Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
What has Jason Vorherr been up to lately? OR What is his secret John Paul Young connection?
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.
My guest, Jason Vorherr, shares this harmonic connection, telling tales from his switch from saxophone to bass during his formative years, all the way to performing with Aussie icons like The Fabulous Caprettos, Glenn Shorrock, Brian Cadd and Daryl Braithwaite. We take a nostalgic trip through his musical influences, share a laugh over our childhood heroes, and even give a nod to the legendary Cold Chisel, as Jason opens up about his enduring love for the unique sound of the Australian music scene.
Recounting the spine-tingling experience of Russell Morris's orchestral collaboration, we chat about the symphonic blend with rock that elevates classic tunes to new heights.
Rounding off, we shift gears for a heart-to-heart with Jason as he takes us through his latest project, "Living in the Suburbs," a testament to his versatility and the power of music to capture the essence of daily life. It's a reminder of how local stories can resonate universally, much like the tune "Radio Show" from his album, a poignant homage to family ties and the shared experience of radio-listening.
Celebrating the vibrancy of the Aussie music scene, we raise our voices in appreciation for the talent that continues to define our culture, from Kevin Bennett and the Flood to Steve Balby's Mi-Sex show.
Tune in, for an episode that hits all the right notes and leaves you feeling plugged into the heart and soul of Australian music.
What has Fabulous Capretto Jason Vorherr been up to lately ... lets's find out!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
That Radio Chick Cheryl Lee here. Welcome to the Still Rockin' It podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians and artists. Today we are chatting to a quiet achiever, bass player, Jason Vorherr, who is at the moment touring with the Fabulous Caprettos, Dave Gleeson, Ray Thistlethwayte, Russell Morris and Jack Jones. He also plays in Darryl Brathwaite's band, has played with Glenn Shorrock, with Birtles Shorrock and Goble on their comeback tour and with Brian Cadd. He started playing in cover bands in the late 80s and now is one of the most sought after Australian bass players. To catch up on podcasts from other favourite artists, simply go to that radiochickcomau. You're with Cheryl Lee and I'd like to welcome into our Zoom room today Jason Heath Vorherr. Welcome, Jason, thank you for joining us.
Jason Vorherr:My pleasure, Cheryl. Thanks for having me.
Cheryl Lee:You've got a great career to talk about going backwards and a great career to talk about going forwards. What if we go right back to the very beginning for a moment? When did you realise that the bass was your instrument? When did the passion kick in?
Jason Vorherr:It would have been at high school, because I was playing saxophone in the school band and we were playing music that wasn't of our time. We were playing like 18 12, overture and all these things that young people weren't really into. And I walked past the music room one lunchtime and I could hear these kids in there on electric guitars and drums and they were playing Eagle Rock, and I got so excited. I'd never heard anyone play that before. So I walked in and thought can I have a jam with you guys? And I took the saxophone in and it just didn't work and I thought well, I saw a bass guitar sitting on the floor and I picked it up and I just copied what the guitar player was doing.
Jason Vorherr:I just became hooked from there and I thought here's my in, because it looked pretty simple. I thought there's only one note at a time you're playing and there's only four strings. It can't be that hard, yeah. And so then I told my dad listen, I play bass now, dad. So he went and bought me one. I just would sit in my bedroom and try and play along to my cassette tapes of Circus Animals, Cold Chisel. And that was my first, you know. I think I learned how to play bass by playing along to Cold Chisel songs. I would just imagine that I was in the band play along with my bass guitar and not really knowing anything technical, you know, not really knowing anything about the theory of music, just from learning by ear, was the way I kind of approached it.
Cheryl Lee:I love that. Well, for a start, being an Adelaide girl, you have to be a Cold Chisel fan. But also it was a little bit of a fluke. What if there had been, you know, a electric guitar there instead of a bass? Would you be an electric guitarist now?
Jason Vorherr:Probably not because electric guitar it looked too hard and I saw all the different shapes of the guys guitars and the chords and I don't even know what that is, you know whereas the bass it was like you just got to put one finger there. That looks I can do that, you know. Straight away I could, even as a 14 year old, you know. I looked at it and thought I could do that. It looks pretty easy, easy enough for me. So most bass guitar players started off playing guitar, whereas I'd started on the bass and then, as the years went on, I just would ask the guitar player in the band, hey, how do you do that chord? And then I'd sort of pick things up.
