Interview by Katie Tucker

What made you interested in music?

I shared a bedroom with 2 of my 4 brothers. I spent many of my early childhood nights trying to get to sleep while they played records while doing their homework. My eldest brother John played mostly classical records like Beethoven. I also remember him listening to Don Mclean and The Moody Blues.

Robert the brother above me was into Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Procol Harum. Mum also took us to the pictures or the drivein to see musical movies, even documentaries on rock and roll. I remember her embarrassing me in front of my mates once. I think we were watching Countdown or something and a video of Bryan Ferry singing "Lets stick together" came on. She heard it from the kitchen and she came into the Tv/loungeroom and started to dance. I was very red in the face but my mates all thought she was cool after that even after I told them she sang in the Church choir.

Dad apparently sang when he'd had a few drinks but I only have vague memories of him singing at work. He was an electrician and when we were young he'd take us to work. While wiring up a new house he'd be either singing or whistling some tune. I have clear memories of the Italian bricklayers and carpenters on the building site singing Italian songs also. Maybe the most important musical inspiration moment was one I don't remember but one my Mum told me about. She was heavily pregnant with me when she went to hear Little Richard play at Festival Hall. So apart from the Church choir being the first live music that reached my ears I guess I would've heard Little Richard from the womb. I could go on.

Was there one specific experience that made you choose to become a musician?

Not that I remember. I became hypnotized by music somehow at a very early age and no one has snapped their fingers and brought me back to pursuing more logical endeavors.

What and who are your major influences growing up?

Family, relatives and friends of the family.


Were you surrounded by musical instruments or were your parents musicians?

No. Didn’t even have a record player. I remember the transistor only being turned on on Saturdays when Dad used to listen to the races. We eventually got a battery operated record player when I think I was about 11. My uncle had a piano but he rarely let anyone touch it. I used to look at it longingly and desperately wanted to play it but he remained unmoved. I never found out what his problem was. My older brothers John and Rob both bought guitars when they left school and went to work. Eventually they talked Mum into getting one for me for Christmas as I was always playing their guitars.

Who were and are your favorite musicians, mentors and influences?

I guess my older brothers were my first favorite musicians; especially Robert as he was in a band and had an electric guitar and a very loud amp. When I was about 15 yrs old Robert passed away and not long after this I was on a train into the city and met the bass player from Roberts’s band. We were talking about music and he told me to get a Jackson Browne record. So Jackson Browne was the first singer songwriter I became exposed to. I think at that age I was ripe for his lyrics. It was clear to me that he thought long and hard about what he was singing; especially on his earlier records. There are many others I could add but increasingly over the years I haven’t really had any favorite musicians. I’m more a fan of good songs and melodies nowadays.

What has been your motivation or ethic behind your music?

I only try to be honest and not intentionally rip off or copy other people.

What are you trying to say or convey through your music?

Mostly I try to give to the listener my impression of what it’s like to live in this world.

Have you ever reached the point of frustration of wanting to give up?

No. But frustration is always there anyway. Sometimes it gets to the point where I think that being a musician is a pointless exercise. But then I put it into context. That is I look around me and see and hear what most of the public are exposed to daily and nightly through the modern media. I then understand that the medium of music is just another commodity to be traded and sold.

What is it that keeps you inspired?

I don’t think I’m inspired all the time. I just wait for when I am and try and catch it before it’s gone again. Why is so much of your music always so sad? There’s humour and lots of other stuff to. I think there is anyway. Your lyrics tend to tell the listener your deepest darkest and most personal thoughts and feelings -Is it difficult to reveal your true self or soul in front of strangers? There’s also stuff I don’t reveal. But sometimes in hindsight I think I should have used a little more discretion. Too late now though.

You have a dedicated following of fans. Why do you think you have maintained such a distinct and yet varied group of followers?

I guess the people that have stayed with me for the journey are as I am only waiting for the next song that they’ve never heard before. They probably don’t listen to radio stations that advertise their music with slogans like “We only play music you know”.

Is it difficult to be a musician in Australia?

For me and other musicians who would agree with the last answer I gave, yes it is difficult. I don’t know why but generally music is not anywhere near central to our culture. Some say it’s because we’re a sport loving culture but I don’t think that’s the whole answer. I think it partly has something to do with our colonial past. Not knowing exactly who we are, how we got here, who we trampled on and even murdered to make this a predominantly white country. Music in the past was often the way that events were preserved and past on to the next generation. If any one had preserved in song the years between 1788 and the mid 1900’s they would have been very sad songs. Especially if the treatment of indigenous people had been sung out loud and truthfully. Some songs about convicts, cattle, sheep and bushrangers existed and usually with a borrowed Irish folk melody, but for some reason they didn’t really stand the test of time. Apparently many of the convict and bushranger songs were banned by the authorities but eventually our ancestors began to hide their convict blood willingly. So maybe they stopped singing the songs to. So then if we have this long period of shame and silence people forget how powerful music can be. I am hopeful that this is changing though as there is a lot of great Australian music now. It is music that attempts to tell our story. Unfortunately the shareholders aren’t interested in it at present unless it is a replica of something foreign. And therefore it becomes something other than our story. Fortunately we have public radio that will play new Australian music.

In your recent travels to Europe have you found any differences in the way you are treated as a musician?

I was quite shocked actually. Even in noisy pubs as soon as a musician walks on stage the crowd quitens down. They get comfortable and wait with anticipation for what you’ve got to offer. The only time I heard chatter in the audience it had an Australian accent. One of the first gigs I did was in Westport in the Republic of Ireland. After the show a German fella came up to me and in very hard to understand English asked me if I would come to Germany and play at his birthday party. Normally I wouldn’t play birthdays but he was paying for the flights so I thought oh what the hell. So I ended up playing to a room full of Germans who hung on every word of songs they’d never heard before. Do you consider music as your career or your passion? When I’m getting paid for it I call it a career. When I’m broke I call it passion.