Jarryd JamesHe performed to sell-out crowds earlier this year and is now just days away from the release of his debut album, Thirty One, but Brisbane singer Jarryd James has revealed that isn't hasn't always been smooth sailing and at one point he gave up music due to his struggles of making it in the Australian music industry.
In an interview with triple j, the songwriter admitted that like most aspiring musicians in the country, touring and making enough money to survive was a challenge.
"It's really hard in this country, to be honest. It's a logistical thing," James said.
"It's really expensive to tour in this country and everything is so spread out, there is not enough people...You only get one go at doing it the first time and by the time you're balls deep in that you're like: 'I've spent all my money and I've committed to this. I've put the rest of my life on hold'."
James went on to reveal that he eventually quit his music gig to obtain a "normal" job.
"I'd given up on any sort of life in music. I thought if I wasn't going to do it properly then I wasn't going to do it at all," he explained.
"I'd just have a normal job and I'll get superannuation, retire, buy a [house] and get a stupid mortgage."
However it wasn't until he was asked to support folk duo Angus & Julia Stone on their national tour earlier this year that he began to find success.
He is about to jet off overseas to play a string of headline shows throughout Europe, before moving on to perform throughout the US next month.
Thirty One is set to be released this Friday.