Jason Vorherr:But I've never really been ambitious as a guitarist. I'm happy to have, you know, other guys do that and I've been fortunate over the years that I've pretty much worked with some of the best players in the country. You know, never would I have dreamt of doing that. I think that's. The bonus of choosing the bass guitar is that you're always going to get a gig, because no kid wants to play the bass. You know it's the boring instrument up the back, but you want to play lead, that's right.
Jason Vorherr:So I loved it and of course during the 80s that slap bass was a big thing. You know, the funky kind of slapping and popping, and I would try and pick that up because that seemed to be really exciting and it would have been bands like the Eurogliders, for arguments sake there was a lot of that poppin' and slappin' going on in their music. So you know, I try and emulate that as well. So because I was a massive and still am, an Australian music fan, my whole family, we would sit around the television on a Sunday night, as everyone did, and watched the ABC countdown and my brother and I meant I'm talking, I was six years old and my brother was nine, we'd watch Countdown and then we'd go to our bedroom and I'd have a tennis racket and he'd have drumsticks. We'd re-enact John Paul Young, you know like and I haven't talked to many people about that, Cheryl. So you know, no, no, but they captured our imagination.
Cheryl Lee:I do love that, so it must have been meant to be Jason that when you walked into that band room there was a bass just sitting there waiting for you. It sounds like serendipity is at the work.
Jason Vorherr:Absolutely, and I, like I said just, it was my in, you know, and the rest is history.
Cheryl Lee:We've talked about our love of Countdown. We've talked about our love of Cold Chisel. So I think the only song we can play is the song that Cold Chisel played at the Countdown Awards when they wrecked the stage. We won't say any more about that. My Turn To Cry it from the East album and we'll be back to chat some more to Jason Vorherr after this. Australians singer, songwriter and guitarist, like you said, a lot of great guys have had the pleasure of you playing in their band with them. I know I've seen you myself playing with Daryl many, many times, Darryl Brathwaite. You've also played with Glenn Shorrock and Brian Cadd. So yeah, lots of the greats. Any I've missed?
Jason Vorherr:See, my first big break was the original lineup of the Little River Band. You know that was the pinnacle. That was about 20 years ago now, and it was such an incredible experience to be a fan of Little River Band and to be in the same room as hearing those three guys sing their harmonies. It was incredible. You know that's such a famous sound and I was fortunate enough to be asked to be the fourth harmony whenever they needed a fourth. In songs like Cool Change, you know there'd be a fourth harmony and Graham Goble would say, oh, can you sing this part? So I learned so much through that experience. You know, never had to rehearse that hard in my life. So and now, through that whole experience, once they trust you, this guy is going to learn the songs properly, he's going to turn up on time.
Jason Vorherr:I think your name gets put around and so other people. You get asked to do these corporate gigs where you're backing these Australian artists and you might do one or two songs each from each artist. But you get to meet them along the way, like you know, like how I met Russell Morris and Brian Cadd and Ross Wilson, James Reyne, these sort of guys that you get to perform with and, being such an Australian music fan, I'm up here going. What am I doing here with my heroes, you know? And then you got to keep it together and go. Well, you know he's got to be professional here.
Jason Vorherr:I'm actually in the band, but that's one thing that's never really left me, Cheryl, I still feel just like the fan, you know, every time I'm up there. I mean even just recently with Ray Thistlethwayte, who, like I, was, you know, when that Thirsty Merc album came out the first one, I loved it, you know. I thought, wow, these guys are ace. I never would have dreamed that you'd get to play with the guy, so that's just been an incredible thing too. You know. It continues on.
Cheryl Lee:You also played on the Birtles, Shorrock, Goble Gold Award winning album Full Circle. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and did you write one of their songs?
Jason Vorherr:Not one of Birtles, Shorrock, Goble songs. I would try and submit songs to them, but even Glenn Shorrock had a hard time, you know, getting Cool Change put on an album. I think he wrote that, you know, about 10 years before they allowed him to put it on one of their albums, so I was never going to get a chance to, you know, regardless of how good the song was. So I've written a few songs where Glenn Shorrock has sang the lead vocal, which was incredible. You know, I played him some of my music and he said I'd like to record that there was one song that was on his solo album. I don't think it was as well known, but it was called Rise Again 2016 and you wrote the title track.
