Welcome to Paradise: My Journey. Cody Simpson

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СКАЧАТЬ a bit shy, I only played my original songs for my family and grandparents. I didn’t even play them for friends. My family encouraged me 100 per cent and as time went on I started getting the confidence to play in front of different people. Eventually I worked up the courage to play some of my own songs when we were all gathered outside at one of our barbecues.

      It felt good to be a part of that creative, musical circle of adults. A good family friend, Brett Penwarn, is a terrific guitarist and singer. He was also our family doctor. Alli and I are close to his kids, too – Jasmin and Brayden. He always came over for jam sessions, and I looked up to him quite a bit. I always thought he was an amazing musician and, when I was really young, I would sit next to him with my little guitar and watch him play. I stared at his fingers and tried to learn from him. I would call Brett one of my mentors in life.

      Soon after I started lessons, I was able to come in and pick up some of the same songs and riffs that Brett was playing. It felt amazing to really be a part of those moments! Of course, everyone around me was so impressed that I could pick it up so fast, so naturally that felt pretty great. And now, when I go home for a visit, we still have those jam sessions and sometimes I take the lead. Of all my musical experiences, playing really well around the barbecue can still be among the most fulfilling.

      By the age of eight, I had outgrown my first guitar and needed a bigger and more professional one. I went to this guitar shop in town with my dad, and we were just browsing. I picked up a guitar I liked and started strumming on it to get a feel. Dad encouraged me to really play it and sing something with it. I had the Johnny Cash song ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ in my head, so I started playing and singing. The employees and guitar teachers from the store – and some other shoppers – stopped and started to listen, eventually gathering closer. I just kept playing as they grouped around me, and when I finished, everyone applauded.

      That was really my first performance in front of an audience that wasn’t my family. And it felt pretty great! One of the guitar teachers there specialised in country music, and he approached me afterwards and asked if I wanted to have lessons with him. So I did.

      His name was Cash Backman, and he used to be a country artist in Australia. He’d even had a number one song. I worked with him for a while and it was really cool to learn from someone who had reached that level. He was teaching me a lot of country songs, which my dad liked a lot.

      During that time I also began to listen to more mainstream pop music, like Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown. I always wanted to learn how to play songs by these guys on the guitar, but I was cautious about telling Cash that I wanted to change my style musically – for good reason, as it turned out, because when I eventually did, he wasn’t that supportive.

      One Sunday he took me along to one of his performances at a hotel about an hour and a half away in Lowood. He was going to invite me onstage with him, and I prepared four country songs to play that night: Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘Jackson’, John Denver’s ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’, and Hank Williams’s ‘Hey Good Lookin’’. I was nervous in the days leading up to the concert, but I channelled that energy into practising, again and again.

      My parents drove us out to the concert, and my whole family was excited for me. I was quiet in the car, just getting myself psyched and ready. It was pretty crazy that I was out there doing that! There were about a hundred people in the audience, and I couldn’t wait to get started so I could put an end to the feeling of anticipation. But my nerves all melted away once I walked up onstage. As soon as I got up there and felt the energy from the crowd, I just relaxed and played my heart out. The crowd seemed to go for it, and it was a lot of fun! It didn’t change my desire to learn other kinds of music, though, and I kept pushing the boundaries. Cash still only wanted me doing country. So, eventually, we went our separate ways.

      My next teacher, Ram Sefer, is a really well-known instructor who specialises more in rock and pop music. He was much more open to ideas. Right away he asked me to bring in a song that I wanted to learn. I used to choose one from some of my new favourite artists like Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Justin Timberlake, and he would help me work through it. Then I would bring in some songs I was writing and we would collaborate on those. He definitely helped spark my interest in writing songs and he gave me a lot of confidence. It really encouraged my music to the next level. I will always be grateful to Ram for his support.

      Recording my single ‘Pretty Brown Eyes’.

      Launching into Justin Bieber’s Believe tour.

      Soundcheck and rehearsals on the Paradise tour.

      COMPETING AT THE NATIONALS

      At nine years old, after I’d been training and competing with my local swimming team, my mum thought her old coach Denis Cotterell might be able to help me get to that next level. He’s one of the leading coaches in Australia, having coached many former Olympians. It was really an honour to get to meet him. I was invited to swim at his prestigious club, the Miami Swim Club. It’s an amazing facility, with two Olympic-size outdoor pools and a team of respected coaches. Swimming is a big sport in Australia, naturally, since it’s part of the culture, and one that we tend to do well in at the Olympics.

      Denis saw the potential in me. I worked with other coaches there, but he took me under his wing, coaching me and looking out for me over the years. He’d pull me to the side during practice to give me extra pointers. It’s crazy to think about how far I could have gone with swimming. Denis really believed in me and thought I could qualify for the 2016 Olympics if I found the time to train.

      I loved swimming as an outlet for my competitive nature. Even in training, I was always pushing myself to outwork the kids around me, especially the kids that were older and bigger than me. I was still smaller and skinnier than the other swimmers I was competing against. I knew I would have to work that much harder than a bigger guy to achieve my goals. And so I did. I still carry that underdog mentality with me today.

      I competed in my first Australian School Nationals when I was ten years old. It was held in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, on the southern coast. I flew out there with my team, and we had a great time goofing off and sharing in the excitement on our way to the meet. This was the next level for me. It was a five-day event, where I swam several different races each day. It was a big deal for me, and of course I was nervous, but I usually try to turn nerves into adrenalin, to fuel me to stay sharp in an event and swim my hardest.

      The Nationals competition is held annually for all schools in Australia, СКАЧАТЬ