Publicity Campaign: Nic Palmer - ‘Look Dad, I’m A Rockstar 2.0’
Alt-rock and visual artist Nic Palmer returns with new single ‘Look Dad, I’m a Rockstar 2.0’, the first taste of sophomore album ‘Forgot to Chew’, due out early 2027; A sharp, tongue-in-cheek cut about what it means to choose an artistic life in a world that still treats creativity like a side hustle.
Based in Lismore (Bundjalung Country), Palmer threads rock, punk, and alternative energy through a track that moves between the ache of being dismissed and the relief of choosing joy anyway. ‘Look Dad, I’m a Rockstar 2.0’ holds both sides at once, the melancholy of feeling unseen, and the moment you decide to stop negotiating for permission.
“Look Dad, I’m a Rockstar is a tongue-in-cheek song about how in Australia (and I’m sure other parts of the world) being a painter (of artworks) or a musician is not typically considered a real job by much of society,” Nic shares. “The song weaves lyrically and energetically between melancholic feelings of being shut down, rejected and unseen, and a kind of ‘screw it’ I’m going to ignore all the flak and have fun. I also consider it a song about embracing one’s identity and standing ground.”
Written in a burst of immediacy, the track came together in around 15 minutes, with the title line arriving first and the rest falling into place around it. This release is also a second recording of the song, revisited with fresh intent after Palmer felt the first version could go further.
“This is the second recording of this song. It is one of those songs that I listened to after the recording process was done, and thought gee, ‘I could do that better’,” Nic says. “So, I took the song to Dan Frizza (at Brooklet Recording Studio) and we laid down each individual track over a couple of days for a new version, new guitars (for the most part), new vocals, but (real) drums from the original recording.”
The result is bolder and fuller, with vocal layering in the choruses bringing extra lift and bite. Nic worked with Dan Frizza and American musician Scott McKenzie on the track, continuing a period of prolific output following the release of debut full-length album ‘Unmasking Eyes’ in 2026.
Outside of music, Palmer’s practice as a painter sits at the centre of their creative world, and it sharpens the tension at the heart of ‘Look Dad, I’m a Rockstar 2.0’. The single speaks to a familiar stereotype: that art is something you do on the side until you “grow up”, whether that art takes the form of music or a canvas. For many artists, that pressure lands closest to home, in the quiet negotiations with family expectations, stability, and what a “real job” is supposed to look like.
On the visual art side, Nic’s work explores the collision between modern technology and the slow, tactile nature of painting. They use fast, game-like digital processes on an iPhone to generate and edit reference material, then translate that into physical paintings, reflecting on attention spans, critical thinking, and psychological behaviours. Nic’s approach to AI is grounded in research and ethics, using technology as a support tool rather than the final form, and maintaining a clear position in support of artists’ and musicians’ copyright.
That dual practice, music and painting, makes ‘Look Dad, I’m a Rockstar 2.0’ feel less like a punchline and more like a line in the sand. It is a song about backing your own identity, even when the world around you is still deciding whether to take it seriously.
“What do you hope listeners get from listening to your track? Some joy, and remembering it is okay to let go and be silly in what can feel like a constricted world that demands conformity.”
