Fraser A. Gorman and his band took an early-morning flight from Chicago to make it to the Twin Cities at the crack of dawn on Sunday. On arrival, Gorman had a bit of a sunrise surprise. "I turned up at the airport, and the guitar I normally play didn't come along for the trip," he says. "Luckily, there's a guitar shop in Roseville, and they lent me this nice Fender Strat, and it's doing a fantastic job."

Gorman is happy to have the loaner guitar, especially since the first item on the agenda was a visit to The Current for an in-studio session hosted by Bill DeVille. Gorman and his band perform Sunday, Oct. 11, at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.

Another product of Melbourne, Australia's thriving music scene, Gorman counts Courtney Barnett among his friends. "I moved to Melbourne when I was 18, and Courtney was one of the first people in bands that I met," Gorman recalls. "We kind of just bonded pretty quickly, I guess, because we were doing similar singer-songwriter stuff."

Gorman acknowledges that Melbourne's music scene is a thriving one, but he's quick to chalk it up to the work ethic of the people there. "Because we're so far away from everything," he says, "we've got to try really hard to get noticed."

Now signed to Barnett's Milk! Records label, Gorman is touring North America in support of his album, Slow Gum.

At 24 years old, the fresh-faced Gorman has earned comparisons to Bob Dylan, but it's something he's actually heard for a long time: Ever since he was 14, he's been told he looks like Dylan. "If I had a dollar for every time — damn, I'd have like, a thousand bucks," Gorman says.

More importantly, Gorman's music shows Bob Dylan influences; Bill DeVille compares Gorman's singing on his song, "Shiny Gun," to Dylan's crooning on Nashville Skyline. "That's my favorite album in the whole world," Gorman says, "so there you go!"

Listen to the complete interview to hear more from Fraser A. Gorman, including two stories from their recent time in Chicago, which involved seeing a concert by their friends Bully and, at his own show, feeling a bit nervous to perform a Wilco cover in the hometown of Jeff Tweedy.

Songs Performed

"Book of Love"
"Broken Hands"
"Shiny Gun"
All songs from Fraser A. Gorman's album, Slow Gum, out now on Milk! Records.

Hosted by Bill DeVille
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Web feature by Luke Taylor

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