The country music artist and Australian Idol runner-up just wrapped up the film clip for his single Bad Seed, written by Bonnie Bishop and Al Anderson and lifted from his newest album After the Rain.

"It was real rock and roll," Dickens said.

"It reminded me of a bit of a character that people looked down on that turned out to be a bit of a legend.

"I can relate to that in ways, there were times I thought I wouldn't amount to anything and these days I am enjoying life doing what I love and making some coin."

The film clip for Bad Seed was filmed in Young, and he was more than happy to invite his mates to take part and make their way through seven and-a-bit slabs of beer and about $300 worth of meat on the barbie.

Dickens came second in Australian Idol in 2008 to Wes Carr, from there he took out the top spot at Tamworth's own Star Maker competition.

Always a fan of country music, blues and rock, Dickens never really planned to do anything about it until some mates dared him to enter the televised song competition.

"Obviously I didn't think I was totally crap but I didn't think I would go so far either," he said.

"Making it to that grand final really solidified my want to do it on a professional level.

"I think for different people it does different things, I didn't get a deal out of the TV show but I got exposure and I got to know lots of people in the industry."

What did come out of it was a trip to Afghanistan to play for Australian troops and a trip to do the same in Egypt with Beccy Cole.

In the midst of the Sinai Desert the pair gave weary soldiers a much needed break to sit back, relax and listen to music.

"That was the most important thing to me, the appreciation that we were shown for making the effort to get over there," Dickens said.

"They can't just go and check out a gig on the weekend, have a few beers or watch Netflix.

"There's no grog at all for the Aussies over there, for us to play it brings back a bit of normality for them."

And, he'd do it again in a heartbeat.

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With a bunch of scattered gigs booked in and plans in the work for a tour, Dickens will be a busy man for the next few months.

He reckons he'll be back in Tamworth for the country music festival in January.

"We've been coming for ten years and it's a second home for us," he said.

"The most important thing to me is that I'm still shearing.

"Being a musician, a shearer and a dad is who I am, I'm raising my now 10-year-old and it's the perfect place to start."

For show dates visit Dickens' Facebook page.

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