MY FATHER'S EMPLOYMENT WAS ALWAYS BASED AROUND THE SUGAR INDUSTRY, AND MY MOTHER WAS FAIRLY WELL-KNOWN AS A JAZZ/BLUES SINGER. DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR II THERE WERE QUITE A FEW AMERICAN AND AUSTRALIAN ARMY BASES IN THE AREA THAT HAD THEIR OWN BANDS, SO NO DOUBT THAT'S WHERE SHE PICKED UP A LOT OF HER MUSICAL INFLUENCES.
SOME OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES ARE OF MUM GOING ABOUT THE HOUSE SINGING TUNES FROM THE OLD MUSICALS, AND JAZZ STANDARDS.
WHEN I WAS ABOUT THIRTEEN, DAD BROUGHT HOME AN OLD STEEL STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO HIM BY ONE OF HIS WORKERS. I WAS TOTALLY ENRAPTURED, AND THE THING RARELY LEFT MY HANDS. I COULDN'T PLAY ANY TUNES, OF COURSE, AND THE CONCEPT OF TUNING IT DIDN'T ENTER MY HEAD.
AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS, THE FAMILY GOT HOLD OF A COUPLE OF GUITAR INSTRUCTION BOOKS, AND I WAS ON MY WAY, PLAYING INCREDIBLY COOL AND POPULAR TUNES LIKE 'COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN' AND 'MY WILD IRISH ROSE'. MY BROTHER MARK ALSO PICKED IT UP. FOR SOME REASON, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID WAS TO TEACH MYSELF TO READ THE DOTS - PROBABLY MUM'S INFLUENCE, AND SIGHT READING HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF ALL OVER THE YEARS.
BY THE TIME I WAS IN MY LAST YEAR AT SCHOOL, 1974, MARK WAS PLAYING BASS (FENDER PRECISION) AND I WAS PLAYING 'LEAD' GUITAR (FENDER MUSTANG) IN BANDS WITH NAMES LIKE 'THE CONFEDERATES', OR 'TAPESTRY'. WE WERE TRYING DESPERATELY TO CONVERT THE PEOPLE OF MACKAY TO THE MUSIC OF JIMI HENDRIX, CREAM, AND SANTANA - BLUES ROCK, IN OTHER WORDS. UNFORTUNATLY THIS WASN'T REALLY WHAT THE FOLK WANTED TO HEAR AT THEIR COUNTRY WEDDINGS AND DANCES, BUT IT ALWAYS WAS A VERY ENJOYABLE STRUGGLE.
IN 1975 I WAS PLAYING IN A SHOW BAND CALLED 'DESIGN' WHICH HAD A HORN SECTION - ALL EX-PROFESSIONALS FROM OVERSEAS OR FROM THE SOUTH. IT WAS IN DESIGN THAT I LEARNED ABOUT PLAYING OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC (FUNK ETC), AND HAD MY FIRST EXPERIENCES IN READING CHARTS AND BACKING ARTISTS.
1976 SAW MY FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG, PLAYING IN THE RESIDENT BAND ON LINDEMAN ISLAND IN THE WHITSUNDAYS. SIX NIGHTS A WEEK, FOUR SETS A NIGHT OF DINNER MUSIC TO 'ROCK AND ROLL'. DAYS SPENT SLEEPING OR ON THE BEACH. ONE THING ABOUT DESIGN AND THE ISLAND GIG WAS THAT I BECAME COMFORTABLE IN PLAYING JUST ABOUT ANY STLYE OF MUSIC CONVINCINGLY AT A RELATIVELY YOUNG AGE. MY LIVE RIG CONSISTED OF AN ACOUSTIC 100 WATT AMP (WITH A HORN), A FENDER STRAT (1961), A HAGSTROM SWEDE (LES PAUL TYPE), AND A GIBSON SG. I ALSO HAD A WAH PEDAL AND A DISTORTION PEDAL.
THE GIG ON THE ISLAND LASTED ABOUT SIX MONTHS, AND THEN I WAS OFF TO BRISBANE FOR AN AUDITION WITH A 'PROFESSIONAL ROCK BAND'(!!). THIS WAS A SMALL DISASTER AS I GOT QUITE ILL, AND I ENDED JOINING A PROFESSIONAL TOURING BAND CALLED 'COVENTRY'. THEY PLAYED DISCO AND FUNK MUSIC EXCLUSIVELY. WE GOT TO SYDNEY WHERE I WAS SACKED. CALAMITY! I CAME HOME TO MACKAY.
