Wade Forster used to get picked on for his music taste… but in typical Aussie fashion, he didn’t back down.
Australian country music artist Wade Forster recently stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, and it was one heck of a ride. The Aussie talked to us about the first time he played in Nashville (thanks to winning an Australian talent competition), living a 22 hour drive from the nearest major city in Australia, and let us in on his theory as to why his thick, Aussie accent goes away when he sings.
Forster even let us in on some things his home country does a bit differently. He personally thinks Australians and Texans get along quite well, though he pointed out that those from “Down Under” actually tailgate after events instead of before. Pretty brilliant, right? The “Cigarettes” singer also cut through the lies of Australian stereotypes, talked about his former life as a rodeo cowboy and rugby player, and gave his go-to advice for avoiding lethal creatures in his homeland.
As to how he got interested in country music, that would most likely be thanks to his parents. Forster said he remembers riding around and spending time with his mom and dad and witnessing the diverse taste in music that they had… which included some country music greats:
“I grew up rodeoing with my dad and mom and they had the big CD folder, and it was a mixed bag. We’d go from Limp Bizkit to George Jones then to a Tom T. Hall CD straight into a Gorillaz CD. I was very blessed to live a very cultured life in music.”
Forster went on to say that his childhood crush was Reba McEntire, and that his favorite country act that he discovered was the incomparable Brooks & Dunn. The duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn got him into even more of the country genre, which he says wasn’t the popular choice in Australia:
“I think the first band that I sort of fell in love with was Brooks & Dunn. Who doesn’t love Brooks & Dunn? I think my favorite song as a kid was ‘Memory Town.’ I loved that song, and I just got into country music more and more. You know, country music in Australia, it was taboo. It was for us outback kids, (or) bush people.”
The first time that he really experienced Australia’s opposition to country was when he went off to boarding school. At home, listening to country music was expected and celebrated by his family. But at boarding school, with kids from more densely populated areas? Liking country meant Forster was going to be an easy target for bullies.
Fortunately, he stood up for himself and the genre, and didn’t get picked on for too long:
“I went to boarding school and I was listening to country music. I got bullied for it. I got bullied and I was like, ‘What are you going to do? These are city kids, I could knock your teeth out.’ They stopped bullying me pretty quick.”
@whiskeyriff @Wade Forster #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
That’s what you call setting the tone.
To hear more from Wade Forster, make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here.
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Cheers, y’all.
