How did you get your start in music? I’ve been an actor for almost 10 years now, so my life’s revolved around entertaining and performing for almost half my life. I love acting but I’ve always had a special affinity for music. It was only a matter of time until I started writing my own, which came at the end of 2018. I moved out to LA from Australia pretty soon after, and I’ve spent the majority of my time ever since either auditioning, filming, or writing music. When COVID hit, those first two things went away for a little bit, and I was faced with purely writing songs, which eventually turned into recording and, now, releasing them. What does music mean to you? Music’s always been in my life, in some way or another. I was that annoying kid on the school bus, or at home, just absentmindedly singing. Very badly, I’ll admit. I can proudly say my singing voice has only improved since then, though slightly. Everywhere you go in Australia is at least a 30 minute drive, often way more, so every car ride with my parents or brother was a road trip. More often than not, we’d listen to their songs. If my dad was driving, it’d be Cat Stevens, The Eagles or INXS, if it was my mum we’d hear Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton or P!nk, and my brother JJ would always play the more current stuff, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso, and other Top 40 artists. So I grew up with an eclectic range of music that resulted in my taste being a bit of everything. Tell us the story behind your song? As much as Different Year is about how I felt during 2020, it can really apply to any point in anyone’s life where they’ve felt like they want to legitimately time travel in order to get away from the situation they’re in. I can’t state the amount of love I have for songs that are about something so depressing and heart-breaking, but are put against a really positive, innocent tune. I wanted to achieve that with Different Year, and I think we really got there. The plucky synths and the picking guitar melody that guides the verses allow the listener to not get bogged down with how sad the lyrics are, but instead bop their head to a chill pop tune.
What’s your favorite thing to do on a Saturday? Pre-Covid? Who am I kidding it’s not like I ever went outside before all this. I primarily write music in my downtime, which is now my second job, I guess. I’ve always said acting is like having a hobby for a career, and now I have two hobbies for two jobs. Pretty great deal. I do miss friends though. Being able to just go over to someone’s house and raid their fridge is something I didn’t realize I took for granted. What artists influence your sound? Like I said, my whole family’s tastes influenced my own. But now I listen to a ton of chill pop, similar to what I write. People like Quinn XCII, Jordan Mackampa, Ruel. Sad songs sung in an upbeat way. I also love Lewis Capaldi and Yebba, ballad artists who sing with everything they’ve got. I’ve also started to think about writing for other people, because I just enjoy writing so much, so in that sense I freaking idolize Ed Sheeran. The way he can just write for someone else and it sounds like they wrote it, how he can fit into someone else’s shoes perfectly like that is incredible. What’s your dream superpower? Teleportation. Easy. Next question. What’s up next for you? I’ve got a few tunes coming out over the next couple months! I’m hoping that the projects I signed onto can finally film this year, but that’s a big hope. I’m taking life one day at a time, now. Trying to make sure I wake up tomorrow and get done what needs to get done.