Biography - Play
Sunlight -Without it I'm stuck in the studio. Still a lot of people out there who ask for photos outdoors at night time, which isn't the greatest idea. Wine - From sunlight we also get grapes and wine. I like both, but more so the wine. My palate changes as I grow older as I suppose so does my knowledge.
Food (not just fuel) - I've always been a bit of a foodie. When I was a little kid, I dreamed of owning some kind of licensed cafe or small bar. I love to cook. I can't wait until dinner time and I usually jump the gun and start prep at 5:30pm when I can. I love the Adelaide Central Markets.
Occasionally, because of editorial or commercial assignments, I get to sample some amazing foods and wines that the general public will never get to try in restaurants, no matter how much money they have. Oysters on the oyster boat, farmed mulloway fried onboard as it's friends are chilling, flagship wines straight from individual barrels. What a privilege.
People - Yarns with old wine legends, people from all walks of life. Working in an editorial context has allowed me to meet some truly inspirational people. Some of them leaders in their fields and others diamonds in the rough, some leave a lasting impression that changes the way I look at life.
Music - I've been playing for a long time, and I don't really think my musical quest is anywhere near completion. I've played guitar for a lot of years but also played with saxophone, piano and bass as well as a little cello. I'm still loving the idea of drums and an amp with a quad-box. At one stage I owned about seven guitars and at the moment I think I've got about five. I've played a few pub gigs and they're as crap as they are great but playing in a band is what it's all about, not practising in the lounge-room. I think if music reviewers have never been in a band, it's kind of like reviewing food if you can't cook.
Beer - Not that tasteless stuff that people swill down the pub, but malty yeasty flavours with fruity yet biting hops. If you can't get a brewery to cater to your needs, the next best step is craft-brewing. Home brewing without tins from the supermarket. Bags of malted grains, milling, mashing, sparging, boiling and fermenting. It's great stuff and at the end of it all I get Beer! Loads of malty beer on tap. What more could you ask of a hobby?
