Yes I'm one of them," laughs singer-songwriter Luke Thompson. "And I'm hoping to keep it that way. The only 'real' job I ever had was I worked in Burger King for six months when I was about 15."At 24, the singer-songwriter from Tauranga may never have had a "proper job" but he has already put in many years at his craft and now - with the release of his debut album, Here on the Ground - feels he can talk confidently about his future as a full-time musician."An album was something I'd wanted to make since I was about 10, so Here on the Ground is like my life's work so far," he says.With songs punctuated by sensitive or socially penetrating lyrics, Here on the Ground reflects Thompson's journey from being the kid who would organise his own shows for parents and neighbours in the backyard, through high school bands ("I was just one of those kids at school who hung out in the music room and didn't venture out") and on to winning a music study scholarship after playing at a Smokefreerockquest.
Then there were years of singing in bars around Hamilton in an acoustic duo while studying music, the recording of his first single with producer Nic Manders (best known for his work with Brooke Fraser), and now the launch of his impressive debut album.For someone still so young, Thompson has a musical confidence that has made radio programmers sit up and take notice and - as he says - he has taken the harder route to get here."I started writing my own songs at about 14, trying to see what I could come up with. But I got serious about it at the Smokefreerockquest stage."A few songwriting classes at Wintec in Hamilton [where he spent three years studying all aspects of music and the industry] helped."But what helped most would be the music I was listening to. I started getting into James Taylor, John Mayer, David Gray ... They gave me the idea that you could do this alone."Most teenage kids try to start bands and make music. But it's a lot harder to do it by yourself because there is no one to bounce ideas off."But hearing some of those artists really gave me the idea to do it myself. And the bands I was in weren't always working out because I'd struggle to find anyone who would want to practise more than once a week. They would have all these things they'd put before the music - but I wanted to go full throttle every day to make it work."I was maybe 19 or 20 when I heard the music that I really based my music on. That was more the folky thing, the first one I got into was Don McLean then James Taylor and Bob Dylan. Some of it was maybe 40 years old."The first song that got me, probably when I was in the seventh form, was Vincent by Don McLean. I don't know what it was about it. Just how effective he was being with only his voice and guitar and some ideas. That attracted me to the singer-songwriter solo thing, where you would just come up with an idea and you would do the whole thing - a concert, a show or a recording - with just your fingers and your voice."
