“ I was born in Williamstown, Victoria which back in the day was a largely working class suburb. It’s across the bay from Port Melbourne. That’s actually where the name Dogtown comes from because historically Williamstown was being considered as the site for Melbourne but it didn’t have enough fresh running water. For some reason there were lots of wild dogs. People had obviously lost or let their dogs go and they formed packs and roamed and marauded the area. I remember reading a book called the history of Williamstown and they referred to this. These dogs would gather and howl hideously at night. It was Dogtown and I basically used that for the name of our duo/band.
I left home when I was 15 and joined the Navy as a junior recruit. I spent a year in WA at a place called HMAS Leeuwin. From there I went back to HMAS Cerberus in Victoria and retrained as a Marine Engineer. Somewhere down the track I changed category and became a Navy chef. Don’t ask me to cook!
I left the Navy and ended up in Gippsland milking cows, building sheds and doing various other jobs. I returned to Williamstown when I was about 23. I ended up working at the local hospital as a wards-man and then I became a Theatre tech. I had that conversation with myself, what the hell am I going to do?
I got into Melbourne Uni as a mature age student where I majored in Drama and minored in English. I’m actually a Dramaturg by training. The production Dramaturg’s job occupies a space between writer, director and actor. A lot of what we do is analysis and problem solving. Basically we are an objective set of eyes and ears and help with communication between all parties. To get a gig as a Dramaturg in this country is very difficult but the training made me a Secondary school teacher so I went into education. I did a lot of work in Tafes, Ace colleges, Neighbourhood houses, worked as literacy teacher and got further away from being an actor or working in that field. I realised I had to put my energy into where I wanted to be and music won.
There’s music in my family though I’m largely self taught. My mother played piano, she was so good that she could have gone to England and studied at the Conservatorium but she fell pregnant with me so that stuffed that up. My Grandfather was a great pianist as well. I spent many years as a child listening to classical music and It kind of seeps in. You are actually influenced by that stuff.
When I was younger I had a large ego which was covering up for other stuff and I thought I would be able to waltz through life and become rich and famous, a bit delusional! I’ve had to do a bit of work on myself over the years so I know I’m not the centre of the universe anymore. I think I have a healthy ego now which is nothing like it was. What I’ve discovered is music sustains me and I love surfing. I discovered surfing up here when I was teaching. I ran a school called Alesco which was auspiced by Ace for kids that didn’t fit in the system. Basically what we were doing was delivering the Year 10 certificate. I wanted a more integrated, holistic curriculum and introduce community based projects so I got the kids involved with the Lantern Parade and took them on a surfing program. Long story short it burnt me out.
My parents owned a holiday house in this little boutique town called Forrest in Victoria. I landed a corporate gig there which was the biggest paying job I’d ever had. When I left it gave me enough to get a deposit for my first house. I bought in Forrest which probably wasn’t the smartest idea because it so far for everywhere. While there I worked as an emergency teacher in the area. For reasons I won’t go into because they are personal, things went a bit pear shaped for me so I sold up and got out. A friend of mine told me about Lismore. Basically I was sitting in my Valiant with all that I could carry and my 2 dogs. I played this word game. It was either Lismore or Darwin. I got a lot more positive words around the letter L so I headed for Lismore and I’ve been here ever since. That was 13 years ago. I think the reason I remained is largely because I fell in love with surfing. I’ve always been a bit of an adrenalin junkie and my first wave I stood up. The water here is pretty warm all year. I love it! It’s very zen.
Music for me has always been journey and it wasn’t till I got here and formalised my playing by going to the Con. I got lessons from Jed White who is an awesome guitar player. I also had help from a friend of mine who is a really good musician. The dream of being a rock star is long gone. That ship has sailed. It’s actually not about that, it’s not about the money. The approach Kim (McLean) and I have is very organic. I play guitar, slide guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica and I can sing a little bit as well. I tend to favour the Blues. I’m not a virtuoso but again, for me it’s not about that. It’s about authenticity and honesty. Kim and I get dressed in these clothes to create an aesthetic. I’m a little bit of a natural show pony, I got this vest in Germany last year. I had the best time. I stayed with a friend who is a Stone Mason in Freiburg which is in the South. In Germany and France there are trade guilds where they all get around in traditional work wear, Journeymen. We rebuilt and repaired a bakery oven which was built in the 17th century and I had the most awesome time over there.
Nowadays I am working for a floor laying company to pay the bills but my focus is music. It’s not about ego and notoriety, it’s actually about community. We believe we are contributing something. We are having a lot of fun with it. Kim comes from Black train. Dogtown is expanding as we now have three women on board. We have Suzette on upright bass. We have Libby on percussion and Helen on piano accordion. We are acoustic and if we are amplified it’s the old organic, raw sound. Not produced and not super arranged. That’s what we are going for. This year we would like to record so we have something to sell but we would also like to apply to play at festivals.
