Project Description

Interview with

BRAD CHRISTMAS

from

COPPERLINE

by Vicky Hebbs

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BIO

Copperline are the troubadours and travellers sharing the stories you never knew you needed to hear. Based in Sydney, this four-piece features Brad Christmas, Richie Gosling, Paul Handel and Gareth Richards, all of whom have spent years traversing Australia’s musical landscape before coming together for this new project. They’re no strangers to the scene, with members having supported bands like Radiohead, The Vines and The Tea Party before finding their feet – and voices – with a more country style of music.

Rusty Fords and Weatherboards, produced by the legendary Shane Nicholson, may be the group’s debut album but Copperline have more decades under their collective belts than they care to count (or admit). They’ve plied their trade in low-lit bars, far-flung pubs and corrugated sheds – even on the back of the odd flatbed truck. Singer songwriter, Brad Christmas, has also twice been nominated for an Australian Songwriters Association award. This long apprenticeship has seen them hone their unique brand of storytelling and songsmithery, and now they’re ready to share it with the world.

These songs – these stories – are the musical embodiment of Copperline’s meandering journey, and the characters they’ve met along the way provide the narrative heart of Rusty Fords and Weatherboards. The album’s ten tracks follow an eccentric cast of struggling artists, single fathers, fading stars and even a professional magician, all of whom are coping with loss and longing but are hopeful, as we all are, for redemption.

With the utmost reverence for the craft of song writing, Copperline doff their caps to the likes of Neil Young, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle while charting a narrative and sonic course all their own. There’s a commitment to twang here – unapologetically so – and one foot rooted in the delta blues, but there’s also a desire to explore the wild frontier where genres and traditions intertwine.

The stories are sometimes humorous and often heartfelt, but they never stray far from being unflinchingly human. With the release of Rusty Fords and Weatherboards, Copperline are impatient to get back to what they do best: hitting the road, sharing these songs with old friends and, most importantly, uncovering new stories as they write their own.

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How did you first get into music? When did it become a serious concern?
I came from a pretty musical family so I think I first fell in love with music and performing jamming on Beatles and old blues tunes with my uncles at family gatherings. From there, at about 15 I joined my first band and I’ve been a lost cause ever since.

What kind of music did you grow up on? What artists inspired you and which do you still look to now for ideas?
My parents had pretty broad tastes so as a kid I was listening to everything from The Beatles and Elvis to Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson. Everything changed for me though when I heard Neil Young’s Harvest. It’s still my favourite record today, and something I never stop going back to for inspiration.

How did you come together to form Copperline? 
While Copperline is a new project for us, we’ve been playing together in a range of different projects for more than ten years. We’ve played in cover bands, even a kid’s band. We’ve been talking about making this record for most of that time.

How would you describe your band’s sound? 
Country is probably the most obvious influence people will hear, but we’ve all got pretty diverse tastes, and diverse experience of playing different styles of music. There are definite blues, rock and even jazz influences there also.

Your new album, Rusty Fords and Weatherboards, follows the narratives of a cast of characters. Are all the stories vastly different or does a common narrative weave through the album? 
The stories are told from a range of voices, and are set in quite different times and places, but I like to think there’s a thread that holds them together. A lot of the stories here are inspired by places we’ve played and people we’ve met on the road so I think that provides a link.

New single from the album, Woman’s Touch, comes out November 19. What is the narrative of the song?
It’s a break up song really about that first few months when you find yourself on your own and you can lose yourself and let yourself go a bit.

What inspired you to write Woman’s Touch? 
I’d been living by myself for a few months after a breakup and I had a friend from work move in. She turned up, took one look at the house and said ‘this place could use a woman’s touch.’ I thought it was a great line for a song and it inspired me to do a bit of self-reflection.

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