Heart Beat of City with Cheryl Tucker | Griffith Musicians Club profile

Instrument/s played: Vocals, guitar and keys.

What band/group do you play in: Folk U (duo).

I have predominantly been a solo based performer over the years, playing guitar, keys and vocals, but also love to jam with various people in a more chilled atmosphere.

I currently play in a duo called Folk U with Guy Carpenter, an extraordinary harmonica player, who can play anything you throw at him.

Folk U is a funky fusion of folk and not necessarily "folk" tunes, but more about the era of folk/hippie era from the 1960 and 1970s. We include the songs of James Taylor, Eagles, Neil Young, Carol King, Bob Dylan, also throwing in a cover of Guns n Roses and INXS. We play all that takes our fancy, including some adaptable modern songs.

I have also teamed up with various people over the years, including Mersey Beats, Wayne "Wally" Rountree, Loretta D, and the Muso Ball held in August each year always allows for a brand new mix of musicians coming together especially for this event.

I have been jamming once a week with a couple of larrikins, Pete "Jonesy" Jones and Lance Gilbert, a great couple of fellas. We work on songs to play at the open mic at the Vic Hotel on the last Thursday of the month.

Music was always in the house in some form. Nan used to vamp away on her steel frame piano - Roll out the Barrels sticks in my mind for some reason. Mum, my younger brother and I would always grab any opportunity to sing, competing with harmonies (especially when there were dishes to be washed after meal times).

My parents bought me an "electronic keyboardy thing" (it must have been hard to listen to - somewhere between a pipe organ and bagpipes), but I never got off it. So they upgraded to the instrument of the 1970s decade - a Yamaha organ. I learned to read music with lessons from Mrs Carroll and Vicki Foster/D'Aquino, which set me on the musical path that I still love.

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My nan and pa would come around weekly to listen to my latest song and I guess my love of older music stems from those early days.

My music teacher in high school, must have had some trust in me as she allowed me to take a guitar home, which then became my preferred instrument. It is so versatile and travel friendly. When my younger brother started learning bass, we would sit out in the back room and play for hours.

My first vocal gig was a spot at The Griff on a Thursday night when Jim Corbett was managing the pub. This led to gigs around the restaurants and pubs in Griffith and a few in Leeton, sometimes three to four nights a week.

Mostly my mum, who has given me the opportunity to love and follow a musical path, often foregoing things for herself. She is a gem. My boys also keep me on my toes, sharing occasional "new" artists with me that I must listen to.

They all have fantastic appreciation of depth of musicality and talent far beyond what I can do. My three adorable grandsons also inspire me in trying to keep up with them, they are full of energy. It's hard to pinpoint any one artist or person that have given me inspiration, this is a constantly changing target, - Eva Cassidy would have to be up there.

My "list" is a very eclectic mix of songs, and generally willing to have a go at most styles, but I tend to gravitate towards softer ballad styles or changing up well known songs into different versions, as my deep mellow voice doesn't really lend itself to rocking it out, it's never going to happen.

I love to listen to artists that hold or have held a unique sound, when you listen to a song on the radio, you know exactly who it is - Carol King, Eva Cassidy, Karen Carpenter, Christine McVie, James Taylor, Jackson Brown, Eagles and so on. Decades later their songs are still timeless. I got to see the Eagles live not long before before Glen Frey passed away, a magic concert in Melbourne.

I'm not sure I have just one favourite gig. My favourite gigs have all been relatively small affairs, but a wedding in Tasmania for Aaron and Tash Waide was definitely up there, we even jumped in and sang a few tunes in the lounge on the ship going across.

Some of the most memorable gigs have all been where I have joined buskers, street performers or other musos while I have been travelling, whether it be the Irish pubs, streets of Paris, or with the locals in Munich, Thailand and Indonesia.

Even if we didn't speak the same language, we were able to sing and play the same songs.

Griffith is so fortunate to have some real go-getters in this community to keep events happening for the live music scene.

The Griffith Musicians Club helped me reconnect to music when I returned to Griffith after being out of town for 16 years and good friendships formed from this union. The Young Musician of the Year competition has helped promote some of the younger up-and-coming musicians that you may see performing around town today.

The Piccolo Family Farms group are running some fantastic events throughout the year and are always looking for and encouraging a broader live music scene.

I love working with these guys to help promote live music. Council has also been fortunate in securing funding over the last couple of years to host Streetscapes events. Again a fantastic opportunity to promote music within a growing vibrant community. I love to be involved and helping out in event organising and checking out the new local talent that keeps emerging in our Griffith region. We are so fortunate to have what we have.

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