In starting to write my memoir, I look back on more than 50 years as a piano player, composer, singer and songwriter. It’s been a crazy ride from serious classical pianist, to a political theatre group, a NZ no 1 rock hit, to hundreds of hours of film composition for dozens of films, and thousands of live gigs.
I’ve been serenaded by Spike Milligan, taught piano to Jane Campion, composed music for Sam Neil documentaries, rubbed shoulders literally with Joey Ramone, played concerts with Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst, played supports for INXS, Split Enz, Robert Cray, Bo Diddley, Country Joe and the Fish, Public Image Limited, and the greatest boogie piano player in the world, Axel Zwingenberger. I’ve been Composer in Residence at the AFTRS, arts advisor to Sydney’s Inner West Council, and have performed in the lowest of dives to the heights of the Sydney Opera House.
As well as over 1 million reel views on my You Tube Channel and over 2 million streams on Spotify, I have a back catalogue of 16 CDs, have represented Sydney at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, had my intro composition played every night on BBC Radio and won 5 awards for various Filmscores and CDs.
Yet I’m no star of TV or radio!
I haven’t made millions of dollars (yet…), but I have done what I always wanted to do. Been a working musician!
What a blessing.
A working musician.
And so it continues…. with shows in the Wellington area on Thur Sep 3rd (Martinborough Jazz Festival), Sat Sep 5th Martinborough Jazz Festival (morning street performance), Sat Sep 5th (evening 7.30pm) Days Bay Pavilion, and Sun Sep 6th Paekakariki St Peters Hall 4pm.