RTE ten The Entertainment network (Ireland)
Jul 11, 2012 14:38:58 GMT 10
Post by thebraff (Braffy) on Jul 11, 2012 14:38:58 GMT 10
www.rte.ie/ten/2012/0710/leithd.html
Damien Leith
(There is the photo of Damien with his guitar and wearing the blue and red check shirt)
Since being crowned Australian Idol in 2006, Kildare man Damien Leith has enjoyed massive success, becoming one of the best-selling artists in Australia, with combined album sales nudging the one million mark.
Damien Leith
Nicky O'Flanagan talks to him about his new record, Now & Then, Irish roots, family ties and what the future holds.
Nicky O'Flanagan: Now & Then has its origins in your 2011 covers album, Roy, and the record that preceded it, 2009's Remember June.
Damien Leith: This album is definitely a combination of my two loves: I love doing other people's stuff but I also love writing my own songs. Remember June was entirely original and Roy was obviously a tribute [to Roy Orbison], so we tried to combine both of them together for this album, satisfy the two things I love doing the most.
Now & Then has been out since April 20, what has the reaction been like?
We've had a great run over here [Australia]. The album charted really high and the result has been fantastic. The feedback has been great, which is what I'm really happy about. Coming on the back of the Roy album, which was quite a big album here [Australia] and a surprise... None of us expected it to be as big as it was and to bounce back from that kind of an album and introduce originals can be a hard step, but we're thrilled with how it's been received. Thankfully, everyone has really embraced it and the audience have come back and said 'Let's see what this is like'. And we've had a great reaction, so I'm pleased and pretty thrilled about that.
For those who may not be familiar with your music over here in Ireland, how would you describe your sound?
Anything I write myself always comes from a folky sort of place and then I work it up from there. It's always very acoustic-based; I suppose it's acoustic pop, that's probably the closest description. I mean, there is one song on the album, Beautiful - some people in Ireland may know it, it's on an Estée Lauder ad. That started out in my bed, writing a song for my wife and my kids and it was literally just a little folky, almost a poem really, that I was putting together for them. They all start from there.
Last year was an extremely busy year for you, with the release of the album Roy, making it into the final of Dancing with the Stars in Australia and a sold-out national tour there. What motivates you?
For me, I love doing it. I love performing and working. I'm a bit of a workaholic: if I've got downtime where I'm sitting around and there's nothing going on, I get really restless. So, I think probably the biggest motivation for me is I like to be doing things and I'm not too fussy about what I'm doing either. If it's something new, that I haven't done before, then I'm more likely to give it a go. I think that's what it's all about - trying different things. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. Last year, Dancing with the Stars, I had no idea how that would go. I was a terrible dancer all my life and when they got in touch and said would you like to do it, I just thought I'd give it a go and see how it goes. It was brilliant. I loved every bit of it.
You have just finished touring with Carrie Underwood.
She's fantastic, one of the most down to earth performers out there. She was really humble and really fantastic towards me and my band. She really invited us in and treated us really well. She's an incredible performer. She had a great show - she had 10 people on the stage with her. I don't think she missed one note throughout all of her performances.
Back in 2006 you won Australian Idol, which had a huge impact on your career and catapulted you into the public eye. However, your Idol success may not be widely known in Ireland. Do you prefer that?
I don't mind it, and I even noticed it with Carrie Underwood [winner of American Idol 2005] when I met her. I thought she wouldn't talk about Idol, especially big acts like her who have sold millions of albums - sometimes they like to move away from that. But she fully embraced it and talked about it onstage at her concert and I kind of feel the same way. You get your break wherever you get it and that's where I got mine. I'm always happy to talk about it; it really was the defining moment for me as far as getting my break and getting out there and finally getting to do music as a career. I'm proud.
Is there a stigma attached to being the winner of a talent show?
On one level with Idol and reality shows, you do have to accept certain things. Audiences get to know you in a certain light and they have ideas about who and what you are and you do have to move from there and in ways reintroduce yourself sometimes. But, overall, I think the more you're upfront on TV, the easier it is for you afterwards. I can't complain; it's been a great road for me so far.
The world is your oyster: you're a singer/songwriter, novelist, TV host - and Chemistry graduate. What are your plans for the future?
There's a lot going on at the moment, even with previous albums. We're getting word that my previous album, Remember June, is looking like it's getting an Asia release, which is great. It came quite unexpectedly, 'cause that album is a few years old, but things like that suddenly come out and it's always exciting. You really don't know what is around the corner. The thing for me, which I'd love, is to spend a little time in Ireland as well.
So can we expect any tours or gigs in Ireland anytime soon?
I just had a meeting about it yesterday actually. We're really working on it, not just in Ireland but in other parts of Europe too. I reckon if we're going to do tours it will be somewhere around February or March next year, somewhere in that period of time. We're strongly going after it this time. We tried in the past but unfortunately there has always been things going on. But we've set it out pretty well: my tour here in Australia will end around November this year so it's really given us the freedom to chase Ireland a little bit harder this time and give it a go. If it's going happen it'll be around February or March sometime, possibly even as a support - we've talked about that too, just so people get to hear what I do.
You also have a new novel in the works, your third.
It will be next November until it comes out over here [Australia]. It's a comedy, which I haven't done before. It's very light. The last ones I did were quite serious stories and I just decided that I'd love to do something a bit more easy-going and not take it too seriously. I won't go into the idea behind it, but what it's really about is just general day-to-day stuff - even about being a dad, families and relationships. It's from a very comical point of view. I'm probably not saying a lot, but it's feeling good. It's something that I can relate with.
Do you miss Ireland? You've put down significant roots in Australia with becoming a citizen and raising your family over there, but can you see yourself ever coming home?
I mean, to be honest, I love it over here and I love Ireland equally. At the moment the way I look at things is purely from a dad point of view - what's best for my family right now? Australia has been fantastic to me and I love it over here but, you know, home is always home as well and there's no two ways about it. At times that's a little bit of a battle as well, 'cause you get messages from Ireland and you think, 'Wouldn't it be great to be back?' But I've been lucky: I do get to go to Ireland quite a bit, which is great. So, right now it's just what's best for the family and I use that as direction.
thanks Braffy 
How fantastic to hear that RJ may be released in Asia 
