I was really taken with the ‘one voice – one guitar’ cowboy style and at a really early age just knew I had to master the art of yodeling.
It was while playing in a country/covers band in my late teens that Denise came into my life. Soon we were inseparable and with her encouragement I entered a country-music awards competition and went on to win several of these events around NZ. Things were happening now and I was invited to participate in the NZ television show ‘That’s Country’ as a regular and was privileged to share the stage with such people as Johnny Russell, Connie Smith and Emmylou Harris.
By now I had come to the attention of the NZ recording company Music World who believed I had the potential to produce a successful recording. At first I was a little reluctant of their concept of an all yodeling album, but from day one ‘Yodelling Man’ was a runaway success, going on to win the award for the highest selling album in
These days I am singing a far greater range of the easy listening genre than the country cowboy I started out as, although the early material remains an important part of what I do. I look back at the wonderful times we have had and the many wonderful friends we have found on the journey. But I also look forward to exciting times ahead.
In fact an invitation to Canada in July 2008 to perform at the prestigious Calgary Stampede before an audience in excess of ten thousand has definitely been a career highlight for me. To stand on the same stage as Wilf Carter just blew me away and now, even after the event it still seems like a dream to me. The Calgary Stampede draws in over 1.2 million people over the ten days and the Stampede ground just hums with music, cowboys and cowgirls. Truly an awesome event. It has definitely opened doors for us with several overseas opportunities including bookings in the USA, looking very likely at this time.
With the release of my new album (This Ole House) in January 2009, and forward bookings reaching well into the year, the immediate future looks better than ever.
