Newcastle based, country singer-songwriter Matt Scullion has just released his latest offering 'Aussie As', a song about Australian culture and values that’s sure to tug on your green and gold heart strings.
Following on from the success of his previous single 'Shout The Land A Drink', Matt says he’s lived his whole life to write 'Aussie As', and returning home after an extended period overseas was all the inspiration he needed.
Here are five reasons Matt loves living in the lucky country.
1: Sense of humour
I spent the better part of five years living out my songwriter dreams in the States and I gotta say they could lighten up a little. That’s the great thing about Aussies in general – although we like to have a giggle at someone else’s expense, we definitely take the piss out of ourselves too. I love that about us.2: Beer & tucker
Being such a multicultural society, we have the best choice of beer in the world, not to mention all the local craft beer places popping up. I recently travelled to China and couldn’t wait to get back to my local Bowlo for a chow mien.We’re so fortunate to have such rich soil to grow our veggies in and good grazing land to feed our livestock. I once asked a Vietnamese cook why the food tastes better here than in Vietnam, and she said it all comes down to the fresh ingredients.
3: Music
Maybe it’s the harsh landscape that gives us our unique red dirt sound. Maybe it’s the punters in the pubs that want blood that give us our f... you work ethic. Aussie artists and bands just seem tougher and work harder than any other musicians I’ve met in my travels.4: Slanguage
I’ve always known that we sounded different, but it wasn’t until I started to travel that it really hit home. No one else talks like we do, I reckon we get it from the crows. We don’t pronounce our Rs and everyone’s first or last name gets shortened.A lot of the time we speak in slang without knowing it; that probably comes from our parents who picked it up from theirs.
5: Spirit
There’s no denying we’re a proud nation who loves our music and sporting teams. Our heroes are bushrangers, and we get up at 5am every 25 April to pay our Anzac respects, then head on down to the pub to put 10 on tails at the local later that day.Most of us embrace multiculturalism and we’re not too proud to say sorry. It’s a blue tongue in the garden, It’s a footy on the roof. It’s a hundred different cultures all rolled into one. It’s calling Barry ‘Baz’ and Sharon ‘Shaz’. It’s Aussie as.
'Aussie As' is available now.
Matt Scullion Tour Dates
Wed 5 Jun - The Scullion Sessions @ Stag & Hunter Hotel (Newcastle)Sat 8 Jun - Smoke In Broke @ McNamara Park (Broke, NSW)
Wed 3 Jul - The Scullion Sessions @ Stag & Hunter Hotel (Newcastle)
Sat 13 Jul - Hats Off To Country Music Festival (Tamworth)
Wed 17 Jul - The Gregory Hotel (Winton, QLD)
Wed 31 Jul - The Gregory Hotel (Winton, QLD)
Wed 7 Aug - The Scullion Sessions @ Stag & Hunter Hotel (Newcastle)
16-17 Aug - Better In Blackall Festival (Blackall, QLD)
