Well it all started way back
as far as I can remember, I think I was 5 years old listening to the radio
& playing 78 records at my grandparents place in Murwillumbah, when I
heard this sound that had a certain twang to it. It was a Les Paul & Mary
Ford song “How High the Moon”, well that was it for me, I would play that
song over & over again. I couldn’t get enough of that sound that Les Paul
made on Guitar. My Grand father had a Radio & 78 rpm record player in one.
It was a valve unit & you placed the record 78 speed into the unit just
like you would a CD in your car, the same concept.
1st Publicity shot 1968
Xmas party Gig 1969
Running Bear 1969
Idle Rainbow 1984
Keith & Brett Lee
CKFM Duo
Keith & Patrice Finnin
Keith & Michelle Hogan
Keith & Ian Skippin
Keith & Doug Murray
I also had 3 uncles that played Guitar.
I remember Billy Foster playing Peter Gunn, which was so cool. Then there
was Lloydy Tims my Mothers cousin. He was a Cattle Cop who always carried
a snake in his saddle bag that he would use for the element of surprise.
He also played quite a few instruments. My Mum told me that when she was
young she went to the Murwillumbah Show & Lloydy came out into the center
of the ring riding a horse backwards singing & playing the guitar, now
that is show business. His sister Heather was also a wonderful musician &
played Piano. We would have sing alongs at night and they were wonderful
times.
Then there was Keith Sawtell who I was named after & was a sugar cane
grower & he used to sing, yodel & strum hillbilly style guitar live on the
2MW Hillbilly Hour.
My mum bought me a guitar back in 1966 from one of her hit & giggle tennis
mates. I couldn’t do a thing with it so I pretended I could.
Mum was told by Zelda Cane next door that her friends the Copeland’s son
Ian, was having Guitar lessons from Vic Deen, an ex school teacher come house
painter. When I first saw him he had spots of paint on him & his hat, but
the main feature was that he had a glass eye that he lost in Borneo during
the 2nd world war. Anyway he soon taught me how to play the guitar & read
music & sit for classical guitar exams. There was Ian Copeland, Alan Dowland & myself. We would have a lesson one after another at our
different homes so the four of us became good mates! And of course our mums would put on tea & cake for Victor. He loved my moms pikelets most of all.
Because of the bands of that time in the 60’s we wanted to form our own
band, so our parents bought us electric guitars & amps. Vic would show us
what to do & left the rest up to us.
Ian Copeland knew a drummer at school named Russell King & we were set. We
would practice at Russell’s place on a Saturday afternoon. His father had
the latest record player & speakers of the latest 60’s songs. We would
listen to the latest 45’s, it was great. Soon, between Vic & our dads,
they would find parties & outings for us to play at. But none of us would
be game to sing so we would play instrumentals.
Mr. King would take us to
night clubs such as Adam & Eve’s Discothèque every now & then & we would
see Aussie & New Zealand acts. I remember seeing this Kiwi band called the
Compulsion, they looked & sounded like the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
We played a few times at the BP garage which is now Shell just outside of
the Garden City Shopping center on a Saturday Morning in the driveway off
to the side. You couldn’t do that nowadays but back then it was a way to get
party gigs. We would get $4.00 for our time. This was between 1968 & 69
the summer of love. I was also with a young girl called Linda Shaw. She
would play at dances with Vic Deen when she was a little girl & he would
smack her when she would fall sleep. Any way that’s what she told me & Vic
said it was true.
Linda was a few years older than me & she played the
Electric Piano Accordion called a Transachord / Chordavox. Linda would
have 2 speakers & a big Leslie revolving speaker cabinet & a Mini Pops drum
machine as well, with my white Moody amp we had 4 amps on stage. I was
using a Tempo 335 copy guitar at that stage. What a great sound for the
time. We would play at Country dances up at Toowoomba & down to Rathdownie
etc. I was making $2.00 of a weekend & I thought I was made.
My very first
singing performance was at the Rialto Picture Theater singing Running
Bear, which is my Mums favorite song, bloody hell!. I would like a dollar for everytime I have played that song. Then I left school & became an
apprentice bread baker for 6 years & became Queensland’s top Apprentice
Bread Baker for 1972 winning a gold watch & worked as a baker at the Arnotts
Biscuits Factory on Coronation Drive for 4 years & then left when John
Lennon was shot.
I was teaching Guitar & in sales at John Masons Organ
Villa for 6 years & formed a 3 piece band called Idle Rainbow with Laurie Sciasci on drums, Bill Magassis on bass & lead vocals.
Then we meet Eileen Coddington, we were backing her up at a gig in the
Botanical Gardens in Brisbane & we asked her to join us, she said yes,
then soon we found a keyboard player called Jerry Blaike & we would play
gigs around the pubs & clubs and perform at functions in QLD & NSW, Twin
Towns, Glen Innis RSL just to name a few but left because of my day time job at Masson s
music store. Also I was in a band called Summer Night with Dave Avery who
wrote get a hair cut & get a real job, Dave Robertson on drums we were
together for over a year or so. I was with them during the time of 1979
/ 80
Then I moved on to work at Coorparoo Music for Lorna Duncanson.
