The Inspiring Experiences That Drove Pete Cullen's Latest Material

To say Pete Cullen is dedicated is an understatement, averaging around 250 gigs a year, this rock'n'roll countryman is one passionate performer.

With two albums up his sleeves, Cullen is about to drop two more in the coming month. One Way In under his rockabilly outfit P.C & The Biffs, and No Way Out a solo, both recorded by Paulie B at Brisbane's Tanuiki Lounge. "Paulie has collected some great vintage gear that I knew would suit our sound." Cullen states, "he has a great ear for rhythm and melody." But perfection isn't the main concern over authenticity for the singer-songwriter, "I recorded some tracks at home, and in the distance, you can hear the odd whipper snipper, the dog or truck." 

The inspiration came from a southern USA writing tour where Cullen got to immerse himself within the history and culture of the Deep South, expressing that "standing on the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta was probably the most inspiring… you could feel the blues rising through the black soil." When it came to the recording process, all songs on the albums were recorded within the past 12 months and took a little longer than intended, mostly due to Cullen's hard working schedule. "I perform 4-5 nights a week and work a day or two at Guitar Brothers in Redhill, every spare day I had to work on the albums." Talk about productivity!

When it comes to hearing these releases live, Cullen says even though the alternative country sounds will remain true to the record, the rockabilly tunes are where it will get wild, and it'll all be going down at Lefty's Old Time Music Hall this August.

"Starts, endings and solos are always improvised, you never know what is going to happen, and that's probably what makes our Lefty's shows exciting!"