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original?tenant=vbu-digital

I hail from the east end of London in the UK, but moved to Auckland in New Zealand in 2004. I still speak with a distinct London accent though, that has to be translated sometimes for the locals. Not sure if I will ever lose the accent.

I grew up in what I consider to be a golden age of music. In the mid 60’s and early 70’s there was so much new music. The Beatles had changed the musical landscape, followed by the Rolling Stones and with the influence of earlier rock and roll, along came people like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, who were changing things even more.

I started my musical career by learning the violin at primary school and finally graduated to the guitar when I was 16, when I could actually afford to buy one. And that was when I first started writing songs. As soon as I could play the guitar well enough and I could string together enough chords to play the songs that I heard on the radio, I attempted to create my own. All pretty crude attempts I suppose, like everybody starting out. It was when I first heard the Eagles and a guy called Dan Fogelberg, that I understood that there was a craft to writing songs and it was something that I had to learn.

I have been writing songs now, for most of my life, and my living room has heard them multiple times. It was the move to Auckland that gave me the impetus to do something with them. I had played in bands for a lot of my life, rhythm guitar, bass or keyboards, but had always been the guy at the back, happily being out of the spotlight. A visit to an Auckland folk club and a few open mic nights taught me that I needed to do something to improve my performances, as I wasn’t good enough at that time. 

A couple of years of singing lessons and a lot more open mic nights and I finally felt I was capable of producing some of my songs to an acceptable standard.

The first album "Sweet Tasting Poison", is a collection of songs, some very old and some a bit newer, that I felt were varied enough to give the listener a taste of what I was capable of writing. It's a collaboration with Kevin Crossley, whose musical skills are far superior to mine. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best that I could achieve at this point in time, and I hope that people enjoy listening to it. I have plenty more songs to record and I’m sure they will improve each time, as it’s a continual learning process.

The second album "Souvenirs", is a collection of personal experiences and memories, a "lighter" album with I think is more listenable. It's an improvement ​on the first album, and self produced, as Kevin has moved to the States and is no longer around. A better vocal performance, as I become more confident in my own voice.

 

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