#151 Peter Smokie Dawson
The Dawsons are a country family through and through. From Ballarat to Yapoon and then back to Tamworth. Australian farms and country music are a deep rooted part of this family and Peter Smokie Dawson is sharing his passion for country music at country music festival all over Australia.
In this episode we talk about his journey as a young boy passionate about the guitar and settling down into a married family life as a windscreen professional for a long time before getting back to his passion for country music after an injury. Rae Leigh and Pete met at the singer songwriter retreat in 2016 and they were both in a low place and co-write a song together called "All I Can Do". They talk about their meeting and Pete shares his travelling stories as he goes from festival to festival sharing his songs and songs from legions past.
Captain Moonlight - By Peter Smokie Dawson - see live performance on the Songwriter Trysts Facebook Page or listen on Spotify HERE
All I Can Do - By Peter Smokie Dawson & Rae Leigh - view HERE
Connect with Peter:
Transcript
Rae Leigh: Welcome to a Songwriters Tryst with is it Peter smokey, Dawson or smokey pit? I just call you smokey.
Peter Smokie Dawson: you you can call me what you like. and mum used to call me Pater and, I am a Dawson. So smoky is a name that's spring given to just about any doors and family. There's some kid in that family That's Mikey, it's a nickname that's handed down in the door since, and I just happened to be the one in more family, I guess, as a kid all been singing and smokey Dawson was a singer.
So from that point on, since I was five or so,
Rae Leigh: but you're not actually related to smokey
Peter Smokie Dawson: nice, Nike. we believe he was adopted into the doors and family. We've actually just done our family history very recently and it's quite interesting. So yeah. mum
Rae Leigh: most interesting thing about the Dawson family?
Peter Smokie Dawson: what's the most interesting thing. I think. The country and we love being in the country. I think that's where our roots probably started. my great, Great. Great grandfather was an iron monger in Ballarat, and he packed up his family and went to Rockhampton To leave and bought a big property, called the Belmont estate, which was taken off the family through death tax when I was a boy. And now it's oblivious the cattle research station up Yeah on Yapoon road,
Rae Leigh: It's still a thing. I think
Peter Smokie Dawson: I think they're bringing it back So, yeah, just watch yet because we lost our family farm. and, you know, from that period of time on life has changed I think for us because we have to find our own way in life. I've got brothers who are mechanics I've got brothers who were painters. I've got, you know, we've all worked pretty hard to get where we are, I've been in the motor trade for 30 years as a windscreen fitter, and, really enjoy working I never have a problem with that, but but music's become something that all I've had a passion for all my life. And, And at this point in time, we've got the opportunity to go out and write songs and perform
Rae Leigh: beautiful. And speaking of stuff that can get taken off at any point, everything we have is a gift. The one thing I really, I think I realized as I've gotten older is the one thing that no one can take away from me is my songs. you know, it's like, there's so much confidence for me that I have personally in knowing that this is mine and it means something to me, and that is all that matters. And I could be dirt, poor living on the streets. I'll always have that. I'm like if I have that, I have a sense of who I am. And it's given me once I realized that it gave me a real confidence
Peter Smokie Dawson: oh I get that I get that. And One of them. Just to add to that, one of the important things that we with. that confidence, You also can confidently share it. And there's a pleasure in sharing, you know, to share a meal with someone, or a cup of coffee with someone just to catch up with an old friend. It's great times, you know, but to share music. You share it with people who are maybe like-minded who have the same feelings or been through the same situations and and not everyone can tell their own story. And On behalf of other people, sometimes as a songwriter, we get to share or tell a story that's bigger than what we even think. know, it. Yeah. So keep writing your songs and all keep writing mine. And
Rae Leigh: I think like it's big. I think we have to speak about it because I, I had gone through a really, really hard time and music was always my safe Haven, but I didn't do it publicly. It was a private thing in my room and I'd been through, you know, a child abuse court case. And my husband found this songwriter a treat at the.
Tamworth somewhere and sent me off and john said I could come, even though it was full. And I walked in there knowing absolutely nothing about country music, thinking it was a bit of a joke that I was there because I did not feel like it was going to be something I'd fit into. I thought I'll just stick to myself.
And the first person that spoke to me was you. And you walked in with your bright blue eyes and you were just so kind and compassionate and accepting of me when I felt at my absolute one of my lowest moments in my entire life. For me, you're an angel.
Peter Smokie Dawson: You welcome because all I really care about people And, that's the boy, I think mum wanted me to be, I grew up to be that mean, and
I know everyone goes through a hot Tomo. I've been through a hard time too, and believe it or not, all of a sudden, he just starting to fall on myself. When I went to the dag, 2014 was the first year I went to the dag and it was an eye opener for me because I'd always wanted to do more with more music. And I met people there, like Alan Caswell and Kevin Bennett and Lynn Bowtell and, and, Felicity Urquhart.
they encouraged me to, you know, nothing was ever wrong. whatever You were going to write a bit, it wasn't the wrong subject. And so to pen down some of the words and some of the feelings of I have. you know, It doesn't mean all make a song out of them, but you get them out of here at least by writing something down and, and if there's anything good in it, you more work on it.
