Each time I organise an interview with a country music artist there is an impetus for it – usually, as you’d expect, a new release, either single or album. I do my research and write questions accordingly, but I do not go into any interview with an expectation of where the conversation will go because expectations tend to become pre-set limitations, and there’s a danger of missing out on something interesting if those limitations are in place.
So it was that when I started chatting to Brook Chivell, an artist based in south-east Queensland, the reason for the chat was his latest single, ‘Like a Country Girl’ but the first part of the conversation was about guitars. For one thing, all his guitars are tuned to E flat. For another, he’s been building his own guitars. If you’re not interested in talking about guitars, well, maybe skip the first ten minutes. But I tend to like asking questions about the technical parts of being a musician because it’s really interesting to hear about other people’s work.
We also chat about the burgeoning country music scene in south-east Queensland, the blues songs Chivell has been recording and releasing … and, of course, about ‘Like a Country Girl’, which is a song for the girls who start the dance floor at a gig – the ones, says, Chivell, who can shift the mood of a show in a very positive direction.
I also ask Chivell about co-writing, which he’s done a bit – so it seems as if he likes doing it. His answer was surprising, and led to him talking about his writing process in general.
Listen to Brook Chivell on Apple Music
Listen to Brook Chivell on Spotify
Listen to ‘Like a Country Girl’ on YouTube
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