Going Along for the Ride: An Interview with Australian Country Artist Grayson

Nashville-based Australian country music singer/songwriter Grayson (otherwise known as Michael Edser) has called the music business home since 2006. With four studio albums, international success and a potential career in TV and film-making, it would seem his diversity knows no bounds.

In this interview, we talk about his latest single, Margarita, plans for a new album, and the changing landscape of Australian country music.

 

Congratulations on the recent release of your new single, Margarita. What was the

inspiration behind this?
Living in America has opened my eyes to the epic-ness of Taco Tuesday.  It usually is an excuse to drink in excess of my body weight in Margaritas and eat too many tacos. I had a writing session at Capitol Records on a Friday and I was still hung over from the Tuesday!

I told Jeff Wood my co-writer about how big a night it was, and we decided to write a song about just leaving it all behind and finding a place in the sand to have a ‘Margarita’ or 10 (Laughs).

Before we penned anything, we went and had a few Margaritas with an early lunch and then smashed out the song within an hour. Straight away we knew we had something special. The track was always going to be a fun one to write and make.

What’s your fans’ reaction been like so far?

People love the song! It is always well received at live shows and the feedback for the single has been great.

What do you want fans to take away from listening to your music?

I want fans to feel connected and be along for the ride.

It looks like you had a lot of fun on the set of the music video with Blacklist Productions, on the beaches of NSW. Was it nice to return home for that?

 

Besides getting up at 4am to chase the golden hour, being back at Redhead and Dudley was awesome.

Every time I go back it gets harder to leave. Newcastle truly is God’s country.
You released your last single, 10-9-8-7 in 2016, which hit the No.1 spot on the Country Main Chart for the New Music Weekly Commercial Charts, and also peaked at No.12 on Australia’s Country Tracks Chart. How did that make you feel?

 

Having a number 1 here in America in 2016 was a big deal. You don’t always need a chart to validate your hard work, but any time you see your name on top of any chart with your hero’s below, you do get a sense of pride and validation and feel ten feet tall for a week or two (laughs).

As well as releasing your own studio albums, Little Doors, Chronology, Broken Hearts & Broken Bones and Somewhere In The Night, you’ve done a lot of work both as a producer and a session musician. How does that compare to or inform your career as a singer/songwriter?

 

I love producing and being [in] on other people’s session[s]. It was something that I fell into and I have gained so many skills and credibility from working with some big names behind the scenes in the studios of Nashville.

Margarita hints at the release of yet another album soon. When can we expect it?

There was meant to be a 2017 album, but I was very blessed in becoming a dad for the first time and 2017 was a blur. No sleep and adjusting to being a dad.

2018 you will see the next album.  [I’m] aiming for release over the American summer [June to September].

How do you decide which tracks will make singles, and which will simply be on the album?

Choosing tracks is such a painful thing. I am currently working through 40 songs that need to be turned into 10 or 12 for the next album. Picking tracks that go well together is the key. Picking singles is always a compromise on integrity as you need to have something that sounds ‘radio’ regardless of if you want it to or not.

Do you have any specific favourite songs from your back catalogue?

Time Machine from Little Doors is my best song ever. I usually fall in love with it after a big crowd sings it back to me.

Do you feel pressure when writing a new album or song, given your previous success?

I 100% feel pressure writing a new album, but these days it’s a different pressure. Years ago, it was insecurity in myself and the uncertainty of my place in the industry. Now it’s the pressure of living abroad and knowing if I make mistakes, it directly impacts my wife and child.

What normally informs your song writing?

Life definitely fuels the fire for writing. Also driving around America and spending time on the road, the ideas seem to just come to me.

 

You’re originally from Newcastle, and now based in Nashville. But your career really took off in Ireland with the release of your debut album, Somewhere In The Night. Can you talk me through how that came about?

I ended up in Ireland as I had simply had enough of chasing my tail around the music industry of Newcastle. It was very limited back then.  I booked a songwriter/open mic tour of Ireland via myspace and was signed by an indie label.  The rest is history.

 

You recently performed at the 2018 Tamworth Country Music Festival, supporting The Voice’s Judah Kelly, as well as playing your own headline gigs. Generally speaking, do you prefer festival settings or more intimate venues when performing live?

My perfect venue setting is being able to hear a pin drop. Lizotte’s is the perfect example.  If I have a full band show outside, loud festivals are also great.

 

Have you found that an audience’s reception of your music is different wherever you go, or are there some similarities?

The reactions can be very different depending on where I am, especially in America. It’s a different world over here and they aren’t afraid to tell you that.

 

Do you have plans for a full Australian tour in the future?

If Margarita can do what we want it to do, we will do a big tour of Australia over the summer.

 

Australian country music is growing in popularity recently. What’s your opinion of that and what, do you believe, is the appeal of country music as a whole?

I think it has grown significantly, especially in Australia, because the pop industry is near impossible to crack for a local.  Country has a more straight forward achievable formula to success so there are a lot of people running around with tags still on their cowboy hats!

You have to earn your place and the country industry and fans quickly see the difference between the bandwagon jumpers and the legit artists.  CMC and Rob Potts have been behind the huge fan expansion bringing Aussie and American talent to the mainstream, which is great for everyone.

 

Over the course of your career you’ve had the chance to work with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, The Whitlams and Vanessa Amorosi. What did you take away from those experiences?

Working with big names is always a thrill. You watch and learn how everything is done on the big days and it can be nerve wracking before the show!  You always remember those big gigs to remind yourself you belong on the big stage.

 

If you could collaborate with anyone in the industry (living or dead), who would it be and why?

David Ball. He was a big deal here a while back. Excellent songwriter and seems to be a good bloke.

 

Can you tell me about your documentary, 66 Days on Route 66, which won the Gold Award at the CinerocKom Film Festival in 2011?

The documentary was my first real look at America.  I shot guns in Texas, I milked cows in Missouri and I ate way too much while taking the most iconic road in the world, from Chicago to Santa Monica. It was something that will live with me forever.

 

Is TV and film-making something you would like to explore more in the future, particularly with your recent casting in US TV show Another Country?

I was based out in California for a few years and the door is still open for future TV and writing opportunities.  It will be something I explore in the next few years.

 

Who are your idols, both personally and professionally?

My parents are my idols. The gave up everything to give us the best life possible. In music, it has to be Keith Urban. It just has to be. What a bloody superstar!

 

What are some of the highlights and lowlights of your career thus far?

Hearing your music on radio is always a thrill.   It’s all I ever wanted, to have a song on radio and touch people’s lives.  Low point: when I badly broke my hand a few years ago. I thought I was done.

 

What’s the epitome of success for you?

I haven’t had a full-time job since 2006. My life is music. That is the definition of success!!

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

 

Be yourself, set goals and find the ways to achieve them.  Music is a business and like all businesses you will have ups and downs.  Celebrate the wins and write like crazy during the bad times.

 

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Listening to Top 40 American Country. 50% of it’s great. 50% hurts my ears.

 

What have you got planned for the rest of this year?

The rest of the year will see a push for the single and recording of the album.  I will also be producing five or six projects and touring.  Best of all, my son Hunter will be with me all of the way.

To find out more about Grayson and his music, visit his website.

[Editor/Author Note: Images used within this piece were provided courtesy of Wildheart Publicity.]