And if there's nothing tangible, doesn't seem to work in there. Well, at least you've expressed it to yourself and got that Addie, a body out of that feeling out of you, you know? And So the encouragement by other songwriters, I think he's magic.
And, It really is a support. And we, were more like a family in some respects because we do care about the one. Well, can you door. and all I could see You're a little lost to that day, I remember that
quite clearly, but you know what? you're a beautiful person, a beautiful soul. And you've got an important story to tell Sarah, and, and I guess that's one of the things, I'd like to encourage everybody. is to write down something, put it in your little bedside drawer that, you know, whether you get to sing the song on. one of your grandchildren were walking one day and say, granny, that's a great little song and it could be the next you know, Casey chambers or whoever, and just because you took it off, told them to rod it, down evaluated.
Rae Leigh: I actually read a post. And one of the songwriter groups on Facebook today, someone asked. If you write a song and no one ever listens to it, was it worth writing the song? Oh, and I was like, absolutely. Absolutely. Because it's not about whether anyone listens to it. If you're looking for validation, go into a modeling competition or something or acting like it's,
Peter Smokie Dawson: it's
Rae Leigh: not about that at all.
Art is, is so much more than what other people see. It's about the expression of what's inside you. And so many artists in history. Never see anyone seeing their art or hearing their art. So many artists, especially famous, artists like the painters and stuff. A lot of them, spent their entire lives, poor in a room, just doing what they could with paint.
And it wasn't until after they died that their art became so, so visible, and value. And appreciated and, I don't think wherever as artists we're ever going to be appreciated. I think, I don't think anyone has ever appreciated as much while they're alive.
Peter Smokie Dawson: now. It's funny. It's a funny concept. We'd love it to happen that way.
But, like we look at look the artists that the Rembrandt's of the world and, and they become masters, We call them the masters nail. And so
a little bit with their music, we have mentors and people who have mastered us to confidently go forward, you know, because reluctantly, we go forward sometimes we don't confidently go forward.
But once you get the encouragement from somebody and you actually see it in yourself, that you can achieve a mark, or you can actually Hit the bullseye, get the target. You you want to have another Guthrow on that dot again and you can't wait to get on stage again and and I think we'll all might've won, said doing it is doing it. If you're not doing it, you're actually not doing
Rae Leigh: just do it.
Peter Smokie Dawson: So to get up on stage and perform sharpens you up and keeps you alive, you know? And So eventually we become. a master at it.
Rae Leigh: And we're documenting like, as artists, we are documenting what we are experienced in our environment at this given time in history.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Isn't that a point?
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And like, it doesn't matter who you are, what genre, or what type of art you're creating.
It is an expression of your environment and who you are as a person at this given moment. And it's like, that will never be repeated, which is so magical.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, we, we look for any what we need, You know, if we don't need it, we don't got it looking for it. And I think even that song, right, captain Moonlight, you know, he was a Bush ranger. He had design problems and perils, but one thing he wanted was the sense of freedom. And even even wrote to the very end he was, he's requests was to be buried with these gang and,
he was hung in the gallows in Sydney. And and I think it was around 95 and 96. I pulled him up out of the grant and Rican shamed his body and took him down to Gandy Goa. I think it wasn't buried him with his mates and his gang. And you know, they wouldn't do that for you. may, Sarah, but the point is brought to his dying Wish
he,
lived this loft looking for freedom and you know, we're living in a time now where freedom seems to be questioned.
and Do we have the role at the habit? And and I think, yes, we do. You know, under this crazy world we live in, and we're all looking for something better and you, better day, but,
Rae Leigh: uh, great grandfathers and grandfathers fought for, and those were first world war. Second world war was all about.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Say, you know, they'll sign unless We forget, Well, we don't want to forget. We want to use our memory and remember these things and that's the way song brings it back. So when In a good song. You can, you can convince, or you can show yourself that we do have a sense of freedom. we do have the right to have it,
Rae Leigh: That's beautiful. All right. So let's go back to the
Peter Smokie Dawson: beginning.
Rae Leigh: We're getting there. Tell me, how did you get into music? When did it start for you?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, all as a little kid, I grew up in Tamworth and I was actually at the very first 10 with country music as a child as a bit, four years of age. Or can remember the festival playing in the main street.
Rae Leigh: How long has that been going on for now? The
Peter Smokie Dawson: it'll be 50 years in 2022. Yeah
Rae Leigh: I think, I don't know. Many festivals have really survived that length of time.
Peter Smokie Dawson: No. And you know, it's really interesting. about Tamworth country music. It's the biggest party that we have in Australia. It goes for 10 days. There's no other party Bathurst gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, whatever, you see, doesn't go for 10 days. So Tamworth's the biggest party we have. And yeah, I think if it doesn't go here this year, there'd be riots in the street,
Rae Leigh: There's sometimes a bit of controversy around it under the year that I went, my first one was 2020, and there wasn't many people there that year because the fires were in play and a lot of people were stranded or there was drought and a few of the locals didn't want it to go ahead because they were worried about the water
Peter Smokie Dawson: water supply.
