Violent Soho guitarist James Tidswell doesn’t get too caught up in trying to be a success, he just lets it happen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ARIA award-winning Brisbane band is one of the headline acts at The Last Frost all ages music festival at the Innovation Campus on Saturday.
The group have been kicking around since 2004 and Tidswell admits he couldn’t really play his instrument until about five years in, but said it’s amazing what the “power of the mind can do”.
The 34-year-old is an optimist and said he’s happy to keep enjoying the ride as his band surpassed their goals years ago.
“Honestly, our biggest goal was to one day get to play [at Ric’s Bar] in Brisbane, we worked so hard at it, it took us three years,” Tidswell said. “That was like the hardest venue to get a show in.”
The bar only catered to around 50 patrons, far less than the 3500 who will be attending The Last Frost on Saturday.
Other highlights for Tidswell include smoking a joint on the top of the Capital Records building in Los Angeles and winning an ARIA award.
“Playing to 30 people is just as important to playing to 300 to us and always has been, but to try and convey that message to your friends and family who don’t think about music the same way is really tough,” he said.
“But to win the ARIA was really good … because it really stopped that question [of ‘when are you going to make it’].”
Violent Soho play The Last Frost all ages festival, UOW Innovation Campus, Saturday August 19.