Rock veteran readies for solo debut

AFTER roughly two decades playing in groups throughout Ballarat, musician Brodie Glen is preparing for a personal artistic first.

Having played with his main band The Shorts for about 20 years alongside projects The Dawdlers and Brodie and the Oxy Clinic, Glen is aiming to release his first solo album, titled A Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

His first single for the album, Turf War, released in November, and he said the idea stemmed from two main circumstances.

“Group gigs have always been a lot of fun but it’s been really difficult to organise with a bunch of people, especially after COVID,” he said.

“I also had a family member die in 2021 and that was a real cathartic, therapeutic thing so I decided instead of waiting on everyone else I’d do something myself.

“I’m not great but I can play all the instruments myself so it’s been great to have a red-hot crack at.”

Glen’s interest in music started with drums at seven years old, and since then he’s branched out to guitar, vocals and keyboards.

Much of the instrumentation for the album’s 10 songs have been tracked by Glen, with production by Volta manager Josh Lake.

With the use of local producers, the drum sections were recorded on Volta’s main stage by Kingswood’s Braiden Michetti, while everything else was recorded out of his Mount Clear home, Glen said the album has been a “homegrown” effort.

“It’s cool to think with technology we could have gone anywhere but we kept it local,” he said.

“It’s been fun that everything I’m hearing is everything that’ll wind up on the record. It’s always a bit of a compromise and a conversation with other people.

“I’m enjoying the self-control. It’s probably a bit catchier, energetic and melodic and a bit slower than The Shorts which is always a million miles an hour.

“The album is named after a saying from my dad which means something not well-run. It’s a bit symbolic of this recording’s nature. It’s very DIY.”

Glen expects A Teddy Bear’s Picnic to be released around April or May.