lines and 10 words that fit and they sound good phonetically when you sing it. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That, that fits good. That fits good,
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: but it's not perfect. It's not it. Doesn't it. Doesn't. It doesn't just hit you and you got, ah, that's it. A lot of times you'll settle.
Just because you want to complete the song. You want to complete the verse. It's it feels good when you sing it. Cause the syllable sound or feel right. All those, all those things, but the really great songwriters, they don't settle. They keep fighting until it's absolutely undeniable. That that is. The very best line and it's going to work.
Rae Leigh: I love that. Okay. I think it's, you know, there's plenty of good songs in the world. Try and write a great one.
Adam Brand: Mm Hm.
Rae Leigh: What about as a, just in the industry? What would you say your best advice is that someone's given you? That's really stuck with you over the years.
Adam Brand: This was never actually said to me in this exact way, but it's, it's, it's what I've learnt through viewing people, viewing other people. And it's what I've picked up from people that I admire and look up to. And, and that is to only do this career. If you absolutely LOVE IT. For no other reasons, there are many reasons why people get into being a, an artist or seeing, or musician or whatever it is.
There's plenty of reasons. And a lot of the reasons are, you know, other of the same things you can get out of, lots of different careers, you know, we want to be famous. So you want to earn lots of money or you like having your ego stroked or you, you know, you want to stand up in front of people and feel good.
And you know what I mean?
Rae Leigh: Validation. Yeah.
Adam Brand: Yeah. There's all those reasons.
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
Adam Brand: But none of those reasons of what makes an artist, you know, I mean, you can apply those same things to somebody who wants to be the best, the best car salesman in the country and win the award for the best, most matter of how sales or whatever it is. You know what I mean? If
Rae Leigh: you make money doing sales. I did sales for eight years and it's like, I've made plenty of money.
Adam Brand: Yeah. And the reason
Rae Leigh: that.
Adam Brand: exactly. And the reason why I say this is that I only do it if you absolutely love it is because it's not an easy road. And. People people only see the highs. Then they see the time when you're on the stage. They see you, they listen to you on the radio or wherever, wherever they, wherever they see you, they see that.
And that's, that's the part that's saying it's such a smaller part. Is this his career and his path, his journey is so full of disappointment and so full of almost getting there and not quite getting there and, and, and unfulfilled. Things it's so full of that. There's so many people that realize that, like, are you kidding me?You live, you've got the perfect life, you know?
Rae Leigh: What would be your example of disappointment or what do you mean by that?
Adam Brand: Well, that's when you, when you, for example, you, you, you think you've written this great song or you've got this great album and then it doesn't do well. It doesn't commercially. It doesn't do well. It doesn't sell. Or you, you know, you've got a great, the great band and you play, you play. You know, the play and the songs and they sound great.
And then you, you know, you don't sell out the, you don't sell out the room at a thousand tickets in only a hundred, 103 people turn up and you lose money. And, and, you know, you, you chart the song. You're so excited about the, about this song and you release it and then it turned, it gets to 23 on the charts or whatever it is, all those traditional.
Rae Leigh: doesn't come through that you're hoping for.
Adam Brand: Absolutely all those traditional things that we measure success with. If you're in it for those things, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Cause they don't always come. You're not always winning Golden Guitars. You're not always at the top of the charts. So if you don't love it, that those things are going to kick you really hard.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: But if you absolutely love this, if you love singing and writing songs and expressing yourself with music and communicating, if you absolutely love that, then all those things can't hurt you. And that's, that's the reason why I say it's for this appointment, because you know, like w what, um, my, my last day.
Um, his speed of life. It came out right in the brought in COVID all that kind of stuff. I didn't even do any promotion for it. That kind of stuff. It's, it's been one of my least commercially successful albums, but it's an album that are always been most proud of. And, and for me that trumps the commercial sorbet by, by a hundred.
It's this, this album I made while I knew that I was about to be a dad. Now, you know, there's songs on there about how I was feeling about the world and expectant and hopeful about the future and our staff. So
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: it wouldn't care less if it sold three, that didn't bother me because, because I didn't do it for that reason.
