Fraser A. Gorman

Hey Fraser, thanks for taking the time to talk to Forte Magazine – lets get into it.. You have a very unique sound that not many other acts have at the moment, who or what has influenced your sound?
I guess influence on songwriting and making records comes from countless things, eg. the people who are around you and who you are making the records with, the gear you are using, the various relationships you have with people at the time etc. As far as musical influence I’ve been listening to a lot of Dylan, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and Lou Reed……. have been for quite a few years now.
It’s truly a style that tells a story, is that something you focus on while writing?
When i was really young, like 8 or 9 my mum used to book me in for singing lessons. That was where i sort of found out that i loved music (and singing). My teacher told me that “if you are going to write a song, you’ve got to tell a story”. It doesn’t have to exactly be a lineal story with a beginning, middle and end, but it’s good to at least say ‘something’ in the song you are writing i think. When I’m writing lyrics i still often sit back and ask myself “what exactly am i trying to say here” and do often think about narrative in some way, shape or form. So yeah, i guess I do focus on it a bit.
You’ve recently released the single ‘Book of Love’, how has the response been to it and are you happy with the response so far?
Yeah it’s been a great response, It’s sort of a bit of a different direction to the music i have previously released and people seem to be pretty into it, so hopefully they like the new record I’m going to put out soon.
You star in the video for ‘Book of Love’ alongside a chicken, how did the chicken end up in the video?
The video was directed by my friend, Sunny Leunig, and i have chickens at my house, and i think we were just hanging out near the chicken coop and one thing led to another…
When is the album out and what can people expect from it?
It doesn’t have a release date but i hope to get it out in about 3 months or so…….. As i mentioned earlier, it does steer away from my previous “country leaning” tunes but not too far away that people will freak out i don’t think. I guess people might have to wait and see for themselves.
You’re playing the Reclink Cup – are you excited about that?
Yeah I’m really excited, I’ve been going to the event for a few years now and i absolutely love it. I played in the actual footy game last year which was really fun. I’m even more excited to play on the stage though, i feel a lot more comfortable onstage with a guitar in my hand than I do running after a football…..
You have played a lot of events and festivals, but how does it feel to be playing the Reclink Cup, which is such a unique and positive event?
I guess it’s a very important and highly valued day for the Melbourne music community, so being asked to play at such highly regarded event is a nice feeling.
You have links to a number of other musicians and groups, but you have some strong connections to King Gizzard and The Murlocs. How does it feel that you are all making such a big impact on the Melbourne music scene?
Yeah it is a good feeling, myself and all those boys grew up together in the areas in and around Geelong and all came together playing gigs at the National Hotel (in Geelong). I’ve been playing music in various bands with Stu Mackenzie (KGLW) for nearly 10 years, and I’ve been mates with most of others for just as long, if not longer. It is cool to see all of us sort of grow into the musicians we are today and see everyone experience a bit of success. Who knows whats going to happen in the future? Maybe we might keep playing better gigs and making good records or maybe we might grow up and get real jobs i don’t know…
You achieved a lot in the past few years, what goals do you have now for the future?
When i was in school my two goals in music were to play at Meredith and support You Am I and after that i could quit and be happy. Now that I’ve done that, I’m not sure what goals I have….. It would be make to have a record that is well received and play some shows overseas….. So I guess that is next on the list.
What else have you got planned for the rest of 2014?
Put out my debut record. Play some more good shows. Have a good time doing it.
When&Where:  2014 Reclink Community Cup, Elsternwick Park – June 22