Lismore is still real. My ideal world would be to live closer to the coast but it’s too expensive. Lismore is affordable and it’s a good community. Byron and Brunz are very transient and don’t have the community we have. I think I’ll be buying a motorcycle in the next couple of months. Kim rides bikes. We would like to strap our guitar and mandolin on our backs and ride to the towns on the back roads starved of entertainment. It’s about the lifestyle and enjoying that. Stay tuned!”
I left home when I was 15 and joined the Navy as a junior recruit. I spent a year in WA at a place called HMAS Leeuwin. From there I went back to HMAS Cerberus in Victoria and retrained as a Marine Engineer. Somewhere down the track I changed category and became a Navy chef. Don’t ask me to cook!
I left the Navy and ended up in Gippsland milking cows, building sheds and doing various other jobs. I returned to Williamstown when I was about 23. I ended up working at the local hospital as a wards-man and then I became a Theatre tech. I had that conversation with myself, what the hell am I going to do?
I got into Melbourne Uni as a mature age student where I majored in Drama and minored in English. I’m actually a Dramaturg by training. The production Dramaturg’s job occupies a space between writer, director and actor. A lot of what we do is analysis and problem solving. Basically we are an objective set of eyes and ears and help with communication between all parties. To get a gig as a Dramaturg in this country is very difficult but the training made me a Secondary school teacher so I went into education. I did a lot of work in Tafes, Ace colleges, Neighbourhood houses, worked as literacy teacher and got further away from being an actor or working in that field. I realised I had to put my energy into where I wanted to be and music won.
There’s music in my family though I’m largely self taught. My mother played piano, she was so good that she could have gone to England and studied at the Conservatorium but she fell pregnant with me so that stuffed that up. My Grandfather was a great pianist as well. I spent many years as a child listening to classical music and It kind of seeps in. You are actually influenced by that stuff.
When I was younger I had a large ego which was covering up for other stuff and I thought I would be able to waltz through life and become rich and famous, a bit delusional! I’ve had to do a bit of work on myself over the years so I know I’m not the centre of the universe anymore. I think I have a healthy ego now which is nothing like it was. What I’ve discovered is music sustains me and I love surfing. I discovered surfing up here when I was teaching. I ran a school called Alesco which was auspiced by Ace for kids that didn’t fit in the system. Basically what we were doing was delivering the Year 10 certificate. I wanted a more integrated, holistic curriculum and introduce community based projects so I got the kids involved with the Lantern Parade and took them on a surfing program. Long story short it burnt me out.
My parents owned a holiday house in this little boutique town called Forrest in Victoria. I landed a corporate gig there which was the biggest paying job I’d ever had. When I left it gave me enough to get a deposit for my first house. I bought in Forrest which probably wasn’t the smartest idea because it so far for everywhere. While there I worked as an emergency teacher in the area. For reasons I won’t go into because they are personal, things went a bit pear shaped for me so I sold up and got out. A friend of mine told me about Lismore. Basically I was sitting in my Valiant with all that I could carry and my 2 dogs. I played this word game. It was either Lismore or Darwin. I got a lot more positive words around the letter L so I headed for Lismore and I’ve been here ever since. That was 13 years ago. I think the reason I remained is largely because I fell in love with surfing. I’ve always been a bit of an adrenalin junkie and my first wave I stood up. The water here is pretty warm all year. I love it! It’s very zen.
Music for me has always been journey and it wasn’t till I got here and formalised my playing by going to the Con. I got lessons from Jed White who is an awesome guitar player. I also had help from a friend of mine who is a really good musician. The dream of being a rock star is long gone. That ship has sailed. It’s actually not about that, it’s not about the money. The approach Kim (McLean) and I have is very organic. I play guitar, slide guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica and I can sing a little bit as well. I tend to favour the Blues. I’m not a virtuoso but again, for me it’s not about that. It’s about authenticity and honesty. Kim and I get dressed in these clothes to create an aesthetic. I’m a little bit of a natural show pony, I got this vest in Germany last year. I had the best time. I stayed with a friend who is a Stone Mason in Freiburg which is in the South. In Germany and France there are trade guilds where they all get around in traditional work wear, Journeymen. We rebuilt and repaired a bakery oven which was built in the 17th century and I had the most awesome time over there.
Nowadays I am working for a floor laying company to pay the bills but my focus is music. It’s not about ego and notoriety, it’s actually about community. We believe we are contributing something. We are having a lot of fun with it. Kim comes from Black train. Dogtown is expanding as we now have three women on board. We have Suzette on upright bass. We have Libby on percussion and Helen on piano accordion. We are acoustic and if we are amplified it’s the old organic, raw sound. Not produced and not super arranged. That’s what we are going for. This year we would like to record so we have something to sell but we would also like to apply to play at festivals.
Lismore is still real. My ideal world would be to live closer to the coast but it’s too expensive. Lismore is affordable and it’s a good community. Byron and Brunz are very transient and don’t have the community we have. I think I’ll be buying a motorcycle in the next couple of months. Kim rides bikes. We would like to strap our guitar and mandolin on our backs and ride to the towns on the back roads starved of entertainment. It’s about the lifestyle and enjoying that. Stay tuned!”