Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like?
The guys I sound like most would probably be Tom Waits and Joe Cocker, a voice that has developed from being on this planet for quite a while.
What do you love about making music?
I have been in music since I was a kid of six. The first piece of music I wrote was when I was 14, a classical piece. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I decided to make it career. Music has been always been my driving force in life, both in the composition and in the playing. I suppose I am more of a troubadour than a studio musician, enjoying entertaining people and they getting off on it. I used to live in studios in the ’80s when everything had to be played on a record.
What inspires or has influenced your music the most?
My influences stem from varied artists, from Richards/ Jagger, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Lennon/McCartney to Jacques Brel and Paolo Conti.
Describe the best gig you have ever played.
The best gig I ever did was in a shitty bar in Brooklyn, Hank’s Bar, with the band I set up in the states America’s Least Wanted. The place was packed and the band played magnificently. The worst gig I ever did was in a band Big Storm where after opening for INXS at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, we played in a piano bar in Cairns where there was didlysquat people and one guy who continually was asking for a Neil Young song. It was a hell of a let down from performing in front of 12,000 people.
What makes a good musician?
First of all , ability to play, they must have the chops. Never have a sense of entitlement. You got to work hard and keep up dreaming the dream and to do this , you have to reinvent yourself. The music industry is where dreams are woven and you must be prepared for disappointment. Today I see a lot of people who want to be famous but are not prepared to put in the hard work. Music is such a wonderful career , it fulfills the need to create and gives you a sense of worth in a world where materialism has taken the mainstage.
When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/single/etc?
The gig I am doing at present is My Leonard Cohen which I am playing at Chapel Off Chapel and is collection of Leonard Cohen with a bit of a back story. I have just finished my own album which is titled My Magnificent Narcotic, recorded here in Melbourne at Pughouse Studios with Philip Rex, Hamish Stuart, Ross Hanaford. A very fulfilling exercise , the result of which I am very happy with. The piano which is my instrument is the engine room of this album. These are the last songs I have written and I suppose heartbreak is always a motivating factor in writing. You want to share your experience with others and this is best done in writing.
