MySpace a place for friends

As a young child my earliest recollection of music was the constant droning of Bagpipe music (No thanks to my Scottish father) playing full boar around the house, but this all changed once my parents separated. It was at this moment that my mum eradicated any evidence that bagpipes ever existed and took control of the music that not only influenced me then, but even still to this day.

From the age of 9 my mum fed me a high fibre diet of Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, John Lennon and The Bee Gee's and my ears after the pipe violation craved for more. I remember for a while there my mother was hooked (Pardon the pun) on this new Album that came out called "Hooked On Classics" where they had combined symphony classics with contempery beats, it was this album that really stayed in my mind throughout the years and probably gave me my first understanding of style combining. My first Album that l purchased myself was Adam and the Ants "Prince Charming" which I would play until I was TOLD to stop.



ME AS A YOUNG LAD

From there till the age of 13 I went through the Culture Club, Madonna and Prince phases like most teenagers were at the time until I came across a rock band by the name of Bonjovi that were about to take the world by storm and influence me and countless other teenagers at that time to pick up an instrument and play. My Grandmother had just past away and had left me a small amount of money. My mum had told me that my Grandmother wanted me to buy something special for myself with this money, and it was then that I got my first guitar. She was a Valencia standard classical guitar and man did I love to play her (I still have that very same guitar hanging in my studio today)

From 13 through till I was 16 I looked at all styles of rock through to metal in search of a style that I enjoyed the most. I found that out of all the many styles of rock that were emerging in the late 80's, my biggest connection seemed to lie with the "Hair Band" sound. Whenever I could get the chance I used to plug in this old microphone to the stereo system that my mum had and sing along to the latest songs that I wanted to learn, but unfortunately this ended quite suddenly when the older neighbors complained to my mum. They had accused me of swearing into the microphone after I got home from school every night and mum wasnt at all happy. Mum quickly confronted me with their accusations only to find out that my 60 odd year old neighbors had mistaken the words to "Funky Town" for...well you can guess the rest (God bless the elderly).



I LOOK PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT MY FIRST ELECTRIC GUITAR

After that incident, mum was forced to make me find another way to practice my new found passion. Mum suggested that I make use of the old shed at the rear of our house that faced our other neighbors. It was there, that I would spend endless amount of hours late at night belting out my favorite tunes at the top of my lungs. This became a bit of a headache for my other neighbor and best mate Kelvin, due to the fact that I was also trying to compete with the new guitar and amplifier that I had recently purchased and his bedroom window was no more than 10 meters away (Kelvin and I often laugh about those nights even to this very day). The time spent out in the shed allowed me to not only start looking for other players to jam with but also the confidence to start writing my own original songs.

I had met a group of kids at the school that I was attending at the time (Aquinas College) that were putting a band together called "Kiss this" and were looking for a guitarist. I had become a better singer in my eyes than I was a guitarist but accepted to take the position I guess due to not wanting to miss out on being in a band. After all the time that I had spent practicing alone in the shed, I wondered what it would be like to jam with others, so joining a band seemed like the next logical step for me to take.

The first time that we got together as a band was a few days later during lunch time recess. The room that we jammed in was used for drama and had a small vocal P.A and a few old amps that the school had lying around for musicals. This lasted for 20 mins with us ripping out our own versions of "Boe River"(Cold Chisel) "Stairway to Heaven"(Led Zep) "Smoke on the Water" (Deep Purple) and "Wild Thing" (The Troggs). There was already a lead guitarist so luckily for me I was able to hold my own as a rhythm player and as far as the other guys were concerned, I was in. These jam sessions only lasted for a few weeks in the drama room until we found a place that was owned by the church in the local area that funnily enough was the number 666 on that road (Go Figure). The first time that we were scheduled to rehearse there, the singer fell sick and wasn't able to turn up. I had been writing some new original tunes and saw this as an opportunity to put them forward to the band. Looking back at the songs they were very basic and catchy rock songs so the guys were keen to play them, all that was missing was the vocals.



