HAWKESBURY resident and former Blake’s Music owner Blake Morrison has embarked on a lifelong musical journey, and will share some of the spoils of it in a show later this month.
Blake first started playing the guitar at age 8, when he lived at the back of his father’s guitar shop in Paddington.
It was the first specialist guitar shop in Sydney in 1967, where his dad happened to be the first Aussie to become a professional Spanish Flamenco guitarist.
His father taught him to play that style of guitar and later he was able to teach himself other styles such as rock and popular music.
He continued practising and learning and at age 16 got his first paying gig at the Windsor picture theatre where dances were held every Friday night.
In 1983, at just 24 he opened his own guitar shop in Windsor called Blake’s Music Centre.
A month after it opened he was approached to join the original line up of The Beatnix, a highly successful Beatles tribute band.
For the next two years he performed with them as well as offshoot band ‘The Australian Beatles Show’.
Blake owned and ran the shop for 21 years where he employed many teachers who taught hundreds of budding musicians over the years. Many have gone on to be successful musicians and teachers.
Since selling the business, Blake has been teaching music at Colo Heights Public School and Kurrajong East Public.
“It gives me enormous satisfaction to see them progress and make music,” he said.
In 2014, he and four other teachers – Kevin Adams (bass), Barbara Webb (violin) , Nic Woodford (piano) and Brad Kimber (drums) got together to form ‘The Beatles Unplugged with Strings Attached’.
“With the addition of cello, viola and second violin, the eight-piece outfit delivers an amazing sound and allows us to replicate almost any Beatle song,” he said.
The band will perform at Loxley on Bellbird Hill on Saturday June 18, showcasing their acoustic celebration of Beatles music for hard-core fans and everyone else whether they were alive in the 1960s or not.
This production includes a comprehensive slide show with interesting narration which gives a brief history of what many consider to be the world’s greatest band, while songs are performed chronologically.
Loxley is making it a premier event, with a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, followed by a gourmet three- course dinner.
Tickets are $100. Doors open at 5.30pm for 6pm show.
Contact Loxley to book on 4567 7711.
It’s on Bellbird Hill at 993 Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong Hills.