Shane Nicholson Interview

Three-time ARIA Award and 11 x Golden Guitar winning Shane Nicholson is back with his new single 'And You Will Have Your Way,' from his upcoming album Living In Colour, set for release on 20th August.

Nicholson is a skilfully talented individual; one who is equally adept at songwriting, producing, performing and recording. As he enters the third decade of his recording career, he grapples with his emotions in response to a good deal of personal turmoil. Appropriately, he has turned this emotion into a remarkable new single, 'And You Will Have Your Way'. "In my 20s the world seemed basically full of possibilities", says Nicholson. "I had this idea that there were elders to me that were learned, educated people, intelligent people, and they took care of everything. Then my 30s came along and I had kids. I started thinking about what the world would be like for them. By the time my 40's arrived my old world-view had almost completely fallen apart, and I had reached peak cynicism."

'And You Will Have Your Way' is an almost-jaunty shuffle that disguises some deep questions about who to trust, and who to love. Nicholson says: "I guess, in a broad sense, the song is an admission that I find it difficult to have love for everyone and everything that we are and that we've become. I sometimes struggle with that a lot." A surprising admission indeed from Nicholson, a magnetic talent who has enjoyed the highest accolades in the Australian music scene.

Nicolson's storied career started in the late 1990s with his first Brisbane based band Pretty Violet Stain. With a solo career launch in 2002 with the release of 'It's a Movie', he's since followed up with nine albums, including 2015 ARIA Award winning 'Hell Breaks Loose' and 2 x ARIA Award winning albums with Kasey Chambers - the platinum selling, ARIA No.1 album 'Rattlin' Bones' and 'Wreck and Ruin'. With 11 x CMAA Golden Guitar awards under his belt including 2021 APRA Song of the Year for 'The High Price of Surviving', Nicolson has also been recognised internationally with 2 nominations for USA Americana Music Association awards. As a seasoned producer, Nicholson has been busy working with Alex Lloyd, Tori Forsyth, Beccy Cole, Michael Waugh and Camille Trail.

Nicholson is a rare talent who has bridged the gap between Alt-country and the mainstream. He crafts his songs seamlessly and can wrap up difficult subject matters with music of uplifting beauty and charm. Today's release of 'And You Will Have Your Way' captures Nicholson's charismatic talent for writing striking songs that pay tribute to the unpredictability of human experience. The single follows on from 'Harvest on Vinyl', the jangly, heartfelt dedication to Neil Young's 1971 masterwork, which charted at No.11 on The Music Network's CountryTown Hot 50 airplay charts.

His forthcoming studio album Living In Colour is available to pre-order now and is out on August 20th. Nicholson will be hitting the road from August to December for a string of headline shows, and you can also catch him playing at festivals including the North Queensland Rockin' Country Festival, Gympie Music Muster and Deni Ute Muster.

Interview with Shane Nicholson

Question: Can you tell us about And You Will Have Your Way?

Shane Nicholson: It's a song that attempts to explain my growing sense of despair and cynicism towards the world at large, but also the importance of friendship and my desire to nurture those relationships that provide me with comfort and optimism.


Question: What inspired your upcoming album Living In Colour?

Shane Nicholson: Sometimes songs just eventually grow to form a complete album. Obviously, this album was made almost completely in isolation, so there's an inherent intimacy to it. The songs are the chapters, the album is the finished manuscript. Every chapter is important to the story.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Shane Nicholson: I probably prefer recording, as being in that creative zone is so rewarding for me.

The magic of being on stage in front of a great audience is hard to beat, but the moment of creation is the drug I can't kick.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming shows?

Shane Nicholson: It's getting harder to write a setlist with every album, as there's obviously more songs than I can squeeze into a 90-minute show. But we'll be aiming to hit every signpost, old and new.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Shane Nicholson: The feeling of creating something from nothing. There's a definite 'therapy' to writing, also, but it's the basic gratification I get from building something new that keeps me motivated.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Shane Nicholson: Father John Misty, Dope Lemon, Darkthrone, Motorhead (always), and a bit of classical lately, Chopin mostly.

Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Shane Nicholson: I don't remember there ever being a pivotal moment when I decided it's what I would do, it just always seemed apparent to me that I would go down that path. There's never been anything else that interests me as much as making music.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Shane Nicholson: John Prine


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Shane Nicholson: Being the creator of my own reality. Making music for myself, and others, and working hard to leave behind a body of work that I'll hopefully be proud of. Travelling the world and making some forever-connections has been a brilliant bonus, also.


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

Shane Nicholson: It's a completely different ballgame now compared to when I started out. But one thing is the same: the majority of advice you get at the start is from people who don't always know what is best for you. So take it all on board, but take none of it to heart. Follow your gut.


Question: What's a typical day like?
Shane Nicholson: Wake, Music, Sleep.

With liberal doses of parenting, adulting, and procrastinating in between.


Question: What's next, for you?

Shane Nicholson: Hopefully (covid permitting) a national tour to take Living In Colour out into the world.


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Shane Nicholson: Website 
Facebook 
Instagram 


Interview by Gwen van Montfort