IT has been a life of rock’n’roll, plus many other musical genres, and one lived with no regrets for Newcastle musician Andrew Wallace.
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The seeds of rock were planted young in the renowned double bass player. In childhood he was already collecting records and deeply immersed in the sounds of ‘70s rock’n’roll.
“I was a heavy music dude, my older brothers had Beatles record collections,” he said. “I loved more than anything Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.”
When the opportunity to join Cardiff North Lakes Brass Band appeared at 10 years old he seized it, spending his summer holidays learning the notes on the instrument with which he was issued, the cornet. From there he progressed to baritone horn and later the euphonium.
“It’s euphonium] like the cello of the brass band world, they get all the good bits,” Wallace said.
At 18 he topped Cardiff High in physics, maths and chemistry and headed off to the University of Newcastle.
“I did engineering, ill-fatedly,” he said. “I met Justin Collins, John Harris [both of Yes Commissioner], this crew of arty, theatrey kind of people and I went, ‘They are having so much more fun.’”
Wallace became the sound guy for Yes Commissioner, dropped out of university and in 1984 won a spot at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.
“I got in and switched almost immediately to trombone, seeing there was no real future or repertoire for euphonium beyond the brass band world,” Wallace said.
At the same time he developed a keen interest in jazz.
“It turned my world around a little bit, I started listening to old jazz, basically popular music went out the window,” he said.
He fell under the spell of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He began performing in a long list of bands, including Fish Fry, Pornskas, The Human Beings, Pow Wow, Sheep Station, The Lairs and numerous ensembles which saw him playing up to 11 gigs a week. He picked up whatever instrument was required: saxophone and double bass - the instrument for which he is now most respected.
He has spent 40 years listening, playing and learning music from some of Australia’s best, including Steve Elphick and Jonathon Zwartz. He has taught music for eight years at Hunter School of Performing Arts.
Looking back on a life dedicated to music, which sees him still performing as many as three gigs a week, Wallace says it has had a price.
“It’s cost me a few relationships,” he said. “They collapse due to time constraints.”
But he has no regrets about not becoming an engineer.