INTERVIEW: The man behind ‘The Man In Black’

20 August 2015

‘Johnny Cash, The Concert’ is celebrating 60 years of Cash when it heads to Belmont 16s on Saturday 12 September. The man behind one of Australia’s most authentic portrayals of Cash, Daniel Thompson, spoke to Newcastle Live about carrying on the spirit and legacy of The Man In Black…

You’ve helped keep the spirit of ‘The Man In Black’ alive, when did you first discover your “calling” to portray Johnny Cash?

Although I have been performing some of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits throughout all of my career, it wasn’t until 2009 that I got the opportunity to do a full tribute show to Cash. This one off night went so well that we were asked back for another night, and that one sold out, and then the next one sold out, and so on…. Six years later here we are.

Johnny Cash has obviously been quite an inspiration on your musical path, is there one of his albums in particular that influenced you growing up?

Probably not so much growing up but in more recent years, his Folsom and San Quentin albums are amazing examples of what an incredible performer he was. Listening to those albums, it’s easy to forget that he was performing to an audience of inmates. He was playing to his audience as if they were any normal audience and he was very very good at it. One of Cash’s greatest strengths as a performer was that he was able to relate to every audience member or listener on their level. An incredible skill that not many performers are able to master.

Your shows are praised amongst Cash fans as one of the most authentic tributes, how did you come to achieve this great resemblance of the original? I imagine it involves many hours spent studying Cash’s performances!

I have spent many hours over the years studying recordings and live footage of Cash. Trying to work out the nuances of his performance that make him unique and then incorporate those things into my performance.

I feel that it is my responsibility as a tribute artist to put in that work but there is also the musicians behind the music. I am very lucky to share a stage with some fantastic musicians every night. Stuie French is one of the best guitarists in this country and there is no better at this style of music.

Playing these songs right means that everybody in the band understands their part and we work hard to make these songs sound right. Each song has its subtle differences and understanding these differences helps give our show an authenticity.

Your brand new show ‘Cash 60’ is headed our way in September, how does this show differ from your previous Johnny Cash shows (Johnny Cash The Concert, In Solitary)?

In Solitary is a very different show to this one. It is a more acoustic based, story telling show. This show, Cash 60 is more about trying to give the audience the experience of what it was like to see Johnny Cash live in concert. The band in full flight, and the energy of these great songs.

Not only was Cash an incredible musician, but he lived an incredible life around his music. Can audiences expect to hear some of these memoirs or stories in your show?

There are some amazing stories about Johnny Cash and his career. I always incorporate a few of these into the show. He’s a bit of a mystery so I like to think that people might leave having learned something about Johnny Cash that they didn’t already know.

Tell us a bit about the music behind your show, how did you first tee up with guitarist Stuie French?

Stuie and I have been friends and have been playing together for many years. I first met him when a friend of mine dragged me along to see this Western swing band called The Feral Swing Katz at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1997. From the moment that band started playing with Stuie and steel guitar virtuoso Michel Rose leading the way I began to learn what music and especially country music was really all about and thanks to Stuie I have been learning ever since. There are not many musicians of Stuie’s calibre and I feel very fortunate that I get to stand on a stage next to him and sing these great songs.