[00:00:00] Welcome to Trevor McCormack Music Podcast. I'm Chrissie Mack from Radio Northern Beaches and I couldn't be more excited to kick off this musical journey with you. Joining me is my brother, the legendary Trevor McCormack, known as Mack, a true storyteller and music enthusiast.
[00:00:18] With each episode, we're peeling back the layers behind the hits, sharing untold stories from artists and exploring what sparks the creativity behind the music that moves us all. Whether you're a diehard music fan or just love discovering new sounds, this is the place where passion meets storytelling.
[00:00:38] So, hit the follow button, share this with your fellow music lovers and leave a review. Your support keeps the vibe alive. Turn up the volume and get ready to be inspired. And let's dive into the world of music together. Let's go. Well listeners, today Chrissie and Trevor get together again for our chat and I was wondering how you were doing this week, Trev?
[00:01:02] Hello everybody. I'm doing fine. Been busy, I suppose, as usual, since I got back from Byron Bay. I've done a little bit of a few things for myself, but otherwise, yeah, I'm back on the guitar and just trying to compose a few different tunes.
[00:01:19] We went to a little bit of a shindig last night, actually. And all the people are beginners, singers, songwriters, up and coming people. So, with all the, where you start really, from where you start when you're just doing private little pieces here at friends, places and family.
[00:01:39] So, I went to a birthday party for a lady that works in Sandgate, which will be our neighbour from the music shop that we're going to be teaching out from. And we had a bit of a party there. It was her birthday. So, they have a little grand piano and they had all the little mics set up and guitarists. And we had about three or four different little singers come on and sing. And then we had a DJ. So, that was my night last night from when we've come back. That sounded like fun.
[00:02:07] It was fun. Well, they're going to open a wine bar in Sandgate. That's a new one. And it's right next door to us. And we're going to play in there quite regularly by the sound of it. So, they just love their music. Oh, that'll be cool. So, that's what I've been up to since I've been back. Plus, working on my different tunes. I've not been inspired properly yet for anything new. I'm just sort of pottering around with this and that at the moment. And you had a tune that you were working on that you just didn't know what to do with.
[00:02:37] Yeah, you get a tune every now and then and you're like, it could sit there for, you know, you find a tune and you write a song in three minutes. You find a tune and you don't write anything for a year. That's how it works. So, this tune I like. It's got a bit of bluesy feel to it, I suppose. Very nice, nice notes. But I just can't seem to, it's not the right time, I suppose. That's how it works. It's not the right time, but it will happen.
[00:03:01] All right. Well, you keep working on that. Now, have you been using your other instruments? So, you use your mouthpiece a bit and have you pulled that saxophone off the wall yet? No, unfortunately. Just time. I haven't had the time to actually, I look at it quite often because it's hanging on my laundry wall and I sit 10 feet away from it and I keep looking at it going, I have to just get started.
[00:03:24] But I think I need to just either YouTube something on beginners to get the, it's all about your mouthpiece. It's all about having the right, I suppose, blow into the reed and the mouthpiece. So, once I work out that, and I did start, but I just need a little professional advice and I'll find that somewhere and I probably won't put it down once I start. So, the neighbours will hate me. I'll have to get in the studio. I think if I play down there, it'll be quieter.
[00:03:53] Fair enough. But I'll get there. I'll get there with that. But the harmonicas, I love. I actually just pulled the harmonica out on a tone with a guitarist just playing and I just played the harp to his tunes that he was playing and they're just going, wow, you're really good. And I laughed. I said, mate, I'm only knew at this. But thank you anyway. And you've got the full set, haven't you? Because it's not just one. You've got a whole set of them. Yeah, all the keys. You've got to have all the keys, different keys. So, if someone's playing something,
[00:04:21] you can pull out the key they're playing it in. It's great fun. I actually love it. I just sit there and just jam and hang out and play a bit of harp to some tunes. People really like it. You're another lead guitarist, I suppose, or a lead keyboard player. It's like a piano, but you're just using it with your breath. It's great fun. Okay. So, you also, at one stage, were playing with a violin. Ah, that's right. We did a Mac and Maples for years. We did that. That was actually the weddings.
[00:04:50] We were wedding singers. And Victoria, she was my violinist and an amazing, amazing violinist. She learned from a very young age. She played for, I think it was an orchestra. I think it was Red Cliff Orchestra or somewhere around our local area here. Orchestras, she played for them as well. But we met and just got along really well. And she said, oh, I play a violin. I said, oh, I'm a singer-songwriter.
[00:05:19] I'm like, oh, let's jam. And I laughed. I said, jam with a violin. She said, yeah, let's jam. So, with that, I popped over one afternoon. She said, come over and we'll go from there. And I'm thinking, how do you jam with a violin? Never, not really knowing much about violins. And I turned up one day and this music coming out of this house was like, she's obviously playing something on a stereo.