REALLY EARLY 90'S HEAVENSCENT DAYS

Chris Beale the keyboardist at the time asked me if I was able to sing them the melody for the tunes so that they could get an idea of what it sounded like. Up until this point the guys in the band had only heard me play guitar and had no idea that I could sing, I think that they were hoping that I would take on the challenge and get a bit of a laugh at my expense. It was now my time to shine, I remember feeling the nerves straight away but I wasn't going to let them get the better of me. The intro to the song started of pretty shaky with me fumbling on the guitar a few times, but once it was time to belt out the melody I knew that there was no turning back. From the moment my first words left my mouth, the looks of shock on their faces said it all. They were acting like I had been keeping this big secret from them for all this time and I suppose I had in a way, but as I have learnt in life it always seems to be about timing. From that jam forward, it was unanimous that I was to put down the guitar (Doesn't say much for my playing) and become the new singer of "Kiss This". Needless to say this only lasted for around 6 months until I got sick of the infighting and lack of direction from the players involved so I decided to leave and form my own original rock band.

I was nearly 17 when I formed the band Heavenscent and this lasted for some 16 years later. I remember the first show that we were due to play was at a 24 hour dance-a-thon at the local high school where a few of the members attended.This seemed like a great idea at the time as we had 4 songs that we'd written and a few covers by some of the hair bands that we all loved at the time. Basically up untill now the only people that had heard us play was our families (God Bless them) so the dance-a-thon would be our first gig to the public, damn we were excited. It wasn't untill we got there that we realised that our great idea suddenly turned into one big mistake. We were the only band that was booked according to the people running the event and we were expected to do several shows throughout the night. The funny thing was that we actually pulled it off.I think we did 5 or 6 different versions of each of our own songs with a few extra covers that we sorta new, mixed in as well.Most of the people attending had no idea that we had already played the songs that they were hearing but in a slightly different fashion and as far as i'm concerned as long as the crowd is happy then...JOB DONE The next few years were spent finding the right combination of players that would compliment the style of music that I wanted to create. Due to the diversity of rock music at that time(and the over saturation of hair bands into the market), the Seattle Grunge sound was slowly taking over the melodic rock scene that Id grown to love so much...was arena rock dead? No it was just off having some well deserved R & R for a decade or so.



ME AT 19

Through the 90s, the music scene was pretty hard for a band like mine(Heavenscent) as my style of writing was always classed as dead and buried. Melodic structures and vocal melodies had been exchanged for 3 chord, pickle in mouth style, vocalized songs which spelt the end for many of the bands that Id grown to love. Dont get me wrong, Im all for change, I think that the problem is that if you totally resist change, it usually works against you, rather than for you. I like to think that I embraced progression and tried to learn as much as I could about it while it was around. Heavenscent spent most of the 90s playing to 10 people in rat infested venues that in some cases dont even exist anymore. That didnt bother me one bit, as long as we were playing a show somewhere then thats all that mattered, plus we had another problem to contend with, the pokies (poker machines).

In 1991 we were asked by a dude (can't remember his name) that owned a studio that a mate of mine from High School, Greg Oshea was working at to record a track on a record, yes you heard me record that he was putting together. We ended up recording the song "the Question" on this compilation record called "Hard and Ready" (so tacky) which contained tracks by local rock artists.i think that i'm about the only person in the world that owns this record, to be honest i dont even know if it saw the light of day but i am proud as i was then to have my music on a record.


HARD AND READY COMPILATION (RECORD)

During the 90s the pokies had wiped out a massive percentage of the venues that a young band that was starting out could play at. So with the venue numbers getting smaller and the amount of bands wanting work only growing, I knew that we all had to start taking the band serious or make it a fun jam thing that will see us playing only to our friends in a garage like we had for the last few years. The second option was an option for some but not me, I felt that Id found something that I excelled at and wanted to see where it could take me, so after several lineup changes, many demos and a few years hard work, I felt that we were finally ready to cut our first self funded release.



HEAVENSCENT THE HAIR DAYS

We had won just about every Battle of The Bands that we could enter by this time and knew that we must have been doing something right musically for these results, we just needed a manager to take us to the next level and hopefully the new E.P would help attract the right manager. We had even made an appearance on Bert Newtons New Faces where I was able to give Bert a long haired wig for him to wear (which he did graciously) so he didnt feel so inadequate around all of us long haired lads. We ended up booking studio time at John Farnhams Gotham Studios in Warranwood for a week and started recording what would end up being the 1997 E.P release Rain. These sessions would prove to be an eye opener for me not only into the world of production but into the world of budgets and how to blow them out. We had budgeted for around $2000-$3000 with the result being $11000 and me minus the money that I had put aside for a new car after mine was totaled during the recordings (But thats another story).

