It’s the invasion of the Australian country crooners.

Among the ranks of illustrious Aussie imports like Adam Brand and Keith Urban, comes singer-songwriter Chris Pickering.

But Pickering doesn’t settle for a standard “country” music label.

Chris Pickering began as a pop drummer in Australia before striking out solo and, now, striking out a bit country. Courtesy Chris Pickering

“[My music] is British invasion pop music-meets-Americana twang, and that’s a pretty good approximation for people who actually know what British invasion music is,” he said. “I mean, a lot of my influences are like, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Gillian Welch [and] Gram Parsons … It’s not like modern country or anything like that. It’s more old-timey.”

Pickering began his career as a drummer for the Australian indie pop band, Boat People, but decided to go solo in 2004.

“I’d be writing all these songs on guitar and piano and I just felt like in order to express myself properly as a songwriter I needed to play a melodic instrument myself, and actually have the guitar and [have] whatever was going on the way I wanted it rather than trying to explain it to someone else because it always ended up a diluted version of what I originally had in my head,” he said. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, I need to do it myself in my own way,’ and that’s kind of what I did, and that’s how it’s been ever since.”

Though he hasn’t reunited with his former band mates, Pickering still keeps in touch with them.

“They just got a new drummer and kept on doing what they were doing and I went my own way,” he said.

Pickering didn’t waste any time, releasing his first solo EP “Hard to Find” later in 2004. A debut album, “A Safer Place,” followed in November of 2005 along with “Ghost City,” another EP, in 2007.

In 2008, Pickering was exposed to the American music scene for the first time when he showcased his album “Excuses Excuses” at the music festival South by Southwest.

“It’s a fairly overwhelming thing because [there are] so many musicians there and so many people who are all into music and all drunk most of the time, so it’s a fairly foreign kind of thing to happen your first time here,” Pickering said. “I went to Nashville after that and it was a lot more laid back and I had a lot more useful encounters with people in terms of music.”

Pickering moved to Tennessee where he worked with Nashville songwriters to produce his last album, “Work of Fiction” in 2010, which offered a change-of-pace for the usually solitary songwriter.

“I had a ball doing it,” he said. “It was so much fun … I cut that record essentially in one week with all these guys. I had a lot more fun doing that just because it was more enjoyable to share the experience with everyone.”

Even after showcasing his talents at both South by Southwest and the Viper Room, Pickeringstill has a few venues he would like to play.

“Carnegie Hall would be alright,” he said.

While he hasn’t made it there yet, Pickering is glad he has the chance to play in the hometown of one of his favorite bands.

“I’m a big history buff, so when music and history come together that’s really cool,” he said. “Like most people, I’m a fan of R.E.M. so it’s going to actually play in their hometown.”

But gigs and venues aren’t the most important part of being a musician, Pickering said.

“You continually got to keep working on what you do and the songs you write and make sure you’re happy with them and you’re constantly improving as a songwriter and musician,” he said. “If you’re happy you’ve kind of got to give yourself new challenges, and right now my challenge is just to get my music out there to as many people as I can.”

CHRIS PICKERING
Where: Flicker
When: 8:30 p.m.
Price: $5