So I didn't need those reasons to. Successful with it, you know, so, and, and for a lot of, for some people, when I ask them, you know, so I said, what are you doing this? Or, you know, at what are your goals and their goals as well? I want to, I want to be a multi-platinum artist and I have to say, oh, that stings because if you don't actually sell multi-platinum and if that's the only goal, you kind of, you're going to be disappointed.
And how are you going to live with yourself? I, you know,
Rae Leigh: you're always going to want more as well.
Adam Brand: always want
Rae Leigh: you'll achieve that and then it won't be enough, you know, it won't make you feel the way that you want it to make you feel.
Adam Brand: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: it's like, same with like social media followers. I find these days, a lot of people, like, I just want 10,000 followers and I'm like, no, now I want a hundred thousand.
I want a million. And it was like, as soon as you get achieved that goal, it's so vain and not actually. Uh, addressing the core emotional need for validation that you're obviously wanting and looking for of self worth and self love. Um, you know, if you don't address those deeper, I call them basement emotions.
Um, yeah, like it just, yeah, you're right. Is that the feeling of rejection? If you're not dealing with those basement emotions eventually will, will crush you.
Adam Brand: Yeah. And see, I think they're focusing on the wrong thing. They focusing on the followers or
Rae Leigh: Um,
Adam Brand: the focusing on the sales or the chat positions and all that kind of stuff. It's the wrong place to focus. Focus on the content. So let's take social media, you know. Do you focus on how many likes or comments you get per post or do you focus on what's the post about, yeah. And if you. And the, and the funny thing is if, if you focus on the content and put all your energy and your heart into that, the why the likes and comments don't go come even like that.
Even if they come in a year's time or when you start to get enough content. And when you bring that back to the album, you know, and the salt or the songs you're writing a song, you know, you're writing it for a hit or you're writing it because you want to write something great. Don't write something because you think it's going to be. Right. Something that's going to be great. And if you write something that's great, don't worry. The heat side of it will come from, you know, so that's where I think that the, the disparity is when we talk that this is a long winded answer,
Rae Leigh: No, but I love it. Yeah.
Adam Brand: go back to the, go back to the what's the advice, what's the thing. If you do it because you love it, then all those other things
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
Adam Brand: will town, you know, all those other things will take care of itself.
Rae Leigh: no, I, I think, I completely agree with you and. I just love it. Like, unfortunately the most common response I have to, my music is tears. And so far, so far, I just make people cry. But that in itself, it's like a healing cry, you know, it's, it's a beautiful, self-reflection deep healing cry that people have when I get to share my music.
Adam Brand: we'll need a cry sometimes.
Rae Leigh: oh, it feels so good. And like those moments, like. That's success and that's enough to keep anyone going. I think, I mean, I'm never gonna stop doing it, but yeah, like you remember the, the Tasmanian gig we did in March.
Adam Brand: Yes.
Rae Leigh: There was a guy there that I dedicated my song at the time too.
And he was going through, you know, he'd just come out of hospital from a suicide attempt. And that song resonated with him to the point that he tattooed on his arm. And he's just been such a supporter because it reminds him that he's going to find a better day, which is how the song came about. For me through my mental health journey, I was Find A Better Day and the fact that he connected to it in that way. It's like, that's just one person, but it's worth it, you know?
Adam Brand: And that's worth 10,000 followers right there.
Rae Leigh: Oh, I couldn't care less about the 10,000 as you know, it's like, yeah. So I love that you said that it's exactly what we should be aspiring to, is that connection with other people and, and, um, sharing, sharing stories is so powerful.
Adam Brand: I often think about this, this career, you know, and how people view it. And a lot of people view it that you do this because you can get lots of stuff.
Rae Leigh: Um,
Adam Brand: You can get lots out of it where. You know, I I've certainly through my journey. I've for myself. I figured out that, this career is not about getting this.
This career is about giving of yourself. And if you, and if you apply that to your music, you apply that to your shows. You apply that to your social media types of everything you do that if your main focus and your goal is to give, to give of yourself, give them this of this, whatever talent you have, give
Rae Leigh: absolutely.
