Grey nights for Grey Kingdom

Musician Spencer Burton talks about touring solo

After his group Attack in Black broke up
Image by: Supplied
After his group Attack in Black broke up

The musical cocktail of Spencer Burton is one shot classic country and one tablespoon of dark humour.

He proves that the stranger the person, the more they’re worth listening to.

I spoke with the quirky songwriter who performs under the alias of Grey Kingdom.

“You can ask me anything you want, sir. You can even ask me what I had for breakfast if you like,” he said, starting off what would continue to be a relatively light-hearted conversation.

After trading in his electric guitar from his Attack in Black days for an acoustic one, Burton started off on his solo career in 2009. He’s currently on tour with his latest solo album Light, I’ll Call Your Name Out ‘Darkness.’

Burton made me a fan with his calming lullabies and blissful guitar melodies. (Not that he needed my support, since he’s a fan of his work as well.)

“If I could describe my album in five words, I’d say it’s pretty good,” he said.

Currently on tour with the album, Burton said touring is often lonely and sometimes scary.

He recalled one incident where he had his very own Ghost Busters moment.

“You know those websites that have all those ghost, demon and ghoul sighting videos and stuff? Yeah. Well I was watching them on my way home from an American tour, and it was awful having all those thoughts flood my head when I was alone,” he said.

“I went to the back of my van, sat down, watched my breath turn to fog, fog to dust, and yeah. It was a terrible, paranoid experience.”

Just when I thought things were going to take a turn to the dark side, Burton started serenading me with an old Willie Nelson tune. He said the US country artist’s songs are some of his favourite to perform.

“I just ended up jamming to it one night at a show and it was awesome,” he said. “They’re just such good songs. It was one of the greatest times I’ve had performing in a long, long time.”

After this, I asked Burton the one question that was burning in my mind: would there be an Attack in Black comeback in the future?

“Nah, I think that we’re all off doing our own separate things. I’d say that the likelihood of us doing more stuff together is very, very low. Sorry dude.”

My heart sank with his response.

Although Burton attempted to justify himself as “a man with no heart and no soul,” the sincere messages he puts into Grey Kingdom’s music reflects his passion for storytelling.

“I feel confident about it. It’s a real cool time.”

Grey Kingdom plays the Grad Club tomorrow night with Old Man Luedecke. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Tags

Attack in Black, Grey Kingdom, Interview, Spencer Burton

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