ALBUM NOTES
about me
Album One - All in the Groove
1. Freight Train of Sorrow
You never forget the first time your heart was broken. Unrequited love is a dark and lonely journey from which any means of escape is a blessing ... jumping a freight train in the middle of a cold winters night for a destination unknown, can make sense.
2. Mountain Called Love
A more gentle and philosophical interpretation of the previous theme.
3. Careful She Might Hear You
When you're young and you get your heart broken it's not something you can always share with others, sometimes we take solace from our pets who love us unconditionally (when they're hungry). In late 2022 one of our two beautiful pussy cats died too young from cancer and it was very a difficult time – we miss you Puddin.
4. She's My Baby
A simple song inspired by and dedicated to my beautiful wife Megan who really did put all my ducks in place. Thanks darl!
5. Blind Enough to See the Light
From a younger time when love didn't quite happen. Successfully misinterpreting friendship into something that was never there takes considerable concentration and effort and is not recommended.
6. Fallen Angel
This is the fictional heroic journey of a young lady making her way back into life after almost dying from heroin addiction. You can google Amber Hoffman for a picture of the sort of story I am talking about.
7. All in the Groove
Zero respect for those who want to tear civilisation to pieces in order to support their particular world view. It's happening more and more these days and with certain groups the mass media has been overly forgiving. I am not of this way of thinking. I am not in the groove man. Destruction is wrong and should be punished no matter who does it and whatever the cause is.
8. Lambs to the Slaughter
Following on from the previous theme, the consequence of appeasing bullies and the tolerating of destructive forces can ferment a hostile, nationalistic culture. In this song it is Nazis Germany and the inevitable outcome of Hitler's perverted bid to conquer the world. The overreach is the Russian front and the consequence is the frozen killing fields of Stalingrad where hundreds of thousands of young German men died for no real purpose.
9. No-one Else
A tribute to my life mentor Ethel who was and still is always there for me. A person who helped me to believe in myself and the universe.
10. Troubled Man
A little country ditty where the hero ends up working out that the life he had wasn't that bad really – certainly much better than wondering alone on an empty beach in the middle of nowhere.
11. My Life Again
This one is from an earlier time and I guess it's part of the journey to look back on your life and think you wouldn't change a thing ... when with hindsight and given the chance I would change lots of stuff.
12. When the Night is Young
This is my own Take it to the Limit type song. We've all had times when we find ourselves totally alone. and 'everything we've done seems wasted'.
My Life/Music Journey
Childhood Suburban Victoria
Like many people music was always in our house. For us it was in the shape of records and dad hammering away on the piano - Mum loved Strauss waltzes but dad was more into the serious stuff like Beethoven, Gershwin etc. As we got a little older there was Top 40 radio and stars like Normie Rowe, Petula Clark, The Beatles, The Bee Gees and The Seekers. Special thanks to my older brothers (Laurie, Russell and Trevor) for the numerous LPs they purchased and shared with the rest of us ie I recall when Trevor brought the Beatles White album home and the excitement of the coloured portraits of the Fab 4 and then when he unveiled Let It Be how good was the glossy coloured book within! Also a special mention to my sister Karen for the happy times singing together whilst doing the dishes.
High School
The Bee Gees and the Beatles grew up with us whilst others emerged like Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John, Slade and good old Creedence Clearwater Revival. With adolescence and the painfully slow move towards maturity, song lyrics were a major philosophical treasure chest to help us make sense of life. Given that the stars were often only a few years older than us, the source of wisdom was dubious at times – but that was forgiven if the tunes were good.
Work life
My first job corresponded with the Rolling Stones live album Get Yer Yars Out (thanks Jill) and the classic Sticky Fingers then it was over to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and returning to finishing off High School in my early 20s it became The Eagles, Bob Seeger and still the Beatles, but only as individuals and when John was killed it was like losing a brother.
Graduate Years and Still Maturing
After a few years in Government welfare services it was then a hard slog to get a Social Work degree. My fluctuating affair with the guitar was cast aside for a few years and musical interests relied mainly on past offerings. Certain songs throughout the 1980s and 90s still struck a chord: Small Town, Summer of 69, Handle With Care, and bits and pieces from Australian bands: Solid Rock, Reckless, The Hardest Years, Khe Sanh, Just Like Fire Would , Your the Voice, I've Got You, etc.
Into My 30s and 40s and Beyond
Settling into steady and often soul destroying public sector work, I gradually started putting more time into music and started a little group (The Dirt Band), initially with a couple of workmates (Peter Grimes and Jim Jack) and then later with old youth club mates Geoff Speedy and Alec Stewart. I found some ability to write songs and from the mid 1990s until the early 2000s we put together a couple of demo albums which just never amounted to anything at all. We did a few gigs but I didn't enjoy live performing - it felt like delivering talks at Uni or AGM reports in various jobs – just plain hard work.
Giving up work
Having the good fortune to retire in one piece and with the help of several key people (notably my wife Megan, musical guru Jon Navaho as well as Greg Stace and David Simon from Phoenix Entertainment), I have now been able to put together my first studio album: All In The Groove. Recorded and arranged at my home studio and then sent to Greg Stace for mixing and mastering at the Ralph Street Studios Sydney. The album has 12 songs with some written about my own experience and others being observations of other people and events.
Thank you for reading this wee bio and I hope you enjoy my music