By this time I was listening to Aerosmith, Bonjovi, and Kip Winger(Solo Material) to name a few and Rain definitely reflected this. As soon as the tracks were mixed I organized a mastering session at Studio 301 in Sydney and told the guys that I will see them in 2 days with the finished product. Back then it was cheaper to drive 1800km from Melbourne to Sydney and back than to book a last minute plane ticket so that was exactly what I did. At 6am the next morning I grabbed my girlfriend at the times car, drove around to pick up Aaron Humphries (Engineer and co-producer on Rain) and headed straight up the highway for Sydney for our 7pm session. I didnt realise at the time of grabbing the car that there was a radiator problem that was going to make me stop every 80km to refill the water so that the engine wouldn't blow and we could safely arrive in Sydney for our date with destiny on time, another Murphy's law moment. After around 20 water stops we made it to Sydney in fine time and worked straight through the night till 5am. It was then that I was handed my first mastered CD. Hardly able to contain myself and being the way that I am, I gently placed my newly mastered CD into the car stereo and boldly told Aaron that we were going to head straight back to Melbourne. I think that we listened to that disc around 20 times on the way home and as we entered back into Melbourne at around 6pm I drove straight to the Croydon Hotel (where we had a regular Thursday night gig) and downed an ice cold beer in self celebration for what I had just achieved. I still listen to Rain today and unlike so many other artists that I hear about that


RAIN (EP)


Looking back on my first major recording experience I feel that I definitely came out the other side with a greater wealth of knowledge on so many levels that even today, helps me with my decision making. Rain helped us to step up to the next level with several managers coming and going over the next few years. One thing was for sure; having a manager on board allowed me to focus more on the music side of things which seemed to be paying off immediately, the hard thing was finding the right one. The late 90s saw the Seattle Sound becoming pretty much tired out which was music to my ears. Bands like Live, Tonic, The Wallflowers and Matchbox 20 were ruling the airwaves which marked the return of my style of writing. The only downfall to accompany this period was Doof Doof music was now flexing its muscle in a big way, but as Id learnt in the past, youve gotta take the good with the bad and since melodic rock was making its return I was happy to accept the bad.

It was the year 2000 that not only did things look brighter for the band but I also discovered a new band whos lead singer (Butch Walker) would go on to inspire me musically even till this day. The band was The Marvelous 3 and they had as much influence on my career then, as Bonjovi had when I first started out. They were able to write a commercial track with the inclusion of every element that Id grown to love in a perfect rock song, without falling into line with the current trend.



AM I CRAZY SHOOT

We had just released a new single Am I crazy at the same time as The Marvelous 3 were doing a one of show here in Melbourne at a local club called The Everlyn and due to my show commitments to support this release being at the same time, I was unable to attend their sold out show which to this day is one of my biggest disappointments. Anyway the single went fine, the members in the band changed once more as well as the inclusion of a new manager Jack Molyneux (who still manages me) and finally the level of shows that we started to play at lifted substantually.



AM I CRAZY (SINGLE)

In 2002 our first full length CD Long Story Short was released (Finally) and we were now opening up shows for Jimmy Barnes, Billy Thorpe, and Status Quo to name a few.
We were now playing to more people in one night than we had played to in a year of gigs a few years prior. Butch Walkers solo Album Left of Self Centered was my favorite album at this stage followed closely by The marvelous 3s kick arse final album Ready Sex Go. Also in my car stereo at this stage was the music of Tommy Lee and Methods of Mayhem, Nickelback, Linkin Park and Kip Winger.



LONG STORY SHORT (ALBUM)

From the Long Story Short Album came the singles Anything for you and Short Goodbyes.