Rae Leigh: Yes. I mean, it's still, I mean,
Peter Smokie Dawson: so What you're telling me is you have really not seen time with in its high day. So when Tamworth comes along, just, wow. it's, a, it's the biggest potty. It's it's got so much music. It's so many in a tie-in is there's never a dull moment. You gotta look looking for sleep after a few days because you got, to know you that, and if you think you can busk for 10 days on the street without a bottle of water. and just sit there in the sun, it's 40 degrees.
Rae Leigh: Well peel street. That's where everyone goes, busking. That's the famous street. And I think you told me about that. So after I released my first country song, I was like, right. I better guard. And this is why I went, because I was like, it's a Rite of passage for any country. I was in Australia to Buscombe peel street. If I don't do it, I'm not doing the right thing.
Peter Smokie Dawson: You've earned your stripes and you're welcome. You're working back in your top dollar 20, 80. Good. I got a dollar the first one, eh, now. I don't know. It's a magical thing and growing up in Tamworth, always wanted to do country music. When I was
I'd say four or six more sister and more brother came back from visiting grandpa in Rockhampton and they brought me a red guitar. And I was so excited to get this guitar.
And it was only a bit of a kid jumping up and down on the bed and I had the guitar line on the floor and I've missed the edge of the bed and went straight through the guitar and, broke it completely straight through the middle of. And I never got another guitar until my wife bought it for me for my second anniversary. So I was 22 years of age, when I, 21. years of
Rae Leigh: You're going to break it again. If they got you and other
Peter Smokie Dawson: I probably never had music lessons.
I think if you're passionate about something, you'll just learn it, you know, and never give up on the dream. If that's what you want to do. Yeah, I think he meant to do it. you know? So
Rae Leigh: Can you do it at the right time? How old were you on your second wedding anniversary? When you got the guitar?
Peter Smokie Dawson: oh, it would've been 21. somewhere that, well, actually I was married, at
19 I was married nearly, September. I was 19. I turned. 20 In November. So it was a couple of months of turning
20 So 21 a second wedding anniversary,
Rae Leigh: Okay. And so how come she bought your guitar? Because you wouldn't stop talking about it or
Peter Smokie Dawson: know what I wasn't expecting to get a guitar either. It's my favorite guitar out of all the guitars. It was secondhand in a secondhand shop.
or I think she would have. I don't even know, but Wouldn't it be more than a hundred dollars back then. And, it's a copy of a Martin and , co it's a, it's actually a Hondo, but it's my favorite guitar.
It just plays the way on. I need it to play.
Rae Leigh: So where, where did you go from getting a guitar to starting to write your own songs?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, I always had a gout writing songs when I was a kid. Mum would encourage me to wrote poetry or would have song. And at the age of 14, I can clue I've still got it written down at Haim. It's a trucking so long, right It's called Shawn and silver all the way You bet a truck. And 'em all thought it was going to be a Truckee, I ended up
paying a windscreen fetal. I've got to walk, work on trucks, Yeah. but, to take it from plying at. 21, 22 years of age Every time we went on a holiday somewhere tight, the guitar, and we used to love gallon camping up at one being caves and the trail going Pony club would be there. And the young ones in the Piney club will want to hear a slim dusty song. and so odd, odd Cedar in the camp for playing guitar
Only three chords, probably the same three chords every time. After a, while you pick up another code and you learn another song, And I guess, to write my own songs, it's an experience of your life and the people in your life sometimes have the biggest influence to write your songs
Rae Leigh: So you've heard a song about a trucking song when you were 14 and then you've got a guitar and you've done poetry, and then you go camping and you're playing guitar and you're playing Slim Dusty stuff. Was there a point in your life where you go? Cause we talked about sharing before, when you were like, I want to share my music.
And how did you start to explore the idea of sharing and performing your music, your original songs,
Peter Smokie Dawson: Okay. Well, I guess, more captive audience was more family and more children and OD encouraged more boy to take up. music. At the age of four, he learned the violin. we had him on, the violin, but, all would sing to the kids. And, I still will do that If I've got a song that I've written Elgon talk to Ben, and I'll say, Hey, you want to listen to a song or I'll send him something on the phone. and
you go, yeah. that's called something dead. Or, you know, where you're going with that?
And I think you, firstly, have to have a trial. group, Rangi that you can confidently share those thoughts with and those moments of lunacy or whatever they are that you've come up with. And if somebody thinks that you got potential that point will then where do you take it? And I think the biggest encouragement can be to take it to, another friend and run it by them.
And if they think that, that song's got a lot of potential. You gone talk to her producer, you go and talk to somebody who might be able to hear something more in it or build it in a different way. So that it's got some impact, because, I guess what we don't want to do is we don't want to leave our audience.
wishing they never showed up. You know, we want to leave the audience count. Wow. How was that? You know, And to the best of our ability, I think we learned to be. a showman, but I think we're all born
you know, I think that's, we might have a talent, but how do you develop that talent?
Rae Leigh: Everything can be worked on candidate songwriting and showmanship and entertain and sheep, whatever you call it.
But, what do you think the most important thing is for a song or when you're writing a song? What what's really important for you to put into it?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, I'm going to use what Willie Nelson city, the truth. and. It doesn't have to be the most complicated song, but it has to tell us sort of a true story.
