UW: When did you get into guitar / music ? Can you give us a few of your big early influences ?
RT: I started playing when I was about 10 yrs old. My mother was given an Ibanez semi-acoustic (with f-holes) to learn herself, but she didn't get into it, so I did. It only had 3 or 4 strings on it and I didn't know you could buy replacement strings! so for a good year or so, thats how I played. There used to be a 15 minute show here in OZ called "GTK" which had rock bands giging on it. I used to watch where their fingers were on the guitar (mainly 2 string power chords) and figure it from that...but I didn't know how to tune, so it sounded bad, but I thought it it was so cool at the time.

Growing up in Tasmania (southern island state of Australia) I was very sheltered from music in general, but you got into whatever your older sister or bro was into...it just happened to be blues based rock. I went and saw a new band on the scene at the time at the local basketball courts - AC/DC. That was it...thats the sound I wanted, crunchy bluesrockin' guitar...that made my mind up what I wanted to do. It's a pity AC/DC have been classed as metal, 'cause they are not. Angus Young is one of the finest blues guitarists alive today, he swings, he has the most amazing feel and phrasing, have a listen to "The Jack". I also really liked Hounddog Taylor's "Natural Boogie" album, (still do) it just doesn't get any rawer than that. BB King, Tony Joe White, Hendrix, Ray Vaughan, even Slade!! I just soaked up whatever I could.

UW: When did you get into playing music professionally ? Is it your main profession or a enlarged hobby ? :-)
RT: Music is my profession and has been for many years. My first paying gig was December 13th 1983 at a local party. We got paid a few bucks and all the booze we could drink. We were loud - just one big wall of frickin' noise. Poor old singer got pretty dark with me as I wouldn't turn down and he couldn't hear a word he was sreaming. I soon learned to turn down in the clubs (a little bit) so we could actually work.

I remember the look on our our first sound-engineer's face when we hit the first bar of the first song. He just threw his hands up in the air and gestured a few backward peace-signs at us and mouthed (or screamed) "Turn the f***** thing DOWN!!!!" I've learned over the years...don't hire wimpy sound guys. :)

UW: Can you tell me about some of the bands you've played in and had over the years ? Any previous albums ? Hits ? Breaks ? Huge gigs ?
RT: I haven't played in many bands, as I've always really done my own thing. "Skidrow Boys" was the band I mentioned previously and was great fun more than anything. I formed a band when I first moved to Queensland 15 years ago called "The Outlaws". We rehearsed for a few months and were looking for a singer, because I didn't sing at that time, but couldn't find anybody right for it...they were either real bad or just too polished...so...I started singing, whether it was good or not wasn't the point, it just fitted the music. A few months later we ended up taking 3 awards at the Queensland Rock Awards which was very cool.

We moved to Melbourne a few years later, changed our name to "The Desert Cats" and went on tour with "Angel City". They put a demo song of ours along with the then unknown "Baby Animals" on the "B" side of their "Dogs Are Talking" EP and looked after us all for a month touring OZ. The EP went to #8 on the OZ charts and went gold. Baby Animals management had approached us earlier on to be Suze Demarchi's band, (The Baby Animals) but we wanted to do our own thing. I've never regretted that decision. After the tour it was like somebody had given us the kiss of death, as zippo happened. I split from the band and fell into a bit of a depression and moved back to Queensland and played acoustic guitar in retaurants for a few years. In sheer desperation I sent a tape to Dave Hole and he managed to persuade his record co in Europe to sign me.

I got lucky again. I've had the honour of doing gigs with Lonnie Mack, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top, Sting, Joe Satiani and many others throughout Australia and Europe over the the past 10 or so years.

There is NOTHING worse than hearing somebody playing "Blues" for the sake of it. It puts me to sleep everytime. I don't get on very well with "Blues Nazis", cause they don't get it, they have been brainwashed into believing a lot of the crap is good. Mind you, I am accepted into a local blues fraternity here, they seem to be opened minded about it.

UW: What can you tell me about the recording of the tracks on your "Compilation" CD ? When were these tracks recorded ? Any history to them?
RT: The tracks were recorded between '95 and '98 from 3 European only releases - "Stones & Colours", "Headstrong" and "Live At The Twilight". The last album was recorded live in a club called "The Twilight Cafe" in Belgium, near the German border. The albums have done OK in Europe. I decided to put together the Compilation CD to potray a general picture of what I'm about to people mainly in the United States, as I have never released anything in this territoy before. The European CDs are available as import only but carry a pretty hefty price tag.

UW: What are the most popular tracks from your repertoire ? Judging by fan response !
RT: "Jim Beam Blues", "My Acid Is Kickin' In", "Crossword Blues" actually most go down well live. It sometimes depends on the mood of the crowd, but hammer it out and SWEAT...give all you can...usually does the trick.

UW: What can you tell me about how you come up with a song ? Do you write alone ? Is it a band effort ? Where do you draw lyrical ideas from ?
RT: I mainly write alone as the band members have other bands and projects as well. It can be difficult to get everyone together to jam it. I'm currently working on a new album now as I recently bought all the studio gear I need to record. I'll give the guys a cassette of the rough demos to work out what they want to play on the song or if they want to add or change anything...then we'll get together and record. Lyrics are something that must come without straining over them (for me anyway) If I don't get the lyrics down for a song in an hour or so, I'll wait until something comes, othwerwise I get too frustrated. I don't classify myself as a great lyricist.

UW: Can you give me a few notes or any stories about some of the tunes ? Standouts are "Times Change", "Jim Beam Blues", "The Good Die Young", "My Acid Is Kickin In" . And what are your personal favorites ?
RT: "Jim Beam Blues" was written back in about '78 when my buddies and I use to drink gallons of the stuff and always felt like s*** the next day...you know.."I'm NEVER gonna drink again" syndrome. I haven't done drugs for many years but have known a few good people go down the tube because of them, that's what "My Acid Is Kickin' In" is about. "The Good Die Young" is a dedication to my father who was killed when I was 13. He was a good man, Italian, loved his red wine and olive oil and mean't no harm to no-one. He was struck by a car crossing the road to go to his night-shift work at a paint factory. I play an acoustic version of it live sometimes. "Times Change"...the title was taken from Dylan's "Times They Are-A-Changing", it's about going forward without looking back too much. END OF BIT 1

Interview written & conducted by:
Kevin J. Julie/ Dave White
Copyright - KJJ, Sept 2000.Interview, Sept 2000.