Adam Brand: And don't worry, they get it. The getting stuff take care of itself that that's, you know, don't focus on that.
Rae Leigh: Well, I'm a big believer that I'll always have everything I need. I think that's the way the world works out. And so if you don't, if you believe that you'll always have everything you need, you don't need to worry about getting anything. And so then you can just focus on the giving.
Adam Brand: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: I think someone told me this is probably something I learned from youth group as a kid, but it was, the greatest leaders, the biggest servant or something like that. Yeah. I have to work the hardest, but it was a good one. All right. If you could go back in time, say to 17 year old self or potentially yourself before you were leaving for Sydney and give yourself one piece of advice. Just a little bit of like, maybe you need to know this before you do this. Um, what would you say to yourself?
Adam Brand: it's a pretty, pretty simple one that we all we could all do with more of, and that is there's just breathe, take things a little slower, enjoy it. Don’t strive, don't strive too much, you know? Cause it, you know, it'll come, there's especially early in your career, you know, when, um, oh, Talking to you about today is come through over 20 years discovery.
Rae Leigh: Um, lack of experience. Yeah.
Adam Brand: You know, so there, there was a phase, there was a favorite of Tom, the AMR early career. I was spinning my wheels and going no way. And I, so, it'd be just slow down the young bull old bull where the old bull will and you'll be right.
Rae Leigh: I love it. I think I was talking to someone yesterday now talking about stress. You know, getting to the end of the goal. I was like in life, the general end goal is death. So you might as well enjoy the journey
Adam Brand: What do you want it to be or not? It's
Rae Leigh: all there is, that's it. Right. All right. Last official question. If you could co-write or collaborate with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Adam Brand: I've had all different types of answers to this in my, in my life, you know, from, from all these different people or would love to sing a song with Bruce Springsteen or write long or this or that, blah, blah, blah, all that kind of stuff. And, and honestly, I don't want us to answer right now. I can't wait for the day where I write a song with my baby girl and,
Rae Leigh: how old is she now?
Adam Brand: Two and a half.
Rae Leigh: Such a good age
Adam Brand: And if you, if you have a look back on my Facebook for a better week ago, I picked her up from daycare, we were driving home and I just started singing and she just started repeating lines after me. But changing, changing the word to daddy, I was saying, I love you pepper. And she just got, I love you, daddy.
Rae Leigh: oh,
Adam Brand: and we were singing this thing and I'm goin'
oh my God. So
Rae Leigh: that's beautiful.
Adam Brand: point in my life I'm waiting to do is with my little girl
Rae Leigh: and I'm sure it's going to be amazing because you're just going to want to show her off to the entire world. And, I agree. I've given birth to my backing band. I'm just waiting for them to grow up and learn how to play their instruments.
Adam Brand: There you
go. Play for food.
Rae Leigh: yeah, my daughter's six and she's having a birthday this Thursday actually.
And her first-ever song was just struggling. The guitar and singing. I love dad. I love my brother Eli and I love Gabriel. And then she goes, and I love myself. when she's saying that, just, just as beautifully and as confidently as she loved everyone else. And then she goes, I love myself. And I'm like, yes, love yourself.
Like, ah, just blew my heart out of the water. And I was like, that's the best song,
Adam Brand: They go
Rae Leigh: but, um, yeah,
trying to instill musical power, into children, I think is such a beautiful gift.
Adam Brand: I have to record that.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I probably should. You know,
Adam Brand: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: I write with my kids a lot and my oldest, one day he came to he's like, mom, I've written 22 songs. I was like, really? And I said, where are they? And he goes, what do you mean? I said, well, they're not technically a song until you've written them down.
Adam Brand: I mean he's head.
Rae Leigh: oh, okay. Yeah. So four days later he comes out his mum I've written four songs. He's like, I'm going to be a song rather like you mommy, and I'm going to be a professional football player.
Adam Brand: yeah, they go hand in hand
Rae Leigh: They do. Yeah. Well, we're pretty much finished. Why don't you tell us a little bit about you, you're still the one, cause that's your latest single and what is coming up from you? What we can expect.
