Get to know Charlie's Attic

Charlie’s Attic, a duo who bring together their country, rock, folk, blues, and even classical influences in a melting pot of Americana and alternative country. Cheree and Dave spent many years gaining a reputation on the Canberra music scene as two of the most talented and professional entertainers in the local region.

What first got you into music?

Dave: For me, it was hearing my best friend at school playing a classical guitar when I was 10 or 11, the sound got me hooked! Cheree: Similarly for me, my father bought me a guitar when I was 10, I still haven’t learned how to play it though!

Who inspired you to make music?

Dave & Cheree: To make original music it was definitely having the opportunity to do some sessions with a local original artist, and while that ended badly, it inspired us to write and record our own songs.

What is your creative process like?

So originally Cheree had a lot of poems that she’d written, and I think I said ‘why don’t I have a go at putting them to music’ and so our creative process was born! We don’t really try to do anything to a formula, it’s pretty much writing from the heart and then trying to create the right mood through the music.

What is one message you would give to your fans?

Definitely that no matter what path you find yourself on and what stage you are in your life, it’s never too late to find your bliss and follow your passion.

Who are your top two favorite artists of all time? Why those artists?

Dave: I am a big Jason Isbell fan, he surely is one of the best modern alternative country songwriters, the breadth, and depth of his lyrics are amazing.

Cheree: Hard for me to narrow it down I love all the country legends (Dolly Parton, Loretta Lyn), but right now I’m loving listening to Hank’s granddaughter, Holly Williams.

Of your own music, do you have a favorite? If so, can you pin down why?

Dave & Cheree: Like many artists, our response to that question is that we have a strong attachment to all our songs, which are like our babies! But I guess we’d have to say that Nanna’s House will always hold a special place in our heart, because it’s strongly connected with family.

Video filmed and edited by Sam Hughes at Mass Productions. Drone footage by Rohen Grant from Sixth Row. Special thanks to Tania and Pete, Laura Hughes, Matt Reid and Opie the British Bulldog.

What is your current music project about?

Cheree: Mumma is another very personal song about the strength of my mum in the face of adversity and the impact that strength and grace has had on my sisters and I.

Do you enjoy recording and production?

Dave: Yes, we have a home studio. Some people might think that recording and mixing is just singing or playing into a mic, but it’s so much more, it’s such a creative process where there are endless choices to me made on how the song might sound. I love it!

A BIT OF FUN

What would be the ideal food to have cooked for you on a date night?

Cheree: Dave cooks a great Chicken Cacciatore!

Would you rather be the one in a movie who gets the hero/heroine or the baddie with all the good lines?

Cheree: I could never be a baddie!

Dave: I would be the silent hero, like Clint Eastwood!

What makes you nostalgic?

Cheree: the smell of rain, which reminds me of childhood.

Dave: returning home to Newcastle at Christmas.

What is your favorite board game?

Dave: I hate board games! No really it’s Chess.

Cheree: Pictionary.

Are you a valuable asset on a Pub Quiz team?

Dave: Yes, if we get questions on 1980s Australian pub rock!

‘Mumma’ is the new single by Country/Alt Country duo Charlie’s Attic. The follow up to their 2022 release ‘Misery Loves Company’, ‘Mumma’ is a very personal song about the love and strength of mums.

According to Cheree .. “Mums often do it tough, and my mum had to deal with a lot while raising a family… This song is a tribute to Mum, whose strength and love has made my sisters and I the people we are today.”

The heartfelt lyrics were written by Cheree Martin, with the Music, Production and Engineering skillfully crafted by David Hughes.

Featuring Nashville based Cellist, Emily Nelson Rogers (Taylor Swift, Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile), ‘Mumma’ is a song that will tug at your heart strings!