Singer-songwriter and guitarist Daniel Champagne is back in Australia for an extensive tour. Photo: Supplied.
When Aussie guitarist and singer-songwriter Daniel Champagne performs, he uses the whole instrument.
“I haven’t broken one for quite a few years,” he muses when asked about the toll his percussive approach takes on his guitar.
“The one that I use now is specially reinforced by the makers so it’s actually got two tops on it which is kind of unique.”
Daniel and his custom-made Cole Clarke guitar are back in Australia from Nashville and in the middle of a packed tour schedule.
“I put out a new album last year and then did a lot of touring overseas in the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand, and then the first half of this year I wanted to do a big run of shows in Australia,” he says.
“So we’re doing around 60 up until the end of May and getting pretty regional as well as the biggest cities.”
Originally from Bega, Daniel chose his path early, following in the footsteps of his guitarist father.
“My first memories of anything were watching him play in the backyard and I thought that looked cool,” he says.
“So I started playing when I was really young but it wasn’t really until I was a teenager that I started joining bands in high school and really getting crazy about practice and enjoying jumping up on stage.”
Daniel Champagne gets the most out of his specially reinforced guitar. Photo: Supplied.
After watching videos of innovative guitarists like American Michael Hedges and Australians Tommy Emmanuel and John Butler, Daniel says he began pushing himself to discover new ways to create a soundscape.
“Once I knew what was possible, I started exploring, so it’s always been a combination of stealing tricks from other players and then trial and error on my own.”
Following in the tradition of great folk artists and troubadours, Daniel is a storyteller, weaving earnest lyrics with rich, haunting melodies and surprising percussion tapped out on his long-suffering guitar.
“I collect a lot of stories from the road because I’ve been doing it for about 15 years now and travelling around the world and it comes with a lot of places and faces and interesting stories.”
Guitarist Daniel Champagne will perform at Wagga’s Birdhouse in March. Photo: Supplied.
He says he enjoys sharing his songs in more intimate regional venues and will perform at the Birdhouse Bar in Wagga on 26 March.
“I’ll be playing some songs I’ve been playing for years but also a lot of new songs off the new album,” he says.
“I’ll be solo, so it’ll be a lot of percussive stuff, a lot of weird tunings and a lot of experimental guitar stuff, so I think that anyone who’s into original music and interesting art would be into the show.”
You can learn more about Daniel’s music and tour schedule here.
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