"Black Soil Plains" , the first track on the album was written in 1989. The inspiration for the song came from my time as a young teacher in a small North Western NSW town called Walgett, near Lightning Ridge. The song made final selection at the Country Music Awards in Tamworth in 1990, in the Buddy Williams Song Writing Competition for new artists, but at the time I was getting work as a lead singer in a small town pub rock band performing covers, while still teaching, and didn't consider myself to be a country singer. I was very much in debt, going through a divorce, fighting off depression, and the song was never released. In the years following, I wrote many songs, most of them sad and depressive, and in 1994, I was funded by the owners of a studio in Jesmond, Newcastle called Sky High, to produce an album of 12 songs. Tony Heaney, the keyboard player/songwriter from Vegemite Reggae was producer, John Wassens , guitarist from the original Australian production of Hair (the musical) was managing the project, and Bruce Mathiske the lead guitarist, along with Nick on drums, Giles on double bass, two female back up singers, and Rob Taylor operating a massive 48 channel desk brought over from London. Half way through the project, the company shut down the studio after spending around $10,000 on the album for musicians and studio time. I was still heavily in debt, could not afford to buy the master copy, sank further into depression, living a way from my children, and stopped song writing and performing for about 15 years. The tracks remained incomplete, and were never released. In 2009, Peter Guest, a very close friend of mine, who has always encouraged me as a songwriter, asked me to sing a song at his wedding in a small stone church at Woodville near Maitland. I wrote a song called Let's Walk Hand in Hand, and sang it just as the bride and groom were preparing to walk out of the church as a married couple. By the time I had finished singing, the church was empty, and I was greeted outside by several people in tears who absolutely loved the song. This kick started a song writing blitz over the next 5 years that produced 2 albums. Coral Emperor ....... Bogan Dreaming, the first album releasing in April 2015 is so named because I grew up in a small riverside town in the Hunter Valley called Raymond Terrace. It is very much Bogan territory, and I grew up as bogan as one can be, in a poor family with lots of brothers. I now live with my wife Pauline in a small seaside village called Harrington, on the Mid North Coast of NSW, where we rent a place that to me feels like a palace. I am no Emperor as you well know, but I feel very fortunate, and this place feels like paradise. The album is produced by Robbie Long in Funky Lizard Studios in Newcastle , mastered by Rick O'Neil of Turtlerock Mastering in Sydney, and features ; Robbie's work on electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, organ and piano Sue Carson on fiddle and vocal harmonies Matt Gaudry on piano Jarrod Gibson on bass Brad Rheinberger on drums Jason Winn on electric rhythm (Just Loving You, and Won't Be Coming Home) Michael Tape on didgeridoo (Black Soil Plains) I am now well clear of the cloud of depression that consumed me for many years, and I perform live as a solo act with a Cole Clark acoustic guitar. One thing that still amazes me, is that the production of this album was made possible by a security guard outside a bank in Newcastle East called Steve, who takes time every day to have a positive involvement in the lives of everyone he meets. He barely knew me, took the time to ask about my life, and led me to Jason Winn, another person happy to help others. Jason was able to arrange the meeting with Robbie, and we immediately began work on the album, that would eventually take a year to produce. Without Steve's random act of kindness, I would still be delivering parcels for Australia Post, and singing in the loungeroom. The second track on the album"Barracuda" is a memory of my mother Joy, and my brother Barry, who both passed away before reaching their 50th birthday. Barracuda was Barry's"nickname". He was tall, skinny, and full of life. Much of mum's life was very stressful, but she was passionate, excitable, and her ability to care for others extended way beyond our family."Goodbye December", written after my wife and I visited our daughter near Byron Bay on the NSW Far North Coast,Is an unusual song in that it describes one one the most wonderful locations on the East coast of Australia, but is written and sung with sombre tones because of the the way people seem to smother things they love. People come from all over Australia to see the place, development and tourism is taking over, and it is losing some of that beauty, innocence, and tranquility that made it so famous in the late 60's. The second album of 12 tracks, already written, goes into the studio in the next few months and I cannot wait to begin recording again.