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1.) We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed multi-hyphen artist who can boast global accolades running the gamut from music, composition, performance and theater, Bradley McCaw; greetings and salutations, Bradley! Before we dive down the proverbial Q&A musical rabbit hole, how has your 2023 been treating you thus far?
Hello and Thankyou! I’m really well and 2023 is a big year. I’m very excited to chat with you today.
2.) Major congratulations on the freshly-minted new release of your sophomore single Daydreaming Girl which is off of your forthcoming album! Starting from the top, what can you tell our ever-inquisitive readers about this gem of a tune and how it entered into your orbit?
Looking back, “Daydreaming Girl” was the first ‘real song’ I wrote. I had been writing music for a few years for theatre and a small band in Australia – but nothing was really connecting with people overall. At the time I was writing countless songs a day – trying to put in those 10,000 hours – and I guess one day I wrote “Daydreaming Girl,” a simple feel good kind of tune. The next week I played “Daydreaming Girl” live at the Primary School where I worked and the kids went wild. Imagine Jack Black in School of Rock teaching an assembly to sing a song on a Friday morning. It was the first time I felt a song I’d written connected with an audience.
3.) Speaking of that aforementioned debut album, let’s talk a little about what is being touted as one of the single best albums to come down the pike in quite a long time, Worried Minds! What’s the VH1-Behind the Music story on this new album which is set to premiere on June 23?
Thankyou for saying that, I can’t wait for everyone to hear it! This album has been in the pipeline for over a decade. It started with a crazy idea: Make an old school album exactly like my idols Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson, Elton. John etc. But how to do that? I contacted US Music legend Louie Shelon who was part of the Wrecking Crew and a legit music legend who ran the original band sessions in 2013. But as I was also working in theatre at the time the album went back on the shelf for another 7 years. It wasn’t till 2020 during the Covid pandemic that I realised something was missing in my life. Like many people, the lockdowns forced me to look at whether I was happy and I remembered this crazy album that I had always planned to finish… So I went and finished it in the historic ‘Studios 301’ in Australia and…Boom! Ten years in the making. It’s funny… As I’ve done press and retold that story, I’ve realised what a crazy ride it’s truly been. It’s also inspired me to create a VHI documentary style podcast about making the album, which will come out later this year.
4.) Who was your producer on Worried Minds and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like in the studio?
The album was co-produced by Louie Shelton (The Monkees, The Jackson 5, Lionel Ritchie, Marvin Gaye and many more) and myself. Louie ran the original recording sessions like the motown sessions he himself had been part of. We had a core trio that recorded the key parts live. Louie asked me to bring a simple chord chart to the sessions and we started each take by working on the chart as I played the tune. I also gave them a reference track regarding the sound I heard for each song and then the guys just went to work. We recorded 10 songs in 4 days. Jose told me later the original engineer said – ‘it sounded so good, he felt like it was in a motown session.’ Later we would add new bass from Nathan East (Daft Punk, Michael Jackon, 2000+ albums) and re-record drums at Nick Didia’s studio on Byron Bay. But those original sessions captured the true spirit of the record.
5.) In your opinion, what differentiates Worried Minds from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?
I remember Billy Joel saying in an interview, ‘go make the music you want to hear on the radio…’ And that’s what I’ve done. It’s kind of simple for me… I love ‘feel good’ music. I love records where you get an experience listening to from track 1 to 10. No song is the same and you get to hear monster musicians really showing off. For me, there is something about the way my favourite albums caught magic in the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and I’m trying to keep some of that style alive while living in the digital age.
6.) Can you introduce us to some of the very talented folks and musicians that lent their own musical alchemy to the production of Worried Minds?
This project is filled with legit music legends… And then me. lol.
First up the original trio of Jose McLaughlin – who played bass on the original band sessions in 2013. He’s performed with Chuck Berry, Peter Allen, Bo Diddley and was a member of Gerry & The Pacemakers, Steve Francis who is one of Australia’s finest drummers and lastly producer/guitarist Louie Shelton whose performed on/produced records for The Jacksons, Lionel Ritchie, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, The Monkeys, Neil Diamond, Seals & Crofts, and many more.
In 2020
Nathan East joined us on bass, who was a founding member of the chart-topping contemporary jazz group, Fourplay, and collaborator to legendary artists like Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, Daft Punk and Stevie Wonder.
The album also features Jazz royalty: James Morrison on trumpet and the late Andrew Oh on saxophones and flutes.
7.) In the wake of the June 23 release of Worried Minds, can fans look forward to catching you on the touring/performing circuit?
I’m currently working on a true crime style documentary podcast about the making of the WORRIED MINDS album and can’t wait for everyone to hear that.
Louie and I are also working on my SECOND ALBUM at the moment. We’ve kept this pretty quiet but we actually started sessions at the historic Capitol Studios in LA last year and hope to follow up my debut album pretty quickly. We’re just having too much fun to not make more music.
8.) For anyone not yet familiar with your style of music, how would you describe it?
It’s a mix of Soul, Motown with rock-n-roll energy and catchy pop melodies.
9.) Speaking of music, who inspires you musically?
My record collection feels like a ‘golden oldies radio station…’ I love classic songwriters like Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson, Elton John, Carole King… And at the time of making this album I was spinning a lot of Van Morrison, Beegees, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder… I won’t go on! haha.
10.) You hail from the beautiful country of Australia. How do those roots inform you as an artist?
John Farnham & Peter Allen. Among the many incredible artists from Australia, these two inspired me personally in my early days. As a singer, John Farnham is the most incredible voice the country has produced. And as a songwriter/piano man Peter Allen is an all timer. In time I found other artists like Olivia Newton John & The Beegees, but JF and PA inspired my music as much as someone like Billy Joel or Smokey Robinson did in the beginning.
11.) As a singer and songwriter, which generally comes first for you when working on new material – The lyrics or the music?
I’m a “same time guy.” I will be at an instrument and just start carving away at ideas by doing. When something comes out that feels like it’s got potential I will start to focus on that and shape it. Then I begin to work from lyrics… As a story or concept starts to inform the music… And it grows together from there. Inspiration starts with the idea for me, and I get the best results by trying to surprise myself by just singing/playing and seeing what I can find.
12.) Final – SILLY! – Question: Favorite movie about the music scene – This Is Spinal Tap, American Hot Wax, Almost Famous or Oliver Stone’s The Doors?
I’m going to go with THAT THING YOU DO! 1996 American comedy film co-starring, written, and directed by Tom Hanks. The scene where they hear their song on the radio for the first time and they are running down the street to find each other, perfectly captures an artist’s desire for success and recognition. I had a similar experience in my home town of Brisbane when SO GLAD was played on local radio for the first time. I didn’t run down the street but I had a big silly grin on my face hearing how the tune sounded on AM radio.
