Musings on Family Car Trips and Rolling Stone Magazine

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang. However the thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own and not influenced by others.

Most days I don’t get the time to pause and reflect. I spend long hours writing, and then my husband comes home and I switch to domestic goddess mode. Most of my writing is about paying the bills, but this blog centres around my passion for music. When I stop and reflect on that, on why I spend time on something that isn’t a big money-spinner, I think of my dad. He always taught me to do what makes me happy, and he taught me more about music than anyone else.
Dad and I feeding a kangaroo at Oakvale FarmMy earliest memories of sharing music with Dad occurred on long car trips. We were lucky enough to take two holidays every year; one to a favourite caravan park in Forster or Salamander Bay, and the other to an interstate destination. This was before the days of cut-price airlines. Dad would rouse us in the wee small hours of the morning, hoping that my sister and I would sleep soundly until we were a few hours away from home. After all, we had a lot of driving ahead of us!

Those car-bound hours would daunt most small children, but we survived thanks to frequent stops for service station snacks and a steady stream of music. We’d take turns, choosing a cassette tape a piece, for this was long before the days of compact discs. Dad didn’t know it at the time, but he was igniting a passion in me for Australian rock legends like Jimmy Barnes, James Reyne, and Richard Clapton. He’d tell me stories about the bands and the times he saw them play in tiny Newcastle pubs. In turn I drove him crazy with the tunes of Don Spencer, and later introduced him to the musos gracing the pages of the latest editions of Rolling Stone Magazine. He didn’t care for much of the new music, although I did turn him on to the Counting Crows and Rick Price. And after enough stories and enough cassettes and enough chocolate bars, we’d eventually reach our holiday destination.

Dad and I riding bumper boats at Ton of Fun, ForsterA lot of time has passed since those family road trips, but Dad and I are still very close. These days we tend to share more music and musical stories after dinner parties and at concert venues than we do in the car. But in many ways, not too much has changed. I still occasionally thumb through the pages of the music mags, and I’m amused to see that my Dad’s old favourites still occasionally feature. Perhaps I should get him a Rolling Stone Magazine subscription for Father’s Day! If I can’t share my music with him on those long car trips to far flung corners of Australia, it seems the best way to introduce him to those latest chart toppers.

And if I subscribe now I could win a Volkswagen Golf Wagon 118TSI Comfortline car valued at more than $40, 000. I suppose the charitable thing to do would be to hand the auto over as part of the Father’s Day gift, but it is awfully cute. I’m not sure that I could bear to part with it, so I might have to indulge in a music magazine subscription of my own!

Image source: own photos

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day!

I’ll bet there are plenty of readers out there who consider this to be another of those Hallmark holidays, but I don’t mind a day that gives me an excuse to catch up with my Dad. We touch base regularly, but those days where the entire family gets together are a bit rarer.

I’m lucky to enjoy a really good relationship with my Dad. Music has always been a bit of an anchor to that. I remember spending many evenings with him while Mum was working night duty. He’d take out his collection of vinyl and I’d know to stay very still as the tracks played. He’d explain to me the history of the band and the meaning of the lyrics. If not for those special nights I might not be the rabid music fan I am today.

So I figured today was the perfect day to post a few Aussie music videos that remind me of my Dad. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them too!

My Dad loves a bit of Chisel. “Flame Trees” is his favourite Cold Chisel track, and quite rightly so. “Khe Sahn” might be the popular choice, but the lyrics of this song and Jimmy’s impassioned delivery are exceptional.

My Dad is also the reason I’m such a big Richard Clapton. It’s not the coolest thing to admit, but if you saw this guy live you’d get it. I’ve picked “Best Years of Our Lives” not because it’s the best Richard Clapton song (although that’s arguably the case), but because its message is something Dad’s always instilled in me.

I remember when “Holy Grail” was released and it wowed my Dad. He’s generally a bit slower to embrace brand new music, but he loved this Hunters & Collectors track. If it came on the radio, he’d turn it up loud and sing along.

An oldie now, but an important one to include. Country Radio were playing at Newcastle nightspot The Savoy on the night that my Dad met my mother. This song “Gypsy Queen” was their big hit, so perhaps if it didn’t exist and drag them both out that night, I wouldn’t be here!

And no post about the relationship between a father and daughter would be complete without Axiom’s “Little Ray of Sunshine.”

Happy Father’s Day Dad! I love you lots!!