And a night of the C4 written a song about a town and just say, are disordered to wrote a song, a deer in bandy, you know, and It's helped back to town. They grow a lot of cotton is a muddy river in that 10, But before I go, you know, a few things muddled up and I'll.
beautiful picture,
of a, of an ICN in narrow or talked about Ru you're really not in the location. So you've automatically got something wrong with this song. So doing some research on a song tonight, what's the country that we're dealing with and we're talking about flat, open country or Mallee country, or you say mountains, he say gold, you know, so where are you in the location?
And then tell something That you feel honestly about that place? You know, the people, I guess that's way you're going to draw the, audience. is those people in that town and if you come back into their town and sing them, that song they'll judge it for themselves. They'll go, yeah, that's a town that's us. or know that you got that wrong, you know,
Trying to keep the truth
truthful Yay three courts in the truth.
Rae Leigh: All right. So with your music, what, what was the purpose or what was the idea behind starting to perform? And I mean, changing from a 30 year career in windscreens, you know, what was that journey like? What happened?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, that was me finding myself again, Sarah Roy, or I'd had had an accident a workplace accident.
that Took me out of the workshop. and, I spent three years recovering in a bed And that was quite a Pedal off. it changes Sonny come upon us in two ways or we get ready for a challenging
we save up that money and then we go and have a holiday, or suddenly we've been hitting a car accident. The changes were getting taken away in an ambulance. So more change coming in the form of an accident at work and from that point on, I had to find me again. And I did get up out of bed, and all it was recovering, I picked up the guitar and I'll have to admit the first few songs I started to row were more of a dirge.
that was said that we'll blue a hight at everybody. And then one day I realized that's not who you are. And I remember it all as a country boy, and
Rae Leigh: I think that's something that any songwriters going to relate to. I I've met so many songwriters and I, I have found that a common factor between a lot of first time sharing songwriters is that, and I'm no exception from this.
A lot of my songs, initial ones are just, TJ is absolutely like just sadness and the desperation of you need something and
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, you have something you have to get out. And that's why I said earlier. if you wrote a song. and You never sing, it doesn't mean you haven't got it out, but the singing it out of you. is more important to, I think because he can, you confidently convince yourself along the way that I'm better from that.
now. And then you wrote another song and that next song is more empowerment and that goes on to tell a little bit more of the story about, Hey, come through that little struggle. You've been through. and said, We sort of create our own rod for our back, because we have to tell a better story next time him, you know, we've found another subject, and but you can wrote a song about anything, you know, and some could be a nice, beautiful song about a leaf falling into.
Or it can be a sad song and it can still be beautiful, you know?
because a reflection on a tee drop or, the way that You would the song even though it might ever say it intent, it could just bring hope to you because the way it's pinned down. So they don't all have to be said, blue country songs, while he's my, you can put a happy ending in there and you can make it,
Rae Leigh: He has a lot of power if you put the emotion into
Peter Smokie Dawson: for sure.
Rae Leigh: And you've performed. Like a ton. I feel like I see you on just about every country festival. I can say I can see the smile on your face. So what, where, where, where have you, like, how many festivals have you played at and what's your favorite ones and how did you kind of get into that lifestyle of jumping to festival to festival?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, I had my own experience, let's split up with my wife for nearly eight years and went back to give the neon loaf is going on really well. But In that period of time, I needed to find me. And I took my cell phone, the ride. I think the year started with Tamworth. And so I went back home to Tamworth and visited my sisters. And after I finished Tamworth or I'll just ask people, I said, where are you going to now?
And the next one that all was invited to was the Bungendore country music, which is the week after Tamworth. So up up in the high country. Not far from where Oliver Jervis bay. And, so I went to bang door and all, I got to sing songs. there. and then I heard about a country show called music in them, Olga, which is in my, and,
When at the one year just drive all the way at data count, have a look at it. And I'll find there every year since.
Another one that we have Dan naira, which is called a Tereira country music, all I happened to know, I went and filmed Austin.
He went on The property, long before I thought about country music, or put windscreens in their tractor,
and their lane crews that windows a windscreen fetus. but they've invited me today. Show that they have, and they, they have a lot of gray nomads see with traveling, so that might run for caravans and bring toilets and stuff in. And a lot of the shows too, that? say You've got some facilities and food. So music in the molder is in my
in
March, January Tamworth Bungendore. February, March to Rivera my music in the Morga, back to 10 with in July, if I had soft country music it, and then, so July, August rolls around and August gimpy must. So we'd go to the gimpy monster and I, I never performed at the gimpy muster. I just went there to volunteer my Slee and I'll go to meet a lot of artists that way too. So,
so
then September rolls around and September, October, usually turn into a pretty big couple of months for me. So we usually have, Texas country music on the border and then boney mountain festival, which I've just been.
to, Which is Queensland. And then, I'll do the lights on the hill, which I'm going to do next weekend. And then after the lights on the hill, I go out to, we wore to the, we wore cotton festival and then all across the country, back to Amara near Grafton, and do the online. country, country music must have They have they Clarence valley country music musta. And at the end of October, that usually finishes October or go home and get ready to have told them with the family and
Christmas rolls are in and January comes around again.
Rae Leigh: And so you did that for how many
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, I've done it for IES and. and I'll keep doing it. Okay. It because
all the
Rae Leigh: dream life to me.
