Episode 272
From Football to Fretboards: One Artist's Journey
The salient point of this podcast episode revolves around the transformative journey of an individual from a career in Australian Rules Football to a passionate pursuit of music. The speaker reflects on the physical toll that the sport took on his body, ultimately leading him to reevaluate his path in life. Upon returning to Brazil, he experienced a profound calling towards music, an epiphany that marked the inception of his artistic journey. This episode delves into the nuances of this transition, highlighting the significance of intuition in the creative process and the struggles associated with balancing innate talent and theoretical knowledge. As we explore the speaker's evolution, we also engage in a broader discussion about the nature of creativity and the development of one's musical voice.
Takeaways:
- The speaker recounts the significance of Australian Football in their upbringing, emphasizing the sport's cultural relevance.
- The transition from playing Australian Football to pursuing a career in music was driven by a profound personal calling.
- Experiencing multiple injuries from football led the speaker to reevaluate their path and ultimately embrace music.
- The speaker reflects on their initial lack of passion for music, which evolved significantly during a transformative journey in Brazil.
- An intuitive songwriting process emerged for the speaker, combining their love for storytelling with musical creativity.
- The conversation highlights the balance between intuitive music creation and the understanding of musical theory as a tool for growth.
Transcript
But it's kind of the national sport here, and so that was what I grew up doing.
Speaker A:I wanted to play AFL football.
Speaker A:And obviously many injuries later.
Speaker A:In my early 20s, I realized that this wasn't going to work out, and I went back to Brazil.
Speaker A:I traveled back with my brother and reconnected with the land.
Speaker A:And it was there that I decided that music was what I wanted to pursue.
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:There was just something that was calling me to do that, and that's how I started my journey, guys.
Speaker A:I sort of came.
Speaker A:I was late to the party, if you know what I mean.
Speaker B:Yeah, late bloomer.
Speaker B:I mean.
Speaker B:All right, so I want to talk about music for sure.
Speaker B:I guess that's why we're here.
Speaker B:But I'm kind of fascinated by this.
Speaker B:You said this Australian Football is a 360 game.
Speaker B:Can you break that down a little bit for us before we get into the music stuff?
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:Well, what I mean by that is traditionally, like, when you look at American football or rugby even, you have two opposing sides that are running at each other almost.
Speaker A:So they're one side of the field and they sort of.
Speaker A:They meet in the middle in a way.
Speaker B:I think I've seen this.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Whereas Australia Rules Football, you're set up like, on, like opponents, but in different parts of the ground.
Speaker A:There's 18 versus 18, but you have your forwards and your backs, but the ball kind of just goes up and down the field continuously, and there's a lot of transition that happens between the players.
Speaker A:So just because you're a defender doesn't necessarily mean that you can't become an attacker, if you know what I mean.
Speaker A:You can cover all areas of the ground at any one time.
Speaker A:And so what happens is you have a lot of collisions that players can't necessarily brace themselves for.
Speaker A:You know, that could be just going backwards with a flight of the ball and another opponent is coming directly at him like a steam train and get a knee in the back or.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Look, it's brutal.
Speaker A:They're trying to clean it up a little bit because there are a lot of concussions and things happening.
Speaker A:But, you know, I played that sport all through my teenage years, and I've had two shoulder reconstructions and, you know, disc bulges in my back all before I was 21.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I'm actually glad that I don't play it anymore.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm kind of glad for you.
Speaker C:Music Injuries are just carpal tunnel nothing.
Speaker B:Now, there may be a reason why.
Speaker B:Maybe a reason why that style of football has not made it over to North America for a couple of reasons.
Speaker B:But welcome.
Speaker B:Welcome over to the music side.
Speaker B:So you.
Speaker B:You kind of re.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you kind of found your connection with music after getting the crap beat out of you playing football.
Speaker B:So what was.
Speaker B:Was there a moment where you're like, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Was there a moment where you're like, I want to do this music?
Speaker B:Like, how does that happen?
Speaker B:Were you eating breakfast and you heard a song and you're like, this is me now?
Speaker A:Look, I.
Speaker A:I can't really explain it, Anthony.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I mean, I.
Speaker A:My.
Speaker A:My mum's side of the family as well was quite musical, so she.
Speaker A:She bought me a guitar when I was 13, and I.
Speaker A:I ob.
Speaker A:I played.
Speaker A:I got lessons for about six months, but even then I wasn't really grabbed.
Speaker A:I wasn't grabbed by music itself.
Speaker A:I enjoyed, like, just playing guitar.
Speaker A:But something happened while I was in Brazil.
Speaker A:There was something that happened to me, you know, for lack of a better word, I could probably say spiritually, that there was a calling there.
Speaker A:I didn't know what it was, but there was a lot of clarity around it that I came back from that trip to Australia and I said, I need to.