1978, AND I WAS MAKING MY SECOND ATTEMPT AT THE BIG TIME. BACK IN SYDNEY, I JOINED 'SNATCH', PLAYING A FAIRLY PUNKY BATCH OF TUNES. THIS, AMAZINGLY, WAS MY FIRST BAND WITH ANOTHER GUITARIST - EVERYTHING PREVIOUS HAD BEEN A POWER TRIO OR WITH KEYBOARDS - SO I HAD MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH ARRANGING FOR TWO GUITARS. SNATCH AND A FEW OTHER BANDS CAME AND WENT - 'STEEL ROSE' WAS ONE WITH TWIN FEMALE SINGERS DOING FLEETWOOD MAC-ISH COVERS FOR BIKEY CLUBS. ANOTHER WAS WITH A JAZZ SINGER AS A DUO DOING THE 3AM SETS IN KINGS CROSS, THE RED LIGHT AREA OF SYDNEY.
1980 WAS AN IMPORTANT YEAR. I NOW WAS PLAYING A GIBSON 335 THROUGH A MESA BOOGIE AMP (WASN'T EVERYBODY?) AND WAS LISTENING TO LARRY CARLTON, ROBBEN FORD, STEVE MORSE, AL DI MEOLA, AND OTHERS. I USED TO VISIT THE BASEMENT, A JAZZ CLUB IN SYDNEY, AND SEE VARIOUS FUSION BANDS THAT WOULD PLAY THERE FOUR OR FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK. I JOINED A TOURING ROCK BAND, 'THE AZMATICS' (A NAME I COULD NEVER FIGURE OUT) AND ENDED UP TOURING FOR ABOUT TEN MONTHS FROM SYDNEY THROUGH THE OUTBACK TO DARWIN IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. AT NIGHT AFTER GIGS I WOULD SIT IN MY MOTEL ROOM FIGURING OUT CARLTON LICKS AND WORKING THROUGH MY BERKLEE SERIES GUITAR BOOKS. MY PLAYING IMPROVED SO MUCH IN THAT YEAR. AS WELL, THE BAND WAS DOING A FEW OF MY ORIGINALS.
IN 1981 A GIG CAME UP THAT WAS TOO GOOD TO REFUSE, EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT LEAVING THE TOURING BAND. THE CRUISE SHIP 'FAIRSTAR' NEEDED A GUITARIST IN THE JAZZ QUARTET, SO I WAS OFF AGAIN FOR SIX MONTHS SAILING THE SOUTH PACIFIC, PLAYING SEVEN NIGHTS A WEEK FROM 6PM TO 2 AM, PLAYING JAZZ STANDARDS, SNEAKING IN SOME OF MY ORIGINALS, AND SIGHTREADING CHARTS BEHIND COMEDY ACTS, MAGICIANS, MUSICAL THEME NIGHTS, JAZZ SINGERS, AND ELVIS IMPERSONATORS. SOME OF THE CHARTS WERE GREAT - BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND PROFESSIONALLY COPIED. OTHERS WERE SHOCKING - WRITTEN ON SCRAPS OF PAPER, DRINK COASTERS, ETC, AND OFTEN THE ARTISTS WOULDN'T KNOW THEIR TUNES. WHENEVER I HEAR THE TRIBAL TECH TUNE 'BOAT GIG' I THINK OF THOSE DAYS.