Peter Smokie Dawson: well someone's got to do it so I highly encourage it. But, a lot of these festivals I go to every year.
have been Booked and rebooked and rebooked every year. And it's, it's impressive to me because, you know, I never really thought about things. You know, any sort of star or anything like that. It wasn't, about that for me, it was about, can I play my music? Can I have some way to apply? And I've said this quite a few times. I do a lot of talk on Dan, I,
Rae Leigh: That's what you're here for me. It's called a podcast. So we always supposed to do is talk. I just took,
Peter Smokie Dawson: But if if we got a Tamworth Scion and we take your guitar and we sit out in the paddock, and we're the only one they it's, it's a lonely festival, you know? So without an audience, without the people around us, we might as well just be in an empty paddock or down by the river or.
up the mountain and singing our songs. We actually need to have an audience. And for audience participation is
Bougie and which builds up your ability to perform better and it'll shop in you as an entertainer. And it'll encourage you to come back again and do it next year. So you'd need an audience.
Rae Leigh: I think that's beautiful. And I think like it says a lot, you being invited back obviously, but something that I don't know if you're aware, but your, your ability to love and connect with people and care about people, like the way that you.
Look at me, for example, I always feel like you see me and like you see past the way I look in what I'm wearing and whether I got any makeup on or any of that, you just say, you know, me and I feel like that is the presence that you bring to the stage when you you're singing songs. To an audience of however many, I feel like you still have the ability to seem to those people as if they are your family and you're sitting in your living room and you just love them.
And you just sharing because you love these people. And that is a gift that your heart is huge.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Thanks Sarah. Oh boy. I love to sing a particular song to an audience. And, it's an all slim dusty song is gain. A lot of them was slim. It's called faces in the front row and the Feist is in the front row come from every walk of life. And each one has their story to tell, but I don't know that from the stage I see them all so clear and sometimes can read their thoughts as well.
Rae Leigh: Bit scary.
Peter Smokie Dawson: well, You know, the whole point of the song is that those people are, denying. forgotten all their woes of the day, They're enjoying the music and in the song, slim goes, you no longer sitting there in the front row. You're up here in the flood lights with us. And that's how the audience might you feel They, you get drawn in to people and you don't look at their clothes and you don't worry about the hair color their head is. And it's not a vet that somewhere deep in sword.
that's a real person, that's a real soul. And that person,
it's only a few things you can ever do for anyone. There's not a lot you can do for. anyone. You can care, you can share and you can be there. and if you can do those three things to people, then you add some value to their life.
Because if you don't care, they could be brought at a point where I don't care anymore either. And if you can share, well, they're not going to go hungry. And if you're there, we'll, then they've got someone to talk to and someone to lean on and. And I believe we all need each other. know, so,
Rae Leigh: And country music festival.
In my experience, adjust such a healing experience. Like it's not some, like I've been to other festivals, I've worked at other festivals, other music genre festivals, where it's more about the substance use. You take in the escapism and the, and the party.
Peter Smokie Dawson: the party. of it
Rae Leigh: Country music festival. It's like, it's just such a different experience.
Everyone just gets on and you're all there to have a good time and maybe let go of some of the stresses and worries of the rest of the world and their house and the bills and the job and all that sort of stuff. And you can just immerse yourself into the country and the music,
Peter Smokie Dawson: And not only is it the fact that we do country music, but it's the environment we're usually in the country.
We're usually. Beautiful setting in a mountainous regional, Beautiful river and something that's more of a distraction than even the music, you know, And, and people are drawn to a few things. in life. we're drawn to an ocean we're drawn to a mountain a tree or a big girl, and you know, revise So that in humanity we are.
and the common side of us needs To be drawn to something. So music will draw you in and I believe that country music, because it's got an honesty about it, you know, it. It can have a sharpness about it, too. it competes you. inside, you know, it can make you cry, as an honesty about it. And I think it's what the world still needs,
we all come from some countries, so there's some.
sort of music. This it's not all about rock and roll,
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I've said a few times with this podcast, but I've always said that, there's two types of people in the world, those who love country and those who will one day
it's. That, that was me. You know, I had no idea what country even was when I walked into that, that song writing festival, I think it was Karl Brodie that tried to explain it to me. And
Peter Smokie Dawson: Say Karl had he's I'm magic and very sadly missed what an incredible man call Brody that, He would have helped shop
And I believe that what a lot of them done for me too. I'll never forget. Kevin Bennett signed to me He put an eight, I'm honoring their username owner and I'm going, I don't even know how to play an eMAR that'll show. Learn how to do
Rae Leigh: have him on the show. I'd love to have it get deeper into his brain because he's got some incredible stories
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well he leaves Stan away
Rae Leigh: to it is it's. I mean, he won't take credit for any of those sharpening things that he does. You know, just little comments like that. You he'll pop in.
And I remember one time I got up and I said, oh, Kevin really helped me with this. You probably only said one little thing, but I don't think he understood how big of a difference that made to me when I was writing that song. And he was like, Aw, I didn't do anything. I'm like, no, you really did. Like, yeah,
Peter Smokie Dawson: I think in country, they want to encourage the next person the children. Oh, I love to encourage kids or. I, I'll be running a little walk up, down in Tamworth. So walk country music's on and the opportunity came to me because I could see the buskers on the street and, and I was one of them and to sit there for 10 days and sing, it can really take it out of you.
