what Keith was like in high school and the best piece of advice he's ever received. Keith Urban didn't pass his music class back in high school because he couldn't (and still can't) read music. If he was still being graded his music career would have to receive an A+. With a Gold certification for his current album, Golden Road, three No. 1 singles and a Grammy nomination-- this Australian native has taken the States by storm. We caught up with Keith outside his tour bus just before he took the stage to do his favorite thing in the world, perform. You can catch him on stage when he goes on tour again with Kenny Chesney in the upcoming months. ChannelOne.com: Do you have a favorite song from your new album, Golden Road? Keith Urban: The first single, "Somebody Like You" has done really well for us. The second single, "Raining on Sunday" has also done really well. I don't really have a favorite song though. "Somebody Like You"-- that's a really fun song to play live but it's hard to pick a favorite. They're all really my favorites which is why they're on the record. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. Q: Back in high school did you ever think you have the success your having now? A: I just wanted to play live, make records, and ultimately come to the States. You know, where it took me I didn't really have a clear picture of that. I just really wanted to keep getting better at what I do and that's really still where I'm at now. School of life Q: What were you like in high school? A: I didn't really like high school. Unfortunately, that's not a really politically correct thing to say, but for me personally the school system in Australia at the time just really didn't work for me. So I turned 15 and bailed out, hit the road, and just followed my heart. But I have some really good friends of mine back in Australia that stayed in school and really loved it-- so you just got to find what works for you The music man Q: Did you have a best and worst class? A: I always enjoyed music class. Imagine that. But I can't read music, which is common with a lot of musicians actually, so I didn't pass music, I failed. But I'll take this failure any day. An apple for the teacher Q: Was there a teacher that inspired you? A: Yeah, we had a teacher called Mrs. Grimmer. She was a music teacher. She had so many kids in her class that were really good at playing practical and not that great at theory. She tried to make some of the tests about that so they could pass and the school board sort of ruled it out. If they had left it in most of class would have passed. And because they said that it wasn't part of the curriculum most of the class failed instead-- so it was a real bummer. The long and winding road Q: Is there a piece of advice that you've learned along the way that you wish you would have known back when you were a teenager? A: Don't eat the yellow snow (laughs). That's very important. I think you've got to follow your heart you know. And if it's something really strong and it keeps pulling at you there's a reason for that. And that may be a mistake but evidently that's a mistake you've got to make as well, that's why it keeps pulling at you. So if you go down that road and it turns out to be wrong and it sends you over somewhere else, you were still meant to go down that wrong road. I really believe in that so just go with your heart. Lucky star Q: So if you weren't creating music what would you be doing? A: Oh god, I'm just lucky I don't know. I'm really blessed to be able to do this and I really can't imagine what I'd be doing. It wouldn't be good though For those about to rock... Q: If right now you could go anywhere you wanted to go and do anything you wanted to do, what would you go do? A: We're about to go and do it. Play live. Get out there and rock man, that's what it's about. |
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