Adam Brand: Sure. shows wise, not a huge amount in the calendar, you know, just sort of still, still sort of slowly navigating where, where the shows are gonna happen. I'm not planning any big tours in the next year. I'm just going to wait and see what happens with the borders and everything, as it goes, we'll do some festivals, things. But still very much, writing, recording, you know, having new music, I'd say I'll have an album worth of music, probably mid next year. Something like that.
Rae Leigh: Oh,
Adam Brand: This song still, the one was, in a, just a short phrase, the, I feel like the board, the borders have been shut, but love hasn't.
And so we've all had. Find ways to navigate keeping relationships alive, keeping, keeping things intact, even though that you can't just get on a plane and go visit somebody who, who, you know, face to face and also a large part of that in relationships all over the world, not just us, but a lot of the world has been FaceTime.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Adam Brand: So you know, the video for this song is, is a as a couple having their romantic date, date, date. And I'm celebrating something. over facetime together
Rae Leigh: Hm.
Adam Brand: Still The One, is talking about that person, that one, that, though, through whatever adversity through whatever the world throws at you, no matter what happened.
That you, that they can stick together and you make your way together and you find your way through. And, and even when the, you know, even when the skies get all gray and, and things and seasons change, nothing, nothing changes with us. We still are. So that's, that's where this song.
Rae Leigh: I really enjoyed how you. Talk rapt as well, like over this, this song, like the way that you've performed it. And really, really soon it's like, it's, it felt fresh, but it also just felt really authentic.
Adam Brand: Yeah, I guess I'm just at the end of this. I just want it to reinforce the message, but I didn't want to just sing it. I thought I'm just going to talk it, you know, and, and I'd always be very mindful of, of talking in songs, not try to nothing trying to sound. You know, the stuff we hear coming in, obviously hip hop and like our staff is talking a lot, you know, the way that they taught, but just so you know, I'm going to, I want to rap, I'm going to just talk these lyrics as if I was just sitting there across a coffee table, talking to you.
This is, this is what I'm going to say. So,
Rae Leigh: was beautiful. It's very intimate.
Adam Brand: thank you. Ma'am.
Rae Leigh: Oh, I love that. And, yeah, hopefully, we'll be able to see you perform at some point, even if it is local, get you to get down at the coffee house or something and sing a few
Adam Brand: absolutely.
Rae Leigh: cool. All right. Is there anything else you'd like to share? The podcast is completely yours.
Final words,
Adam Brand: oh my goodness.
Rae Leigh: anything you want.
Adam Brand: Just how much I've enjoyed chatting to you actually. Yeah, no, this is, this has been really nice little interlude. I'm sitting here in my little office. Very old house, but it's a new one for us. It's on a bit of land he had here in the hinterland. I'm looking at here thinking now, now, since we've been talking about songs and songwriting stuff from seven I'm sitting here, is that the daydream and wander off thing.
Okay. I've got a couple of lines that I haven't really nailed down yet. I don't think I'm going to have to get up, put some time into them this afternoon.
Rae Leigh: Well, I hope I've inspired you to do some more songwriting. That is one of the main goals of this podcast is to inspire people, to give it a go, and just keep going and keep writing. And because it just feels good. Right? So,
Adam Brand: I Amen, sister I'm with you.
Rae Leigh: Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time. We finally got to have this chat and, yeah, I love what you do and you inspire so many people. And I just want to say thank you so much for all of your services and for continuing to go, even though it is a hard journey. I really have a lot of respect for artists like yourself.
Who's continued on even through all the disappointment and rejection that, no one probably even knows about, but you,
Adam Brand: Well, we do it because we do, because we love it. You know, just that the blessing, it, it's an absolute blessing just to be able to sit in front of someone and, and sing to them, communicate these words in a song that you've spent, you know, you've poured your heart into, and it says it's a wonderful thing to be able to do. So
Rae Leigh: So vulnerable. The beautiful. No, I love it. Absolutely. So thank you so much. And that's us. We're done.
Adam Brand: Great to speak to you
