Coming face-to-face with a gun from a South American guerrilla group wasn’t much to faze Kim Churchill.
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The South Coast born singer-songwriter was on another high-adrenaline adventure trip, this time after finding some success with his debut album Silence/Win in 2014.
A trip to Peru was to find waves and check out Machu Picchu he said, though it was at a time of intense civil unrest.
I think there’s a certain western obliviousness that even when you see guns out it’s like ‘ooh, look there’s a machine gun, get the camera out’.
- Kim Churchill
“It was quite a wild time actually, a lot of our trek got changed and a lot of trekkers were getting ditched by their … guides because it was too dangerous,” Churchill said.
At one point he had to be carted through a war zone in the back of a van in the middle of the night.
They were pulled over by a bunch of men with guns, though let go because the were recognised as “touristas”.
“I think there’s a certain western obliviousness that even when you see guns out it’s like ‘ooh, look there’s a machine gun, get the camera out’,” he said.
“In hindsight it probably was quite dangerous but at the time it was all just an exciting adventure.”
Churchill loves travel. Whether it’s searching for a chilled surf spot in his van or wandering along the coast of Sri Lanka, as it adds to his life experience.
“A lot of the adventuring trips I do to places alters the way I look at the world. I’m one of the most blessed people on the planet,” he said.
“I’m one of the few people not struggling just to survive and just to live and so in that case I should be putting as much effort into doing things that are constructive for the world.”
Making music to brighten someone’s day is Churchill’s way of giving back and doing a “tiny bit of good” for the world.
His new album, Weight_Falls which was released late August, was an incredible journey for the singer.
It was written during a process of “growing up” and finally settling in his first proper home since leaving Merimbula – ditching life living out of the back of his surf van.
Kim Churchill plays UOW UniBar, Friday September 15. Tickets via: www.kimchurchill.com Keep an eye out for his busking “pop-up” shows