theaussieword.com meets with Ian Archibald for a special blog interview.
What can you tell our readers about you? How and where did it all begin?
My name is Iain Archibald. I’m the lead singer/ songwriter/ guitarist of the Iain Archibald Band, we play Modern-Country-Rock, some would say a cross between Keith Urban, Bryan Adams & ZZ Top. I started playing guitar at the age of 12, I was inspired by watching David Gilmour playing Comfortably Numb (The Pulse live laserdisc) & ever since that day wanted to be a singer/ lead guitarist. I started writing music at Uni for the bands I was in, but found no one else really understood modern Country, so I decided to form my own band & kind of fell into the front man role.
What had you first interested in music?
My dad was a key influence, he wasn’t a musician per say, but he loved listening to many different styles of music & that I think subconsciously rubbed off on me, he & my mum always had music playing, all the artists they listened to were either great musicians or front men, which I think is where I first had the inspiration to learn how to play an instrument.
Who motivates or influences your quest to make great music?
I really enjoy entertaining people & interacting with audiences, having great songs makes that much easier to do. The songs are stories just put to a musical backdrop to help portray the emotion, when people can relate to a song & can come along for the journey that makes me feel great & motivates me to write more material.
I really enjoy entertaining people & interacting with audiences, having great songs makes that much easier to do. The songs are stories just put to a musical backdrop to help portray the emotion, when people can relate to a song & can come along for the journey that makes me feel great & motivates me to write more material.
Do you have any planned tours coming up? At the moment we are kind of on a constant tour, doing weekend trips to various regional towns around Vic & NSW to promote our CD Dirty.
What are some of your biggest goals you hope to accomplish as an artist?I would very much like to be able to make a living from writing & playing music, my biggest goals would be to help educate the mass Australian market to what Modern Country is really like, & to play to a packed house at Rod Laver Arena, growing up I went to see many artists there & it would amazing to be able to play there. Shorter term however, I’d love to be able to play festivals & support other bigger name artists in the Country scene & release another recording.
What can fans expect from you in the coming months?
We will be continuing to tour regional towns & playing bigger shows in Melbourne on a less frequent basis. I’ve also been working on new material & am hoping to release a new product early 2015.
We will be continuing to tour regional towns & playing bigger shows in Melbourne on a less frequent basis. I’ve also been working on new material & am hoping to release a new product early 2015.
Success, what is the secret to it and what has been your biggest career highlight so far? I wish I knew the answer… But I think hard work, persistence & having a quality product, be it recording or live show & being relatable, people go to see bands to have a good time & that’s what I always try to deliver. My biggest highlight to date, is actually quite simple, it is honestly when people come up to me after a show & say what a great time they had & how much they could relate to my original material OR playing an original song & seeing the crowd singing along to the choruses, which is awesome considering they’re hearing it for the first time.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring?
Keith Urban, an Australian artist who took his own unique style of Country back to the Americans & had great success. Mark Knopfler, his song writing ability is beyond what I can even comprehend, he has a subtle touch & knows how to use each instrument in his band to the fullest.
Keith Urban, an Australian artist who took his own unique style of Country back to the Americans & had great success. Mark Knopfler, his song writing ability is beyond what I can even comprehend, he has a subtle touch & knows how to use each instrument in his band to the fullest.
How would you best describe you and your music to your fans?
The simplest word would be ‘Real,’ there’s no auto-tune, no cheesy lyrics that have no meaning. Just someone who takes great pride in being the best entertainer he can be & writing the highest quality songs while still being relatable to everyone.
The simplest word would be ‘Real,’ there’s no auto-tune, no cheesy lyrics that have no meaning. Just someone who takes great pride in being the best entertainer he can be & writing the highest quality songs while still being relatable to everyone.
My music has a wide cross-section, there’s Rock songs, Pop Songs, Country Songs & a blend of all 3, not every song sounds the same, which I like, as it means the shows have dynamics, room to breathe, times to dance & times to listen & relate.
What can you tell us about your latest album? Dirty was a real sampling platter of my music, there’s 5 studio cuts, 1 live & 1 acoustic, I wanted people to be able to see the diversity of what I/ we do in the band. It’s a bit Country, it’s a bit Rock, there are songs that get stuck in your head & songs to get lost in the story.
Are there any new exciting projects in the works?
We’re currently looking to release a video clip, but majority of our time is playing shows to people who don’t normally get to see a live band.
We’re currently looking to release a video clip, but majority of our time is playing shows to people who don’t normally get to see a live band.
The music industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now?
My main goal would be simply to be better known & have people know my original material when we play shows. But I’d really like to have mainstream air play & be able to play big shows & festivals.
Name a few of your favourite Aussie artists. Keith Urban, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow, Livi Robbins, The Wolfe Brothers, Lee Kernigan, Noise Works, INXS.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye?
I find in some ways it’s harder, with the amount of music out there, it’s hard for people to filter the quality from the not, plus there’s the pirating & people not realising that for an independent artist to create a product is a very expensive & more importantly time consuming process. Most people get paid every hour they work, musicians don’t get paid the 6 months it takes to fine tune a song or the long hours it takes to perfect a recording. In other ways it’s easier, an independent artist can get their music to a large audience base through word-of-mouth recommendations, let people know about their up-coming shows & make a instant connection with their fans & find out what they like & don’t.
Thank you for the interview! What can you leave fans of theaussieword.com with here:
If you’ve never heard Modern Country Music before, give it a listen, you might find it’s nothing like what you expect & you might really enjoy it, our EP Dirtyis a great place for a Country novice to start. Thanks for having me!
If you’ve never heard Modern Country Music before, give it a listen, you might find it’s nothing like what you expect & you might really enjoy it, our EP Dirtyis a great place for a Country novice to start. Thanks for having me!
@iainarchibald (Twitter)
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