Jason Vorherr:That's right, yeah, but that, yeah, that was just, you know, hanging with Glenn and just playing in my music and he goes oh, do you mind if I record that? It was as simple as that. You're not going to say no to someone like Glenn Shorrock, who I consider probably the greatest voice that I've played with in Australia. He's just. He's so effortless in the way that he performs and sings. He's such a funny little man, so I love him. His voice is just beautiful. I know that he's amongst the musicians that I've met. He's well regarded. He's one of the absolute greats.
Cheryl Lee:I love that. You're like a fan.
Jason Vorherr:I just can't help it, Cheryl, you know. But, and the thing is, I don't get out to see many gigs because I'm always working. So getting to actually work with these people is like going to see them perform, you know, I just happened to be on stage with them, you know.
Cheryl Lee:Well, there's only ever one song that we're going to play here, Rise Again, the title track from the Rise Again album, written by our very own Jason Vorherr for the great man himself, Glenn Shorrock. Back to speak some more to Jason shortly.
Jason Vorherr:And also, having worked with people like Russell Morris who, you know, my mum's a massive fan, you know, like when he rings me, I get excited and I look at my phone and go, wow, Russell Morris is ringing me. You know I get excited, thinking he wants to book me for a gig and all he wants to talk about is Richmond Football Club, you know. So I think that's even better. Like, so I've got a fellow Tiger Nuffie mate in my own band.
Jason Vorherr:I didn't know Russell was a Richmond boy, oh yeah, he may say that I'm a crazy, mad Richmond supporter, but he's as mad as I am, don't worry about that.
Cheryl Lee:I can't remember whether it was Russell or Glenn, but one of them told me that you were in the airport and Richmond lost a final and, being so passionate, you had tears in your eyes.
Jason Vorherr:I think that's a big exaggeration. I am passionate and I love my footy, but I just look at it for what it is, you know.
Cheryl Lee:Yeah, I know, it's not life and death. It's much more important than that.
Jason Vorherr:I remember being at the 2019 Grand Final when we won the game and I was at the game and they played the Richmond theme song and then they did the lap of honour and then they played the real thing by Russell Morris over the system at the MCG. And then Russell rings me on the phone and I'm like this is so surreal. I've got Richmond is just like a Premiership. Russell Morris is just ringing me and they're playing the real thing Like this is amazing.
Cheryl Lee:So that's awesome. We have just seen you performing with Russell here with the Symphony Orchestra. Oh yes, that was amazing. Just take those songs to a whole new level.
Jason Vorherr:Certainly does. Well, David Hirschfeld's arrangements of those songs were so well suited because you know, sometimes when you just put a rock band with an orchestra it doesn't always come off. You know, his songs certainly worked like songs like Rachel with an orchestra. That's just so beautiful. And of course, Sweet, Sweet Love and The Real Thing. Songs like that they just work really well with the strings and the horns. And to be sitting on stage in amongst an orchestra, the sound is like three dimensional, it comes from all around you.
Jason Vorherr:I never get to experience that very special thing to be asked to be a part of. I'm so proud that it could be done for us because he really deserves it. There was footage taken and you know the whole concert has been filmed and recorded and I've been lucky enough to have a bit of a look and I really hope that they release it as a DVD. I'm not sure whether DVDs do get released anymore, but people who missed out on the concert would love to see it because I think it's probably the pinnacle of his career in my opinion. You know and storytelling is one thing that a lot of people wouldn't be aware of with Russell how each song is so different. He's got such an eclectic sort of taste.
Cheryl Lee:And it was a great sort of journey through time.
Jason Vorherr:Oh yeah, it was well curated. There was a guy called Tim Schwert. He got hold of Russell's whole catalogue and he chose the songs. So there was a couple of tunes that people would never have heard but he just sort of thought no, I think these will work. So Russell graciously sort of took a backward step like step back from that, didn't control it. Let the people who are good in those areas do their job, and I reckon that's one part of why it was such a success.
Cheryl Lee:Yes, and did you get to sing a song, Jason?
Jason Vorherr:I did yeah, he goes. I want one of the background vocalists sing one of the songs and he was really sort of blase about it. He told me. He said I want you to learn, I will wait for you which was the song. And I just learned it like I'd learn any song, not really thinking too much about it. And then we performed at the Sydney Opera House and the day later it sort of hit me. I thought, well, I just got to sing lead vocals in front of a 65 piece orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. Like that just blew my mind. I thought never in my wildest dreams that I wasn't even in my radar that I'd ever get to do that. So it was. And for Russell to trust me to do that was pretty special. Now, something I will definitely cherish.
