Last year's winner, Thomas Calder, is encouraging budding songwriters to get their applications in for the 2015 Grant McLennan Fellowship.
Open to Queensland songwriters and songwriting duos, applicants have the chance to receive $25,000 of funding from Arts Queensland and APRA ACMOS; to go towards honing their craft abroad in one of three cultural capitals; New York, London or Berlin.
Thomas says the timing was perfect when he decided to apply last year, as his band, The Trouble With Templeton, had just finished touring and were back in Brisbane writing. “We were just coming off an album and a tour overseas... We had a break before recording the next record, so it was when I was in writing mode.”
Thomas was drawn to the prospect of developing himself into a worldly songwriter; taking a leaf out of Grant McLennan’s book. “What's really great is being able to have the freedom, and the time – and not worry about the money – to explore the avenues in ways that are natural and original to you. If it were a programme, I wouldn't have done it, because every song-writer is different and works in a different way.”Upon hearing he'd received the grant, Thomas began writing more immediately, before jetting off to London. He spent the next three months flying solo, chipping away at his writing and soaking up his new surroundings. “Being able to just go and live somewhere for three months and only spend time on songwriting; that's a very rare thing to be able to do. Especially since it's overseas – London is a very expensive city. So I would never have been able to do that. I'm so lucky and so thankful.”
Although the competition is geared toward solo artists and duos, Thomas does not discount its worth for songwriters who, like him, work within a band. “It depends how you write [as a band]. It's about trying new things to get you out of your comfort zone and see what you can do – without any real risk financially or time-wise. You're there to do a job, which is [to] write, so you can spend your time not feeling guilty. You can just do it. I would encourage anyone to go for it.”
This concentrated period of creativity culminated in Thomas recording new solo material. “While I was overseas I made two little solo records, which I'm going to put out in the next few months. They are what, specifically, came out of that trip.”
The Trouble With Templeton are due to release a new single by the end of the year, with a new record set for release in 2016. Thomas hopes this year’s winner will find the experience as rewarding as himself. “Don't waste it – whatever you do. Take that time, because it's very rare, and go as far as you can with it.”Applications for the 2015 Grant McLennan Fellowship (administered by QMusic) are open until 31 August.
