Musical Musings | Curtis Love & The Disciples

“I just happened to run into them because pre-COVID, they needed someone to fill in for their singer,” Mr Veysey said, on how he came to join the group.

“They had a couple of gigs, but they got postponed due to COVID.

“Then they said they had some original songs, and I told them I did too, so we started teetering back and forth and recorded a song together for a particular charity.

“Now post-COVID, we thought we all better start playing and having some fun before we all move on to the other realm.”

Giving back to the community and supporting charitable causes is the group’s mission statement. It is hoped with the group’s upcoming gig at the Shepparton Brewery on April 15, a regular platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase their musical talents can be set up, while at the same time providing an outlet for supporting local charities.

“We’re going to try and make it a regular monthly event or every six weeks so we can jam and then bring in others,” Mr Veysey said.

“Years ago, I did a thing called community jam.

“It was a place where young people came in to perform and the audience could listen, then throw a couple of bucks into a tin, which we’d give back to a community fund.

“So that’s the plan with the Brewery gig.

“It’s also to give other artists doing original music, who can’t play anywhere else, a place to perform when we’re there and even when we’re not going to be there.”

Though the group performs original material, covers are also included, with the group stamping its unique touch upon them, in what are best described as “eclectic versions of songs that roll together like a Tarantino soundtrack”.

“We don’t do normal covers; we do our own interpretation of a song,” Mr Veysey said.

“When we do a cover, it’s more like the way that RocKwiz or Like A Version do it.

“And the guys are good musicians and multi-instrumentalists too, so they’ll swap instruments between songs too.”

Music news

Heavy metal legends Metallica will release their highly anticipated 11th studio album, titled 72 Seasons, on April 14.

The Australian Recording Industry Association released figures this week showing revenue from the Australian recorded music industry hit a 16-year high in 2022, with streaming and vinyl albums two of the key drivers of this growth.

And on a personal note, I’m overjoyed and humbled by the news of my new album, The Lone Runner, debuting on this week’s ARIA Jazz and Blues chart at number four! Thank you to all those who have lent their support to my album.

Behind the song: Deep Water (1977)

In 2006 I sat down with iconic Australian singer-songwriter Richard Clapton, who revealed how he wrote his classic Deep Water.

“I had written the first half, the verse and chorus of the song, in Denmark, as at the time, I was going through a phase where I had had enough of the music industry and was disillusioned with it all,” he said.

“I headed to Europe, as I needed to chill out in Berlin for a while to reconsider what I wanted to do with my life.

“The German friends I had there used to go to this place called Nørre Nebel (in) Denmark.

“We ended up going there but got snowed in!

“I was getting nostalgic for Australia so began writing songs in this tiny little attic room we were in at a fisherman’s bar.

“Nine months later, I returned to Australia and went into Festival studios to start the recording process.

“In the studio, the producer Richard Batchens told me it needed something else so asked me quickly to come up with something, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“I had this girlfriend at the time, and we had gone to Palm Beach in Sydney and had gotten through a heavy night’s drinking, which went through till dawn.

“We were in her new car coming around the bend on the beach where all these families were enjoying the beach when suddenly the car broke down.

“We got into an argument and were screaming at each other in front of all these people. She stormed off and I sat there.

“Later I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote, “sitting out on Palm Beach road/ I’m so drunk and the car won’t go/ and my crazy eyes keep looking out to sea/ Sunday drivers are cruising ’round/ I wish they pissed off back to town/ what do they expect to find/ it sure ain’t piece of mind”.

“I just wrote that there and then and it was exactly what was happening at the time.”

Fun fact

Did you know Australian country music legend Slim Dustry name-checked Echuca, Numurkah, Shepparton and Seymour in his song Boomaroo Flyer, which first appeared on his 1997 album Makin’ A Mile?

Readers can send feedback, suggestions, share their music-related stories and more to: MusicalMusings@mmg.com.au

Until next time…