Cheryl Lee:We're going to play that song now, of course, The Real Thing, live recorded with the Symphony Orchestra at the end of last year. Here's Russell Morris. Plenty more to chat about with Jason for her after this.
Cheryl Lee:And you know where else I've seen you sing someone else's song recently was on Rock the Boat. Yeah, filling in for Jimmy Barnes.
Jason Vorherr:Wow, yes, that was quite surreal and quite amazing to be able to get up there with Jimmy Barnes's band. They're like a freight train, those guys, so well drilled and so well rehearsed. Well, I've been friends with Danny Spencer for a while. He's the lead guitarist. I've done duo gigs with him over the years and I kind of suggested once we found out Jimmy wasn't going to be on the boat, I ran into him and I said, mate, if you like we can do All for you. You know, because I really love that song and you know, no pressure if Mahalia sort of she rather not on cool with that, but I just put it out there and I didn't hear anything other than that. And then I was watching the James Moorley band, ready to get up and play bass with them for a couple of tunes. I get a text message so Mahalia wants to rehearse with you right now. So when Mahalia says go, I jump, you know. So that was an incredible night when Mahalia says go, everybody jumps, oh yeah.
Jason Vorherr:Even her dad. Oh yeah, nice, she's fantastic. She's amazing. She is a powerhouse and I think she won a lot of hearts that night, like people wouldn't have realized how amazing she is. You know she was singing some of those Chisel songs and you'd swear it was a young Jimmy Barnes.
Cheryl Lee:Exactly I was telling everybody how great she is. Now they believe me.
Jason Vorherr:You remember, Jimmy when, you know, Cold Chisel around the East album, you know, around 1980. Like we're Barnes, his voice it was a bit younger and then she had that same tone and it was and also other singers, Jon Stevens was just amazing. You could tell he was just so happy to be there too and gets an opportunity to sing these songs. You know so, and that was what it was like for me and, yeah, once again, just to be up on stage with that band was incredible, you know yeah, it just blew us punters away, I must say.
Cheryl Lee:I wish I had Jason's version of All For You to play you, but I've only got front row iPhone footage, unfortunately, so we're just going to have to make do with Cold Chisel from the Best Of Cold Chisel All For You album of 2011. The title song, written by Don Walker All For You. Let's get back to you, Jason. I wanted to talk about a couple of albums. Firstly and I didn't know this until I did my research you've written a children's album.
Jason Vorherr:Oh yeah, who knew? Yeah, well, you can't find it anywhere because I haven't put it up on Spotify. Yeah, it was over 20 years ago. I was approached to a show for these special kids. I said what do I do? They said just play Wiggles songs. And luckily my son at the time was three years old, so we were listening to a lot of Wiggles, so I knew the songs pretty well. So I did that gig. And then one thing led to another and I thought, well, I should just write my own kids songs. So I did that and that was a pretty positive experience. For a few years I kind of thought I'd hang up my children's entertainment boots and hand it over to somebody else. Some memorable memories of my wife in a kangaroo suit jumping around the stage visions that I'll never forget, Awesome.
Cheryl Lee:If ever you do sing a Wiggles song and you need BVs - five kids, I'm your woman. I still remember every word of every song, like get in your head.
Jason Vorherr:That was a long time ago now. It's my first sort of foray into writing songs.
Cheryl Lee:Let's talk about the 2022 album Living in the Suburbs, drawn from your personal experiences growing up in suburban Melbourne.
Jason Vorherr:Yes, yeah. Well, it was all about was written all around the time of the, when we weren't allowed to go five kilometers from our house during 2020. So I would walk my dog around the streets and one day I took my dog off the lead on the footy oval and this guy come out and told me off, it was only a little poodle, he wasn't going to hurt anyone anyway. So I got home and I was kind of peeved off and I started writing this protest song about not being able to take your dog in the footy oval. It turned into a song about my suburb and I kept going with it and I thought, wow, this is actually not bad. It was in the Australian country music style and I sent it to a guy called Greg Champion, who's a well-known Australian songwriter, because I thought it sounded like what he does. He encouraged me to keep going. He said keep writing, keep writing, do a whole album of those sort of songs, because was during COVID and what didn't have to work or I didn't have to think about work. I just put all my energy into that and it was such a great. I mean, it wasn't a great time for everybody, but for me it was great to be productive and creative.
