He has released a dozen CDs recently due to a decline in live touring through the incursion of pokies, satellite TV and such. The recording area of music was clearly the obvious alternative. Many traditionally live venues now are gambling parlours and care little for music of any kind.But his songs are in reality the story of the years on the road in 40 Countries and make very good listening. Along with a budding Radio career and voice-over work, things have never been better for this true survivor.
The Cd's feature many original tracks and very imaginative arrangements of known standards. Tappy was one of the first sequenced Solo acts in Australia, starting out on the road with his one man show around July, 198
8.Then, in June, 2006 he played his 20,00th live gig (that excludes Radio and TV) and effectively moved into Australian music history by doing so. He was there at Hoadleys' National Battle of the Sounds, Sunbury, The Wandong Country Music Festival, Channel Nine Telethon, the birth of black and white TV, Colour TV, the Cruise ship thing (1966), his list of firsts is hard to beat.
Still a fo
rmidable guitar player, His age has been no barrier and he assures his fans and friends that there are many more years to come before he “hangs up his Rock and Roll Shoes”. Extraordinarily, he found time in all of this to get married four times and have three children, two of which are also musicians and his daughter seems intent on breaking her father’s record for live gigs. She is a star in her own right in the Christian music sphere with a current hit CD on the Christian charts in Australia and the USA.All in all, his story is an inspiration to a new generation of musicians who feel they are doing it tough. And what we haven’t even mentioned is that over many of those years Tappy has consistently recorded and produced thousands of ads and jingles that are heard every day all across the continent and as far away as America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
Contact Tappy at: therealtappy@yahoo.com.au
Phone (61) 0449 074 232
