An Interview with Geoff Achison the original Soul Digger
You’ve won many awards in your time, which is the most meaningful?
They’re all meaningful but the most ominous was winning the Albert King Award in Memphis back in 1995. That began a cascade of events that allowed me to pursue a career in the United States.
What’s the count on how many albums you’ve recorded, and do you have a favourite?
I’ve done 12 full studio albums and 8 live albums, plus some singles. I get most enthusiastic about the songs during the writing of them. Recording is a heavy process for me. I can hear it all in my head and it is really difficult getting it from there and onto a recording machine. It changes a lot along the way, and everyone involved has a different aural impression of what should happen, so compromises are common. In truth, I very rarely listen to them once they’re finished. The joy of having created them is in the live gigs. That’s where the songs really start to evolve.
If you could wave a magic wand over the Australian music industry, what would you fix?
I’d make myself the supreme authority on what can and can’t be played at my local IGA… simply so I can go in and get my groceries without being the grumpy old bastard muttering to himself. (“This is absolute shit! How the fuck did this get released? Stop it you bastards! make it stop!”)
If you could collaborate with anyone alive in the world today, who would you choose?
Probably Oliver Wood from The Wood Brothers. He’s an old mate from Atlanta. I was a fan of his work with the band King Johnson long before I met him. By the time we were introduced, that band had split and he was playing in coffee shops for tips. He’s since hooked up with his brother, Chris and they’re super-stars in Nashville now. I love his song-writing and performance style. He guested on one of my albums years ago, but I’d love to have him produce some of my ideas. He’d totally get it.
Who would you list as your greatest musical influences?
I essentially learnt blues guitar from the great Freddie King, got into songwriting through The Beatles. There are so many others across a whole range of genres, but I would have to say that it it was my personal connections with more experienced musicians such as my old mates Alan Watson, Bob Sedergreen and Dutch Tilders that really helped me get started and shaped the way I play.
What aspect of the “business” side of your music do you find most challenging?
All of it. I have no interest in the business side. I simply have a head filled with music that doesn’t exist yet. Still, I am an independent artist so I have had to be involved with every aspect of the biz. I’m not particularly good at it, but I would not have had a music career at all if I hadn’t paid attention to it.
If you had to choose an alternate career to music, what would it be?
I’ve always had a keen interest in history and loved the idea of being out on the dig at some ancient site. In fact, my older brother and I used to investigate the numerous old rubbish dumps around our area unearthing old bottles and a few other artifacts from days gone by. Had I been more academic might actually have pursued archaeology.
Have you come across any up-and-coming new talent to watch out for?
There are a few young kids that I do a little guitar coaching with. Some of these cats are in their teens and totally into the blues and want to learn how to improvise and write their own music. I’m just thrilled that there is still an appreciation for the original blues masters, old-school jazz, and the great songwriters of the ’60s & ’70s. On the scene right now I’d say make sure you catch Charlie Bedford, Anna Scionti, and Jarrod Shaw.
What’s your favourite “Dad” joke?
Q. Where do cantaloupes go for their holidays? A. To the ‘John Cougar Melon Camp’