Jason Vorherr:So yeah, I had a lot of fun doing that album and certain songs gained a little bit of traction. That song in particular I'm talking about. It's called Upwey and it's the suburb where I live now and Macca from the ABC Australia All Over Show apparently he plays it and every time he plays it people ring me up and say, oh, I heard you on Macca, so he must have a big audience. And then another song got on the Channel Nine News which was just bizarre. So that sort of traction you just don't expect you're ever gonna get. The challenge has been since then is to come up with more songs. So that's what I'm trying to do at the moment is still right from personal experiences, which is the only way I can kind of do it, I guess.
Cheryl Lee:It's been described as a charming look at suburban Australian life with a country folk style and compared to the likes of Paul Kelly and Michael Walsh. So that's pretty nice comparison.
Jason Vorherr:Absolutely. Yeah. Well, michael Walsh. When I played my Upway song to Greg Champion he said, well, it sounds like what Michael Waugh does. And I'm going, what who's Michael Waugh? So I went looking for Michael Waugh and, oh my God, that guy would have to be one of the greatest Australian song writers that not many people know about, but they should. His lyrics are amazing and he's got the ability to make you cry and laugh in the one song. So I wished he didn't say Michael Waugh, because then now I feel like I'm trying to copy Michael Waugh. So I'm not really. But and Paul Kelly. Well, I guess that's just maybe that the range of my vocal is probably down in Paul Kelly's range for those songs, you know.
Cheryl Lee:Still a great compliment.
Jason Vorherr:Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Cheryl Lee:And I love the cover, the photo with the Holden.
Jason Vorherr:Yeah, well, around the time there was this artist from my local area growing up. His name's Craig Mackie. Anyway, Craig put this piece of artwork up and I go, oh my God, that looks like my house where I grew up and my stepdad had the exact same car, the old EK Holden. And I contacted him and I said, mate, I'm writing these songs about suburban Melbourne. Can I use that as my album cover? And he said, absolutely, you can. I love it? I really do. And I got CDs pressed and I would dearly love to get the vinyl done because the artwork would look magnificent. But I've ran out of CDs now I've got to get some more pressed. But I've used other artwork of his on the back cover as well and it's really special. I think it really suits the songs you know.
Cheryl Lee:It does, I reckon. Is it a photo or is it a painting?
Jason Vorherr:It's a painting yeah, wow, it's a painting of a house in a suburb or Knoxfield or Scoresby. We did a film clip for the title track and I tried to find that exact house to shoot and we found a house that looked similar and I found a guy who had that same car. So I did a film clip called Living in the Suburbs and it's me driving around in this old EK Holden and it was so much fun and I got everyone, especially my wife, to be in the film clip. You know All my family and my kids, my mum and my dad and my best mates growing up. So I'll cherish that film clip forever.
Jason Vorherr:Now, you know, because the cost of doing film clips is pretty astronomical, but in these days you can just do them on your iPhone, you know. But luckily I had a mate. He said look, I'm studying to become a filmmaker, I'll do it for nothing. So I was so grateful that we could sort of do all that. The whole process was just amazing. It does cost a lot of money to record and produce your own record, you know, yes, and you don't really get the money back these days. But it's not really about the money, you know. It's more about. You know, when people contact you and say that, wow, I loved your song, it means this to me and all that. That means so much, you know. So that's what has kind of become for me.
Cheryl Lee:Can we find that film clip on YouTube or somewhere?
Jason Vorherr:Yes, it's on YouTube. I've got a few songs on YouTube. Excellent, Just under Jason Vorherr, I guess Jason Vorherr Music, you'll find it and there's a whole heap of other clips for songs that I've got. Feel free to go and have a look.
Cheryl Lee:Awesome. So get onto the Googleometer and track some of those down.
Cheryl Lee:The second song from Jason's debut album Living in the Suburbs about Upwey. Here is Upwey. We're going to talk some more to Jason straight after this. I know you're a very busy man. One more question, if I may, if we've got time? Yes, and I might even know some of the answers to this question now, but when you're alone, driving in your car or wherever you listen to your music. What do you like?
Jason Vorherr:to listen to Right now I've gone back to AC/DC Powerage. Yeah, I love that. You know a lot of people don't like Spotify and I'm probably one of those, but as a consumer, you can drive in your car and hook it up to Spotify. You can listen to any album you'd like to. I've been listening to Wild Flowers by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Powerage by AC/DC, and also when I'm at home we dug out the old record player and there's a great Jackson Brown album called Late for the Sky. We listen to that when we're sitting in our front room with a nice glass of wine or whatever chilling out. So those are the records I'm listening to at the moment.