If you.
think You can do it and try and make some money out of it. You Good luck. to you. So I try to take the easy road a little bit. And, Oh, yeah, I've been up my busking spot as a walk-up and I'm hoping again to do it, this coming up in 2022. So as long as all the COVID restrictions. allow it, we'll definitely run it, but, to share that spot with everybody is quite incredible.
Rae Leigh: Encouraging,
Peter Smokie Dawson: you know, even the little kids will come up. I'll get on the snake drama with olive oil on the keyboard and they'll play a song on the guitar. So familiar. I want to keep encouraging that. So I try to reward it in my own little way, Giving away 10 little harmonicas throughout the country music festival, just to little kids.
And I'll usually trolling for on a couple of all second and guitars to give to the older kids or even even a parent, because sometimes. you know, The encouragement for music is there, but they don't have the instrument. And if you can actually put that instrument in their hand, they might just come back next year with the best song you've ever heard. So I think we all, We've got to pay it forward no matter where we go.
Rae Leigh: Absolutely. I was teaching my son about comma this morning. Eight, but we were feeding the animals dreamworld. They've got these country fair thing going on for a few weeks and they've got all these animals and you can just go buy a packet of food for $2 and you feed the goats or.
And he was feeding and it was time to go. So I said, honey, we've got to go. So he saw another kid who hadn't didn't have any food to give to the animals. So he gave the rest of his bag to another kid and he was telling me about how proud he was that he, you know, he'd done that. And I was like, that's so beautiful.
Thank you for sharing. And you're such a kind boy, you know, to be able to do that. And then we walked into the next zone where there were kangaroos. And as we were walking in this family come up to us and they said, would you like some kangaroo fee? Cause we're, we're leaving and we've got all this.
There was like this instant completely nothing to do with each other, but it was exactly the same act.
And it was a really fantastic parenting moment to be able to go. This is what calmer is. You do something nice for someone else doesn't mean that person's going to pay it back to you, but somewhere else in the world that goodness will come back to you. And I think he kind of really got it. Cause it was so
Peter Smokie Dawson: it happened really in front of his eyes
Rae Leigh: in front of his
Peter Smokie Dawson: real time
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Peter Smokie Dawson: but that's magic.
Rae Leigh: it is how it works though. Isn't it? He could have been horrible to me. I probably never would've spoke to you again,
you know, like, and then we wrote that song and that was the first song. I think it was called all I can do. And it was the first song I ever performed live while playing a guitar on stage. And you were up there
Peter Smokie Dawson: That's the real magic moments here or there and Credit to you credit to you because you put everything aside, You, you know, all the woes and worries that you put plain cumulated in Geelong And you walked away from your own precious little family to California. you. And all I could do was help in that moment and the song. Basically it was a healing for me as well, because it touches on you know, We do have a need and everyone has this need, but all we can do sometimes is we can just we can pray for you we can do little bits and pieces, but to keep somebody in your thoughts and you know, say prayer at the end of the day for somebody is actually very important is it means we cared enough to think about that person.
That's only the start, you know, where, where it takes it from. There that's the biggest story, but, but I've had some magic moments thank you. for Sharing with me again today. Like I think This is pretty special. that I've come up here into Queensland and I'm not ready to go home, yet and have caught up with you and your family. And
Rae Leigh: it's
Peter Smokie Dawson: and a few of me all mates, It's been really magic moment.
Hope we get to do it again.
Rae Leigh: All right. So you, you've done a bit of co-writing. what would you say your best advice for anyone who wants to do collaboration would be
Peter Smokie Dawson: Wow. Look definitely tight. The opportunity. I think that's the first thing No matter what the song is about, you will, you will got two powerful, mourns working on or even three, depending on how many in the Cairo, but, the story will only grow.
And the ability for one person to Ross. uses their own logic and their own magic and their own thought pattern, but with a Cairo that second person. you know, use the example of a car accident. Now you're standing on the right-hand side of the ride and you seen the car accident, but the person standing on the left-hand side of the Rudd, seeing the car accident as well.
But one of them said you come from the road and one city, come from the left. So what you're looking at two different viewpoints on the same subject and collaboration of song and putting that subject together with two. more lines is Twice. as powerful. So you got every chance of rotten, a better, not, not only a great song,
Rae Leigh: love that different perspectives.
And just to take it and allow that to be, to make the song,
Peter Smokie Dawson: to let it be better. Let it be Great. You know, Ellen Caswell said to me, one day I read a song with him. It's called moving on and we finished the song and Alan looked at me.
And he guys, this is a great. And I said, thanks very much. He says, you know what, Put all that lot. Right. And just good songs, a lot of the, a great song. He said, and we've written a great song. that I, So that is a boost to my little ego, you know, In his mind. He will always write a great song, but to me I would've been happy just to write a good song, but in his point of view was, it was bigger than that.
So for me to hear. That only takes me up another little level. It makes me feel better for myself. and
Rae Leigh: And he's good at that. He encourages
Peter Smokie Dawson: ease incredible Maine, you know, say, we talked about the master's of songwriting or the masters of art Well is Allan Caswell.
Rae Leigh: is definitely one of them.