ANYTHING 4 U (SINGLE)

Short Goodbyes was released with all proceeds to benefit the Australian Victims of the Bali bombings that took place on the same day that we were doing an instore for the Album release. That morning before we left to set up for the Acoustic instore show, was when the news that a bombing had taken place in the heart of the Bali niteclub district and 30+ people had been killed with many suspected to have been Australian citizens. As show time drew closer, the amount of victims grew to the point that when our show started the count had hit over 100+ with a majority being Australians. We all felt a sense of helplessness but knew that we had a show to do, so during the show I dedicated Short Goodbyes to the memories of the victims. The response was overwhelming; every person that was shopping close by came to a standstill and just listened. This happened once again at another instore that we played at a few days later so I immediately rang up my distribution company the next morning and told them that Id like to release Short Goodbyes as a single with every cent going to the victims and there families. Within 7 days of me hanging up the phone, Short Goodbyes was available across Australia.



SHORT GOODBYES SINGLE

Through this I was honored to meet and enjoy some fantastic times with many of the victims and their families and because of the moderate success of the single l was able to help out in my own way. As well as playing many shows over the next few months in support of our latest releases, we also along with Jimmy Barnes and The Anderoids did a benefit show for 8500 people that saw us raise $250,000 for the drought stricken farmers in N.S.W. which ended up being one of my all time favorite shows. The highlight was being invited onstage with Jimmy Barnes to help sing the hit that he once made famous with Michael Hutchins Good Times



HEAVENSCENT @ THE DROUGHTBREAKER SHOW

Several months later saw the departure and replacement of several members but there was something that was missing from the band in my eyes, so with some encouragement from the people close to me ( And I mean a lot) I decided to lay Heavenscent to rest and pursue a solo career of my own. What the hell I thought, I was the major songwriter through the lifespan of the band and I was sure that it was easier to market 1 person rather than 5.



HEAVENSCENT"S LAST LINEUP

This was Early 2003 and I spent close to 2 years putting together the songs and a band that would be able to tour the material written. During this same period i was asked by an English Company to use 3 of the tracks that were recorded on the "Long Story Short" Album to appear in the Nickelback Unauthorised DVD called "The Road To Success", so if you have this DVD you will now know that whilst Nickelback are receiving a music award during the movie i am the guy who is singing in the background.



3 OF MY SONGS WERE USED ON THIS DVD

I found myself drawing a lot of inspiration during this period once again from Butch Walker and the way he had reinvented himself as a solo artist whilst keeping the band sound alive on his tracks. This is what I wanted; a band sound minus the egos that a band tends to cater for. After a year of being free from the band and doing it alone I realized just how much easier it was to focus on what I was trying to create musically without having to try and please the musical tastes buds of others amongst the band. Finally my songs were being played and recorded the way that Id written them, and yes the way that i liked them.

Now the year 2006 is here and thanks to the endless support of my family, friends, great musicians and most importantly my fans, my new solo single Golden Shake (Everybody knows) was independantly released. Following the release of Golden Shake me and my new band hit the roads of Australia to promote this single to the masses. We travelled the East Coast of Oz pushing the single independantly for the next few weeks and made alot of new fans whilst having the time of our lives. Upon our return from tour i was definately convinced that a full release was my next step, so i pulled all of my resources together to go back into the studio and complete an E.P. Since my solo project had begun i had spent 10 times the amount that i had budgeted for, so a full album was unfortunately out of the question without backing of some sort. I returned to the studio once again to record with my good friend Lindsay Gravina and complete enough songs for my E.P release. Looking back on it now i was amazed that i was able to find the funds without the backing to complete the project but i was detirmined to complete what i had begun no matter what the costs were. The results were fantastic and i was pumped to get get my tunes out there, "Melodic Innuendoes" my first solo E.P was about to be released. I remember finalising the finished artwork and giving the ok for it to be sent of for production when the call came through from the CEO of Emporium Music telling me to put everything on hold as they were interested in having myself on the books as their newest artist. 2 weeks later after some negociations, i was no longer an unsigned artist. Finally i had the backing and respect of a company that saw the same vision that i saw with my music.Which brings me to here.


DIMITRI PAVOCEVIC (CEO OF EMPORIUM) AND MYSELF



I guess all that's left to say is " I hope that you all get as much enjoyment out of my music as I have had making it and I look forward to wherever the future may take us".


GOLDEN SHAKE (SINGLE)

Create a website