Brad Butcher

Brad Butcher is as earnest as they come, with a remarkable voice, he sings straight from the heart. A finalist in this years’ Queensland Music and MusicOz awards, 2012 has also seen Brad tour with Busby Marou, showcase at Big Sound, debut at The Gympie Muster and support both Pete Murray and Mark Seymour. His songs are inspired by his life, the people in it and the places he’s been. His lyrics exude loss, redemption, love, hope, sadness and defiance. His heartache is all too evident.

Influenced by the likes of Cat Stevens, Ryan Adams and Ray Lamontage, Brad’s music is real and it inspires.

Brad was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, restricting his ability to breathe and subsequently leaving him with a defective voice box. Repairing his damaged vocal chords meant years of speech therapy as a child, a demanding task that would yield one very unexpected outcome…..a remarkable voice.

Brad grew up on the outskirts of Dysart, a small coal-mining town in Central Queensland. The son of a milkman and community worker, Brad spent most of his childhood playing rugby league. Time off the footy field was regularly spent listening to his mother play the family piano and after receiving his first guitar at the age of 11, Brad developed a real passion for music and songwriting. For many years after however, league remained Brad’s primary focus until a spate of injuries forced him to give the game away.

Having left school and unable to pursue a career in sport, Brad was offered a job as an apprentice cabinetmaker by a family friend in Mackay. He duly accepted and over the next four years, he diligently applied himself and learnt the trade. Much of the work, however, was tedious and uninspiring. Creatively, Brad found relief in his music and long days on the factory floor were followed by even longer evenings writing songs, playing the guitar and singing.