Hot blues and roots artist and self confessed Merimbula surfer bum.

We chatted to Kim in FUSE02, his distinct blues and roots sound was unfamiliar to me ...but somehow comforting to my soul.

Even though I’m a hardcore “hand bag” music fan, when I first saw Kim Churchill perform I couldn’t drag myself away. I have been playing his album non-stop ever since. Kim, although young, is a true master of his own music. He describes his sound as a hybrid of all his influences: roots, blues and classical. If you listen carefully you can’t help but notice that his special brand of music is also heavily influenced by his other passion, the Australian surf.

Kim has certainly received some high praise. His music style and guitar technique have been compared to John Butler and Xavier Rudd. He recently performed with Australian blues legend, Lloyd Spiegel, who said, “Kim’s a great young guitarist...
it’s his ability to create new techniques and sounds from the instrument that stands out and will ultimately carry him to leaving his stamp on the Australian [music] scene.”

We caught up with Kim this month and had a quick chat about his music, his life and his ambitions.

Fuse: The first time I heard you it was at Canberra’s Old Bus Depot Markets. I, along with many other people there, were totally mesmerised by your music. Do you find you always have that effect on people?

Kim: I find busking is a really fun way to practice playing but most importantly “creating” my own audience.
I guess it’s not the most flattering way to perform but the buzz that I get, and I feel the audience often gets, is far greater as it is an entirely spontaneous connection that all of us have created together.

So where did you grow up?

I was actually born in Canberra, then moved to the small coastal town of Merimbula later on. I do have a lot of memories from my early years in Canberra and find that I fondly reminisce about a lot of my childhood. But the coast and the beach is certainly my life and I find now that even after a few days inland I begin to become homesick. It’s kind of like a drug.

When I think of the Australian beach culture it conjures up wonderful images of a sand, surfies and a laidback lifestyle. Has this had any impact on your music?

Totally! Surfing is not a sport, it’s a lifestyle and I find that it is present in all aspects of my music and my life. I mean, I travel around in a hi–top van from surf break to surf break, it’s everything to me. Music is not only my passion but my medium for living this life. It’s a bloody joke how much fun it is.

You seem to be a classic good looking Aussie beach boy, do you think that helps your popularity?

Ha ha…thanks. I think that music is something that you listen to and feel — and no matter what someone looks like, in the end it’s their music and the vibe they can create that will lead them to where they are most happy. I mean, I know that there are many artists who have strongly pushed their image and that this is also pretty important in making a mark on the industry. I try to stay healthy and try to be myself as much as I can, and I hope that I create an image that is a true representation of who I am.

What would you like to accomplish in your life and with your music?

I just want to have a blast, and I want to make as many people as I can feel good. I mean, hell, I wouldn’t mind buying a couple of killer surf boards and guitars along the way. I just want to have enough money to fund myself to surf and play music until I am too old to move. It would be pretty wicked to play to thousands of people at a time, but, I guess that’s a bit of dream.

If you couldn’t be a singer what would you be?

A surfer…der. Ha ha, as I was growing up I always put surfing and music hand in hand as what I wanted to do. After getting flogged at a couple of big surf comps when I was younger I realised pretty quick that it wouldn’t make me a living. So music drew the short straw as my job whereas surfing is more like my hobby.

When and how did you start making music?

Quite a while ago. It was my mum who originally got me playing, when I was about four or five. She spent a few months learning the basics so she could teach me — good ol’ mum. Then dad got me involved in classical guitar, which carried me through ‘til I was about sixteen. But really, since I was little, I have been raised on a diet of folk and blues music, and this has been most important to me.

You seem to be very talented at playing several instruments, and all at once I see...

Yeah, I seem to have slowly acquired more and more instruments. I have been heavily influenced by guys like Xavier Rudd and Juzzie Smith, and it’s certainly taken its toll. I play the guitar essentially, and for a long time I was conscious to not let other instruments take away from that. Since then I have sorta decided that I would rather make the best sound that I can — so now I have a stomp box (which is like a kick drum) under one foot, a tambourine under the other foot, the guitar, harmonica and singing.

I gather you write your own music. How does your song writing process work?

Man, song writing is a fickle thing. I spend weeks without writing a thing, and then smash four songs out in a day. I guess it’s about emotions, vibe and energy. If they all match up, then you just gotta sit down and go for it. It’s a great way to express, and even to work out things and feelings within you that you didn’t understand.

Have you won any awards, I noticed you have been nominated for a few things?

Yeah I was announced youth folk artist of the year at this year’s National Folk Festival in Canberra — that was pretty cool. I also entered a busking competition in Byron Bay. The prize was a spot at Bluesfest and some recording time in 301 Studios at Byron (Xavier Rudd, Powderfinger and Grinspoon have recorded there). It spanned about three days of heats and a final on the fourth day, and I managed to win that also.

What’s been your most memorable moments?

I recently had the chance to play harmonica with one of my hero’s, Ash Grunwald, and that was pretty special. The first time I busked at a local market and made like 40 bucks in half an hour. I realised that I could have fun practicing towards my dream, and make enough money doing it to get by. Since then I have never looked back.

What are your plans for the future?

I have some good tours lined up, and some fun festivals. My dream future really just involves a lot of good waves, fun gigs and meeting great people.

See Kim online at: www.myspace.com/kimchurchill1

IN ONE WORD:
Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton? Clinton • John Travolta or Nicholas Cage? Who!? • India or New York? India (I love its history, painful but incredibly intriguing) • Fairy lights of sparklers? Sparklers • Daleks or Cybermen? Daleks • Savings or credit? Savings • Favorite food? Muesli (and yoghurt).