[00:05:42] Or it's just, it was too good. And I walked up and I could see her through the window. And here she was playing a violin to a backing track. Oh, my God. So, from that day on, we jammed. She said, just play a tune. And so, I played one of my own songs. And she just slid straight in like a lead guitarist would. Unbelievable. So, we took that upon ourselves to go, let's do weddings. Because she did a little bit of dabbling in weddings, friends, family sort of thing.
[00:06:11] And we put up the Mac and Maples advertising. And away we went. And we played all right up the coast, all the way back through to Brisbane. And had a great time. And people just loved what we did. So, the only thing with weddings, you'll get to play in all sorts of places. You're okay when you've got power. Every now and then, it'll be an outside venue, which I think one was down in Brisbane on the river.
[00:06:37] And they had a generator. So, all right. We thought, well, hopefully it'll power what we need. And we plugged everything in, got the generator going, and did a little bit of a rehearsal. Everything worked well. So, we thought, right. So, we started it back up when the people started rolling in. And we played some entertainment music, just easy listening songs and violin to warm up the crowd as they all gathered around the park. And we had a certain song we had to play for the bride. And down she come.
[00:07:05] So, away we go. We start the tune. We get the nod. Right, let's go. She gets halfway down the aisle and the generator cuts out. Oh, no. So, I said, just keep playing. Keep playing. Don't stop. So, we acousticed it. So, she made it for the last probably four metres to the groom. And then we stopped. So, they did their business. And then at the end, at the signing, we were to play again.
[00:07:33] So, we couldn't get this generator going. So, we ended up, I said, follow me. So, I took the acoustic guitar around and we stood behind the little arbor that they sit under with all the roses and all the little streamers and white pretty things all over it. They sit under that table and they do their signings. So, we just stood behind them and played acoustically. The violin is pretty loud anyway. So, you can get away with a violin just all by itself.
[00:08:00] Luckily, we didn't have her electric one. It was the acoustic one. And they were very happy and grateful and thankful and off we went. So, just the violin and acoustic guitar just complement each other when you have someone so talented to play it so well. So, I take my hat off to that lady. She's just an amazing musician. And yeah, that's what we used to do. So, violins, acoustic guitars.
[00:08:25] I even had another gig we did in Brisbane with my lead guitarist on my right, my violinist on my left. And I said to my guitarist, I'll just play some tunes, you know, and you just throw something back at me. And then I'll look at my violinist and I'll play a little bit to her and she can throw a bit back at me. Then I looked at each other, at both of them, and went, well, I just step back and I'm playing a bit of a tune. And the lead guitarist is playing a little riff. And it was like a competition. Can you do this sort of thing?
[00:08:54] And he'd play a riff off a lead and really rip it apart. We should just go and do even better on the violin. So, you look back at the guitarist, he'd give it back. So, there's this war of beautiful, great music. We were in a pub in Brisbane, somewhere around Manly, I think, or somewhere in the city areas. And there was a pub across the road. And you could see the people all sort of standing up and looking over, like, what's going on over there? Because where the pub we were situated playing was out on almost the footpath.
[00:09:24] You could step off the footpath straight into the pub sort of thing in that area. And it was like a garden area. Well, across the road, I think we must have pulled about, I don't know how many people, but they started coming across the road out of that pub into our pub because they were listening to the music. How cool. It was a big night. It was great fun. And these guys, the three of us, were just, it was a beautiful, beautiful time and really works well. So, it's a shame she's moved on to other things. But, yeah, it was a great time.
[00:09:53] Look forward to having that happen again. Yeah. Well, that's interesting. You wouldn't think to put a violin, although the cause had a violin in their group as well. And they did quite well when they were doing their stuff. Yeah. Because she was just an amazing player too. I always thought a violin was just a country thing, what they call the fiddle. You know, you play a fiddle and it was all country, yee-haw, knee tapping, you know, sort of music.
[00:10:19] And when I heard it classically played over some of my songs and then I'd play a rock song and she just fit in like a lead guitar and she just ripped this thing apart and I'm like, wow. She's got the talent. And there's a lot of violinists out there now that do that same thing. It's amazing. It's a beautiful instrument. Well, we're going to have to find someone with a violin to get into some of your songs.
[00:10:45] That particular song we played for everybody, was it last week or the week before, that would sound wonderful with a violin or an orchestra behind it. Oh, yes, I love. And I will one day. We'll come down there because you've got orchestras down your way. And I will get down there and we will set something up one day and play with an orchestra behind my songs. Yeah, but the problem is we've got to find someone to write the music
[00:11:12] because to play with an orchestra you have to have music and we just have leads and chords. So we would have to have someone that would actually write the music for the song so that the whole orchestra can play it. Yeah, right. That's right. And, yeah, I'll have to look into that. I have no idea where to start looking. All right. Well, there you go. I've planted the seed. Off you go. All right.
[00:11:39] Speaking of off you go, I have to go to work. So I am going to bid you good day with love and I'll talk to you again next week. All right. Take care, everyone. Stay safe and have them ears tuned in and listen to some good music today. Bye. Bye now. Now, don't forget to check out Trevor McCormack's YouTube for Trevor's latest music video. And you can also go to Trevor McCormack Music for any podcasts that you might have missed.
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