That’s where I met Michael Flanders & we formed a fun duo called Chicken &
Chips, it was great fun because we would eat chicken & chips before we
would start teaching guitar together.
Then I was asked to join a 3 piece band called Deliverance
with Herman Backer
on bass & Vocals,
Rick Mitchell on drums & vocals, but he didn’t want me in the band at
first because he thought I was too flashy, but I later joined & stayed for
a few years. Then I was in a 3 piece called Mischief, in a Mary street Night
club when the Lambada dance craze happened. With Gary Mills on bass & lead
Vocals & Laurie on drums. We were together for 6 months then we both got
the sack. Gary didn’t like Laurie that much. Gary said that I was to close
to him so I had to go too.
So I went solo on nylon guitar & drum machine at
the Carindale Tavern 3 nights a week & the agent Bob Watson had me playing
at the Manly Hotel, then I was asked to put a 3 piece band together, so
Laurie was back on drums again with Stan Prudio on bass guitar & vocals. I
called the band Patchworxs. Also I was Soloing at the Winning Circle Restaurant run by Bob & Maureen O’Donnell
and I was billed as Brisbane’s own
Cliff Richard. It was a sing-along with dining & dancing. It was a horse
racing hangout, & I met a lot of famous people & I would have Terry Spargo
& Wayne Wilson doing live ads on 4BC all day Saturday talking about what
kind of outfit I’d be wearing & what songs I would be singing.
4BC had the Restaurant of the month at the Winning Circle Restaurant &
Hayden Sargent, Greg Kerry & Steve Hill saw me perform there. That led to Patchworxs doing the 4BC staff parties & Melbourne Cup days,
and recording
music for commercials etc., working with the likes of Wayne Roberts & Flarnt [Ross Davies] .During that time Stan the bass player had left & Big
Bob Healy joined on Vocals & bass. What a voice, Louis Armstrong eat your
heart out. I met Him at the Winning Circle Restaurant when he asked me if
he could get up & sing a few songs with me & I needed a new bass player
for New Years Eve & he fitted the bill.
We played a lot at the Manly Hotel Winning Circle 4BC Functions etc.
Then I left Coorparoo Music & started to teach guitar at my home. Then Bob
left & I needed a new Bass player & I met Brett Lee, no not the cricket
player. We struck up a great relationship. We did more duos around the
place with Laurie joining us a few times.
I was asked by Andrew Rootes to join the teaching team at Toombul Music.
So I brought all my students to the Music School.
I had a wonderful time there meeting a lot of famous artists there Like
Charlie Pride,
Cliff Richard, The Corrs, Daryl Braithwaite & of cause Tommy Emanuel, where
I had my best Student Tim Bennett's perform Guitar Boogie Shuffle with him
on center stage, what a great night.
Also I taught Ian Skippin for twelve months, a fun student with a few
funny moments, for example:
At an FM 104 outdoor breakfast show, Ian saw me, and Jamie Dunn said “oh well
he does exist.”
Mick Flanders was working for the
agency called Pushworth & found me plenty of work as a solo artist
around the pubs & clubs of Brisbane. Then I went sequenced which gives a
full band sound, then the rest of my act fell into place. Cathy McMillan
& I were working together for quite a few years off and on. She has a
great voice and when we sang together just a few weeks ago it felt like
old times. I was with Alicia Brimwall for a short time. She is a Fine
entertainer. I was also Patrice Finnin for a year or so and most of our
gigs were at the Aussie Nash Hotel and Toowoomba Hockey Club. I recorded my first CD called Project Horizons and that sold
out in no time. Then I recorded another CD, this time with Cathy McMillan
called Gypsy Wing, It also sold in no time as well.
Then I was working
with Michelle Hogan who used to look like the Nanny from the TV show of
the same name. We
worked together as a duo for about 3 years and it was good fun. Then I
recorded a 3rd album called Chapter 50, it was produced by Nigel Silcock
who played bass & vocals. It is also out of print but you never know, it
could be up for sale again soon.
A Beautiful Lady came into my life & I moved to Bribie Island with her
and
this gave me the incentive to write 11 songs for a new album also produced
by Nigel Silcock. The songs are about the Island & life in general. The
name of the Album is This Kind of Life & the title track is about cattle
droving. Doug Murray interviewed me on Brisbane Extra singing this song
with Dave Bancroft.
I’m doing the solo thing now, totally FM guitars &
head set. I use 2 guitars in my shows, one is a Sunburst Fender
Stratocaster & a Black Line 6 Variax which gives me 26 different
guitar sounds. They are Banjo, sitar, Les Paul etc. & with the use of wigs
I complete my performance with the likes of Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly,
Leo Sayer, Bee Gees & Jimi Hendrix and more.