1983 - I WAS STARTING TO FEEL A BIT PLAYED OUT, SO I WENT BACK TO MACKAY. HERE I JOINED A JAZZ/ROCK BAND CALLED 'NAUGHTY BITS'. AT THE END OF 1983 I AUDITIONED FOR THE NEW JAZZ PROGRAM AT THE QUEENSLAND CONSERVATORIUM. THE AUDITION WAS SUCCESSFUL, SO IN 1984 I STARTED MY FIRST ACADEMIC STUDY OF THE GUITAR AND MUSIC AFTER FOURTEEN YEARS OF PLAYING! I STILL HAD THE 335/BOOGIE RIG, AND AT THE CON. I MAJORED IN IMPROVISATION AND ARRANGING. ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, THE TWO YEARS THERE WERE WONDERFUL AND MIND-OPENING. ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE, I DISCOVERED WHAT A SETTLED LIFESTYLE WAS ALL ABOUT - APARTMENT, CAT, CUPBOARD, WASHING MACHINE ETC, AND THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH THE END OF MY TOURING LIFESTYLE. I GOT A JOB AS A GUITAR TEACHER FOR A PRIVATE COLLEGE IN BRISBANE, AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, MOST OF MY INCOME WAS COMING FROM TEACHING UP TO SEVENTY STUDENTS A WEEK IN EVERY STYLE FROM CLASSICAL TO JAZZ AND HEAVY METAL.
FROM 1986 TO 1990 I WAS TEACHING LIKE A DEMON, AND PLAYING IN VARIOUS COVERS BANDS WITH NAMES LIKE 'MIDAS TOUCH', 'MAIDEN VOYAGE, 'ALPHABET' AND 'TEST PATTERN'. IN HINDSIGHT, I BECAME VERY JADED AND DISILLUSIONED WITH THE MUSIC BUSINESS AT THIS TIME. IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY BAND AND AGENT WANTED TO BE THE 'NEXT BIG THING', AND THE BANDS SEEMED TO BE PREPARED TO BELIEVE ANYTHING JUST TO STEP OUT ON A STAGE. THE DAYS OF PLAYING FIVE OR SIX NIGHTS A WEEK FOR A REASONABLE WAGE HAD DISAPPEARED. I WAS QUITE HAPPY TO TEACH, WRITE, AND PLAY THE OCCASSIONAL RECORDING SESSION AND GIG.
IN 1996 I JOINED AN ELVIS PRESLEY SHOW BAND (AFTER MUCH SOUL SEARCHING, I REALISED I DIDN�T HAVE ONE ANYWAY). THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD THING, BECAUSE HERE I DECIDED TO FOCUS ON THE MUSIC THAT I WANTED TO PLAY, SO I STARTED FORMULATING THE IDEAS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME 'INDABA'.
FROM 1998 INDABA WAS THE PROJECT. WITH BRAD WENHAM ON BASS, AND SCOTT DEAN ON DRUMS, WE REHEARSED A BUNCH OF ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTALS - FUSION TUNES IN A SIMILAR AREA TO TRIBAL TECH, VITAL INFORMATION, AND OTHER LEADING FUSION ARTISTS. 'SOMETHING SERIOUS', INDABA'S FIRST CD, WAS MEANT TO BE A DEMO TO GET WORK IN BRISBANE. IT WENT ON TO GET US GIGS IN BRISBANE, ADELAIDE, AND MELBOURNE, AIRPLAY IN AUSTRALIA, EUROPE AND THE USA, AND A WONDERFUL BUNCH OF REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. IT ALSO RECEIVED DISTRIBUTION IN THE USA THROUGH ABSTRACT LOGIX RECORDS, WHO ALSO HANDLE ONE OF MY HEROES, ALAN HOLDSWORTH.
IN HINDSIGHT, STARTING INDABA WAS A BIT LIKE MY THIRD AGE. 1974 - 1984, 1986 - 1997, AND 1998 - 2004. IN HINDSIGHT, INDABA TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT DEALING WITH A MARGINALISED MUSICAL GENRE (FUSION) IN THE REAL WORLD. IT WAS A LOT A FUN, AND WE MET SOME NICE PEOPLE, BUT THE BAND HAD PRETTY MUCH DONE ALL IT COULD GIVEN THE LIMITED RESOURSES (GEOGRAPHICAL AS WELL AS FINANCIAL) AVAILABLE.
MY MAIN AREA OF FOCUS NOW (THE FOURTH AGE)IS IN GUITAR TEACHING THROUGH MY BUSINESS CALLED NAVIGATOR MUSIC, THROUGH ADVISING PLAYERS AND COMPOSERS, AND WITH THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC EXAMINERS BOARD (AMEB). I STILL LOVE GUITAR PLAYING, AND I STILL HAVE HEAPS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MUSICAL WORLD. YOU CAN ALWAYS CONTACT ME AT '[email protected]'