Peter Smokie Dawson: He's a master at it, know, and I I've loved to, to work with Alan. I've written three songs with him there and a lot to do it all again. One day. uh,
Rae Leigh: He came to one of our songwriting nights here the night and had a chat and saying as his hit song from the sixties. And we started writing a new song, which is awesome. It was nine of us in the car ride though.
Peter Smokie Dawson: uh, magic.
Rae Leigh: It was beautiful.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, let's have some of my songs are right
along with the, uh, fourth people in one song called he's all piano, and then we. Alan was. Instigator that one. Yeah. And now the song was probably about nine people in it too, before they were heroes. And both about the war. and, It was at Tommy year.
you know, we had that opportunity to wrote something be at the end Zack's or
Rae Leigh: it's a great, a great topic to write about
Peter Smokie Dawson: Well, there's different times of the year. We think. about things too, you know, So point becomes more relevant, at certain times of the year,
if you want. Well, if you want to write a Christmas, song, it's only going to be played at Christmas.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Usually, I mean, most likely to be relevant and Christmas time,
Peter Smokie Dawson: So you might not get a lot of airplay February, March, April, may, June and July.
you know, Yeah. So It has to be. you need to point
Rae Leigh: nothing wrong with those songs though, that are specific to a particular time in the year.
Peter Smokie Dawson: some of them are pointed and I didn't want to write a song about the football world. It's going to be about the football. There's not going to work for figure skating
Rae Leigh: Yeah. There's a season for everything, you know, the winter time in the summertime and everything in between. What's your best advice that you've ever been given in this industry?
Peter Smokie Dawson: Show up,
Rae Leigh: show up.
Peter Smokie Dawson: If you've been booked in any way. if you've been asked to come show up, put a big effort in if you have to show up because other people are waiting for you you don't want to let everyone Danny loaf or letting yourself down.
So.
Rae Leigh: That's a good that's easy. Yeah. Well, it's actually, it's easier to say than probably do all the time, but I think the more confident you get, the more you do it. What about if you could go back and maybe talk to yourself, say you go back in time. You talk to yourself when you're 21 and you just got your first guitar, what would you just one thing, what would you say to yourself?
Peter Smokie Dawson: The music near, I forget the motor tried.
Rae Leigh: Hurry up. Get on with it.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Oh, I don't know. I guess 21, like. I believe I'm the same. age as Lee Hannigan. So I've watched Louise Korea And I think Keith, Urban's probably a little younger than me And I've watched those guys career. what they got to do was play a lot of music and I got to feed a lot of wind screens. So if I had played a lot of music, I think I'd been a better guitarist by now. And I would have got the opportunity to meet a lot more people and. but navigate. You know, it, wasn't my time It was obviously Lee's and You know, it was his time and Keith Urban's time and
and they become mentors in their own raw too. So you can only look at them and say, well, you know, you did it. And that leaves a benchmark for us. I always believe that slim dusty set the biggest benchmark for any musician he's recorded more albums than anybody in the world.
He's recorded more songs than anybody like thousands.
Rae Leigh: Well, I still haven't seen that movie.
Peter Smokie Dawson: Oh you have to go and watch
Rae Leigh: to the
Peter Smokie Dawson: You got to go and watch the first one, the slim dusty movie as well, But, um, so in, in the movie, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. because slim, had a dream to play guitar and write songs. And he met up with his wife joy and, and off they went and, um, raise their little family on the road. but slim showed up at all.
These country shows. and He went out back and he had no other plane other than to get out there and play music. So he left a comfortable life and he took his music out on the road and he did it, and he played it and people say, to you, well, how do you start doing your music? What do you do? Well, you just do it. Slim Did you pack Paki guitar in the back of your car.
And you had to sum it back down and you go to the pub and you ask the public and cannot do a Giggy to not. And he'll probably say, yeah, Mike, you can play for two or three hours. And
a bit of money or a bit accommodation or something, you you feel on top of the world, because you've just accomplished something. But that's what slim did nearly every night.
And. then He he found his way into a biggest order of the industry. So you have to start somewhere. And the first thing is, get a gig, show up, play it
Leave the audience happy. You know, you don't want to leave an audience wishing they never showed up. You want to be sort of be the happy spot in the room. You know,
Rae Leigh: you want to make them really glad that they were there.
Peter Smokie Dawson: let them Forget the worries of the die and think, wow, we've got a great phage, a great night at the pub and or wherever you are. And they have, good. was it.
yeah.
Rae Leigh: Feeling good. And that's people won't always remember who you are or what you did or anything like that, or even what songs you saying, but they'll definitely remember how you made them feel.
You know, and you can make them feel great. You can also make people feel really bad either way. They will remember that. We remember the feeling because we all remember. All right, last final question. If you could co-write with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why
Peter Smokie Dawson: Wow. Did her alive.
Rae Leigh: you can pick slim? I feel like that would be a really
Peter Smokie Dawson: Yeah. Look, I would love to pick slim, but um, I have to admit join McCain, Right. A lot of great songs and she's a very talented woman, so that's Slim's wife and, um, she's still alive. So golden opportunity, you might still come You never know, but, look, we have so many great Australian songwriters and I love Australian music. As much as American music has to be influenced on the world. I love Australian stories.
