Growing up in the small town of Kapunda near South Australia’s Barossa Valley,
Brendan McMahon discovered his love of music at the tender age of 15 after being
“awed and floored” seeing Jimi Hendrix play on television; amazed by the sounds that
Jimi could pull from a guitar and captivated by the iconic performer’s showmanship.
Borrowing money from his mother (and paying it back at $2 a week) he promptly bought
himself a $60 guitar and amp rig from a mate. Initially wanting to be a glam-rock
superstar in the 80s and 90s (think Van Halen, Kiss, Def Leppard), McMahon later
transitioned to the more storytelling driven tunes of songwriters such as Paul Kelly,
Harry Manx, Richard Thompson and Garth Brooks, artists that continue to inspire him
today.
Spending his late teens and early twenties as a lead singer/lead guitarist in rock cover
bands playing across Adelaide and country Victoria, McMahon honed his skills the hard
way – in front of demanding Australian pub and club crowds. In 1998, and now bitten by
both the song writing and performance bug, McMahon released a 7-track EP called
Picture This with his band The Cunning Stunts. ‘The songs, mostly pop rock, now seem
too cluttered and uninteresting compared to the music I write today, but I still love to
listen to them once in a while as they bring back great memories.”
In 2015 and 2016, Brendan released the solo albums Falling To Earth and Marker 7-58
under the moniker of Satellite Gods, and in doing so was fortunate enough to
collaborate and work with some renowned Australian musicians including Peter Maslen
(Boom Crash Opera), Jason Vorherr (Darryl Braithwaite), Bob Spencer (The Angels),
Simon Hosford (Vanessa Amorosi) and Wilbur Wilde (Ol’ 55). Brendan explains “I met
these fabulous musicians through the recording studio I use (Soggy Dog Recording
Studio in Upwey, Victoria). Not only did they contribute their instrumental talents to
these albums, but they also opened my eyes to new concepts and helped me
understand the importance of ‘leaving space’ in the music.” After supporting artists
such as Boom Crash Opera, Russell Morris, Wendy Stapleton and The Chantoozies in
Australia, Brendan released the LP ‘On This Fine Occasion’ in 2017, which received
great reviews both locally and internationally
Quelle: Mustang Radio Services
Label: © Mustang Entertainment
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