Introducing

A musician and a nurse, both jobs that involve full on interaction/ people stuff, my lifelong hobby I guess. I do have the opportunity to combine my two skills and I feel this is a great honor. Music fires me up, moves and challenges me and always has, I listen avidly and am eternally inspired. There is always another song and as long as I live I think I’ll always be anticipating that next gig, that next new song and the buzz of living and working with people who, like me, are similarly driven.

Easy listening, a little bit of all sorts. Country/ rock/folk, story songs where you can hear the words. I love catchy chorus’s and acoustic guitar instrumentals. If I can’t play them its great to team up with someone who can. There is a huge amount of good songs out there, I enjoy creating and performing my own songs but I seriously can’t go past a good cover and am ever greatful to the musicians who have created the songs I love to sing.

Who/What have been your main musical influences ?

In my very early days, pre teen and as a teenager, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joan Armatrading, Nicollete Larsen (Neil Youngs backing vocalist) Phoebe Snow, then I grew into Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earl, Van Morrison, Jennifer Warnes, Tracy Chapman, numerous non really famous but stunningly good New Zealanders, male and femaleThen in more recent years, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, John Hyatt, Deborah Conway, Shaun Colvin, ……………

Solo Support for the Warratahs, years ago in a great restaurant/bar called Olivers in Clyde, just out of Queenstown, Solo Support for The Amazing Rhythm Aces in New Plymouth. I’ve been “world famous” in my own lunchbox many times, occasions when you just can’t go wrong with the right songs and appreciative, easy to please audiences who sometimes just love to hear something they know. I was busking once and this guy gave me $50 and said meet me at this pub in a couple of hours, I am putting together a song for movie sound track………

Darryn Watson singing backing vocals and playing bass for a singer songwriter called Mat Hay, Karen Clarke singing some of her originals at a recent Kiwi Music event, A woman called Moira playing bass and singing some great country at another Kiwi music event. In my car I have been listening to 2 old tapes, back to back, early Lucinda Williams, and early Steve Earl.

So good to have something happening on the Coast, well organised, well promoted, makes you want to make the effort to be involved. The club has done its homework on organising guest acts that people will want to hear