Um, I think, you know a lot, the Rauner song was Shane Nicholson. One day. I think Shane's got a special magic, um, and maybe could fix one, a more stories You might be able to add a little bit of something that, all that, and I will bet to one to more stories, but, um, yeah, now that I'm not on my, up in Detroit with anybody really, because, um, all I could do with the encouragement and I could probably do the encouragement and Together. We must come up with a great song, Look, Alan castle said, um,
yeah, Oh, um, I wouldn't poo co-writing with anyone. Um, but you know, if we get slimmed back for a few days I'll reckon that'd be great But, um, we do have, Joanne McCain's still here. She's over 90 years of age now. And, Um, I think one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, uh, it was done.
Boy, John McCain and it's, um, her sister and her Heather and her, and it's a yodeling song. So not many people probably would go on it anymore these days with the yodeling in it. But the words in the song, uh, some of the most beautiful words I've heard and it's called the valley where the fringe of pennies grow
And
um, Well, I did a tribute to joy on her birthday in Tamworth, no one a year tribute when she turned 90.
And I'm all about to sing that song
without the yodeling. But, um, no, look, I can do a little Yodel, but, Um, I think the thing is the words of a song, you know, and you can take a song that was written a hundred years ago and turned it into a beautiful hit. You know, we watched the hillbilly gates do that all Jack's bones, You know, they got a song that's could be 500 year old song. and they've turned into an Incredible. Let's get up and Dane
song, you know?
And, um, So even old writers, you know, it's sometimes going back and exploring they work. Um, It becomes valuable.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. I love hearing people do retakes of old songs and. The interpretation and even just the more modern sounds with the old songs almost enable for me to be able to hear what they were really saying past the sound of that that may be like a really old sound.
When the, when the song is brought into like a modern sound, it helps me to actually hear the meaning of the song and I'm what it actually is. And, um, yeah, it's beautiful.
Peter Smokie Dawson: the, sometimes the inflection of the voice when the singer is singing at re really resonates deep down in saw the sentiment of the song, because it's the way we say Something you know,
Easy example with the kids. You can say, get out that table you know, and they reluctantly get the type of ESA, something really oh, come on up the table in a different tone of your voice. That'd be straight up the table. you So shall we say.
something sometimes, and
Rae Leigh: You got to put it on your mommy voice. I have to put on my mommy
Peter Smokie Dawson: I'm sure you do I'm sure you. but that's the same with song singing. When We we gotta say it's song, we need to inflict that sadness in the song and and something is just got a perfect way of putting it out there where the joy comes out in the way they sing the song.
know? So
Rae Leigh: that's a beautiful way of putting it.
That's cool. So if you got any new music coming out or just got the shows up, we've already talked about the shows coming up, but
Peter Smokie Dawson: I've got Amish housing in new south Wales got canceled. So um, I'm heading home soon after or finish here in Queensland. But, um, I have got a new song that I've had uh, recorded and it's going to be released very soon on triple I radio.
It's a song that, um, A friend of mine colander frees who have co-written before with, um,
Got a copy of a poem from an old man called John Davies who runs the Milton poets. So every year when the show's on down home, we got in and support the Milton poets. I get to go and sing a couple of songs after the poets have finished and encouraged them to try writing a song.
Well, all Joan had a beautiful. poem And it's called, them visions of the past. And,
we took that poem and Collin, and we've rewritten it down into about a four minute song. It wasn't only a 10 minute poem, so we've rewritten it Danny, into a four minute song. And, um, I've recorded that. We seed green as seeds Casey's drama.
So I recorded it. We seed So. um, Seed recorded, masks. and done all the lap steel work and all the lot of the guitar playing on it and the drums, he's a drummer. So he'd done a lot of work on it for us. This was while lockdown was on Dan Haim, we had the opportunity to get it recorded. But, um, we're going to release
as a one-off on a radio.
Complimentary album, that's going to be put out by a triple I radio Sydney. So that's the biggest country.
Rae Leigh: They've got like a compilation of some they're putting together.
Peter Smokie Dawson: If a few months back We um, six months back, we all got to gather in Sydney and, um, and we put on a show, up at the I'm trying to think, where it was now, but, um, done DAS around that area.
And, yeah, so the radio station want to put out a complementation album and of all the people that showed up on the night, I think that's, why it's important to show up.
You never know what the future's going to hold for you. So, so yeah, there's a new song coming out and it's called visions of the past. Um, we actually probably got two titles for it. We call it stock routes of Australia as well. So it's about an old stock camp. and.
Oldham John who wrote the original. poem, he or she knew he was a Stockman himself and he knew about this corner country.
And say the song is as true to life as you can actually get,
Rae Leigh: no, you ain't got the truth in there. It's going to be a great song. That's awesome. Thank you so much. Is there anything else you would like to share before we finish up
Peter Smokie Dawson: Riley or just like to encourage people to write songs Give you children instruments to play, pot, pay it forward because somebody, like you said, comma, it's been passed on to you.
It's your responsibility now to pass it on to somebody else and be true to yourself. you know?
And I think that's really, it is singing songs from your heart.
Rae Leigh: I love it. Thank you very much for coming
Peter Smokie Dawson: So welcome
