The Funny Side

“It’s cool to know that it’s lasted this long,” 8 Ball Aitken, the founder of the Grass Roots Music Festival, celebrating its tenth year, admits. “Because we’d only ever set out to do it once. I think it just worked, the concept of it made sense, and that was having roots music in a garden and showcasing Brisbane songwriters.”

Supported by Brisbane City Council, the free, all-ages concert includes Brisbane River bluesman Coojee Timms, 2014 Toyota Starmaker winner, Jared Porter, dirt blues band Cleveland Blues, Megan Cooper, Harmony James, Red Crow and Tiama Ogburn, as well as, of course, the host, Aitken himself, who will be previewing material from his forthcoming album, The New Normal, his fourth in four years.

“I’m always on the road,” Aitken explains. “I did 220 shows last year and divide my time between Nashville and Brisbane, but I’m pretty much always on the road anyway, and I’ve been working on the new album in Nashville. I’m really enjoying writing new songs all the time and challenging myself.

While his own albums remain 100 per cent 8 Ball Aitken, the songwriter has been collaborating on other projects with Nashville songwriters, another source of inspiration.

“Whenever you co-write, it’s like a training session because you’re learning new things and thinking about songwriting in different ways. I’ve now got 12 songs that I can’t relate to anything I’ve ever done on any previous record, which makes me happy, to know I’m expanding my thought processes.

“I’ve got some buddies in Texas – Ray Wiley Hubbard and Guthrie Kennard – and I love what they’re doing. Playing with those guys has totally changed my approach to the kind of gritty blues and country music that I love.

“I just feel lucky to be able to grow what I do. For example, I’m playing a gig in Nashville and a guy comes up, bought a shirt and a CD and said, ‘I love what you’re doing, I wanna have a jam with you.’ He was the saxophone player with George Thorogood and he’s actually laying some sax on the new album today.

“I’ve been on the road in Texas a lot and I’m inspired by funny stuff, just looking at the world from a different angle. For instance, I was playing in this place and a politician said to me, ‘Shut the fffffff…ront door.’ I thought he was going to say something else, so I’ve got a brand new song called Shut The Front Door – but the F is extended.”