Speaker A:I need to start writing songs.
Speaker A:And so I just went along and found a band, got a band together, and we started writing rock.
Speaker A:It was pretty much rock and roll back then, and it has evolved since then as I've pursued a solo career.
Speaker A:But definitely that was the trigger, that first journey back to Brazil.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Fascinating.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Because, I mean.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's just the fact that you kind of just transitioned and it was just like you felt like it was.
Speaker B:Music was calling you.
Speaker B:It's kind of a theme.
Speaker B:We've spoken to a few people.
Speaker C:Did you figure out a songwriting process?
Speaker C:How did that work for you?
Speaker A:I hear melodies, so the first thing that was that, you know, melodies just.
Speaker A:It's not hard for me to sort of latch onto a melody.
Speaker A:And so I kind of.
Speaker A:It was an intuitive process.
Speaker A:I just thought that, okay, well, this is the natural way of writing for me initially.
Speaker A:And I always enjoyed reading as a kid and writing stories.
Speaker A:So I just put those two skills together and that was it.
Speaker A:I mean, when I was in the band, a lot of the time, I didn't have the skill that I do now to transpose what I was hearing onto an instrument, you know, So I would say to the guitarist, hey, I'm hearing this.
Speaker A:Can you play this?
Speaker A:You know, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:And that's how it went.
Speaker A:I'm at a position now where, you know, I've done a lot more work on the musical side of things and can find those melodies and the chords that underlie it now.
Speaker A:But that was how the journey started.
Speaker C:How do you find those now?
Speaker C:What instrument do you use?
Speaker A:I still have a guitar, obviously, and a piano.
Speaker A:I do have a piano at home.
Speaker A:I love riding on a piano because, you know, the keys are there and you can come up with some amazing chords that you just wouldn't be able to figure out on a guitar.
Speaker A:And a lot of the time I'm still guided by my intuition, you know, especially on a piano.
Speaker A:I'm like, what is that chord?
Speaker A:That sounds really cool, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That'S a fun way of doing things.
Speaker C:And it's something that just.
Speaker C:That mystery, in a way.
Speaker C:There's the argument that the more you learn about it, the more you demystify it and take improvisation out of it.
Speaker C:So it's interesting that you're doing things that way because I feel like I do things that way, too.
Speaker C:My knowledge of chords isn't as developed as I want it to be.
Speaker C:So sometimes I just smash the keys and then eliminate things until it makes sense to me.
Speaker A:It's an interesting.
Speaker A:Sorry, Matt.
Speaker A:Sorry, Matt.
Speaker A:I just wanted to just add on.
Speaker C:Because we're disconnected with distance.
Speaker C:So it's going to keep on happening and we'll edit it if it's a big one, but usually we leave them because it's funny.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I just wanted to expand on what you said because there was a, you know, this idea that.
Speaker A:Yeah, that the more you sort of know, the less you know.
Speaker A:And especially with music, I always.
Speaker A:Because for me, it was always such an intuitive process.
Speaker A:There was a reluctance to step into understanding more of the theory around music because, oh, if I learn this, it's gonna stop this intuition that comes through.
Speaker A:And I struggled with that for many years, but I then realized that, hang on, if I just shift the narrative a little bit, perhaps it's like I'll have more tools at my disposal.
Speaker A:I can still tune into the intuitive, but now I've got a bit more of a framework to work with.
Speaker A:And sometimes I think we can be caught up in.
Speaker A:We have to really be cognizant of what is a limiting belief or, you know, that's hindering our progression.
Speaker A:But also be aware that, okay, have the discernment to go, okay, at what point does it hinder or at what point does it actually add to my.
Speaker A:My development?
Speaker A:And for me.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:It was a little bit of a struggle with that early on, but definitely now I'm like, a student of music, and I'm always learning.
Speaker A:I just want to learn more.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I want to add to that working in the studio environment, that.
Speaker C:That opinion that, you know, if I learn more, it will sort of disconnect me from whatever muse is out there that I'm connected to.
Speaker C:People have that opinion, and very often it doesn't translate.
Speaker C:And when people just make things up, it's rudimentary or not as interesting.
Speaker C:So anybody listening, I personally don't want them to get the idea that for sure, learning music is a bad thing and you shouldn't be doing it.
Speaker C:But I would say we've listened to your music, and Gabriel, in your case, clearly you have some intuition and you have some innate understanding of harmony, which a lot of people do.
Speaker C:I just think people should be aware when they're exploring music, on whether I'm not the kind of person that just has the intuition that flows out of them automatically.
Speaker C:So it's not something that everyone's just born with, and there's no shame in learning more and getting to that level.
Speaker A:Agreed.
Speaker C:It seems like you're doing now on top of the intuition as well.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, that's it.
Speaker A:That's the journey.
Speaker A:Music is just another language.