Cheryl Lee:All good records. I think we've got quite similar taste. Jason yes, one of my radio shows is called Up Down Under, which is obviously entirely Australian music Aussie music fan as well.
Jason Vorherr:Yeah, well, some of the latest Aussie albums I've been listening to. The new Screaming Jets album sounds amazing, not just because I'm playing with Dave Gleeson, but I was listening to it. The opening tracks are killer, yeah, so I'll rock out to that one a lot as well. The new Rolling Stones album is incredible too.
Cheryl Lee:Yeah, yeah, that's right. So just if you've got a quick minute. So what's it like? Daryl Braithwaite out, Dave in so very different? How's it going with Dave?
Jason Vorherr:Oh, incredible, what a lovely guy. Like I've never met him before but it feels like he's someone I grew up in the suburbs with. Like it was like, wow, he could have been my mate. Like we would have been mates at high school. I reckon we would have. You know, he never looks uncomfortable on stage, even when it's not his turn to sing a song, he's always like he's got the guitar on there and he's rocking out and then he'll do a handstand and a cart wheel. He's an amazing performer and you know he's got a great voice. His voice is such a beautiful, such a great sound. You know he's so wide and to sing with him is just a joy because you can really lock in. He's so in tune. And you know I've been a Screaming Jets fan forever, so to get to play Helping Hand on stage, just such a cool bass line. And you know it was sad to lose Paul Woseen last year. It was really sad but I didn't realise what a great songwriter he was.
Cheryl Lee:Dave lives in Adelaide and you're so right. We bump into him occasionally down at the pub and he's just such an awesome great run of the mill guy, and he's just so friendly.
Jason Vorherr:He's got some cracker stories. Yeah, I bet, Like some, that I probably shouldn't repeat. But if he ever wanted to write a book it'd be one of the greatest rock and roll books ever. But I think some of the stories you know he may want to just run them by people.
Cheryl Lee:Did you know that he has got a solo album and it's a little bit country. It's called Wanted Man. There's some real tear jerkers on there. When I listen to them you know great album.
Jason Vorherr:Now that I've got the Spotify in the car, I'll just plug him in. While I do my delivery run in the van.
Cheryl Lee:Nothing to Lose next from the Screaming Jets latest album, Professional Misconduct with fellow Fabulous Capretto Dave Gleeson out the front, written by guitarist Scott Kingman and the late great Paul Woseen. Back to say goodbye to Jason Vorherr straight after this.
Jason Vorherr:Thank you so much for being so generous with your time today, Jason.
Cheryl Lee:It's been fabulous to have a good old chat with you.
Jason Vorherr:Richmond, maybe not this year. We've had our fun, but who knows? You never know what can happen, can you?
Cheryl Lee:Footy, it's a funny game. You never know. You enjoy the rest of your day. Same to you. Thanks for the chat.
Jason Vorherr:That was great, Cheryl. Thank you. I've got you on Spotify now because I listened to your interview with Dave and Rai, oh yes, and the one with Rod Willis as well. Really, really good. My brother was a radio announcer. One of the songs on my album is about him. It's called Radio Show. It's about his whole career as a radio announcer and how he started off in community radio and went to the Pete Smith School of Voice in Melbourne and ended up working at Gold FM as a DJ. Unfortunately he passed away when he was 39, but that's what he only wanted to do is be a radio announcer and he ended up getting there. He had to travel and work in the country, like in the radio, like that Taralgan and down Hobart. It was a tough slog. When he eventually got a commercial job, he loved it, you know.
Cheryl Lee:I'm an accountant and I've come into radio in my mid fifties, so I'm a late bloomer. But you know, we do it because we just love it, we just love playing people music.
Jason Vorherr:I love listening to your show because you can tell you know what you're on about and the questions you ask to. They're really good and you can tell you got a deep love for it. Well, I think I following you anyway on your podcast, no doubt, no idea that you did this. So next time I see you at a gig, come and say g'day and all that.
Cheryl Lee:You just thought I was the crazy blonde chick at the front.
Jason Vorherr:Now did I speak to you on the Rock the Boat? I might have. I don't think so I was just trying to stay away from all the you know, usually I bring my wife on that thing and I just went on my own this time. So I pretty much just laid low a bit, and probably a good thing, because I didn't get. Did you get sick?
Cheryl Lee:No, I was everywhere. Yeah, I didn't get sick. Oh well, sorry, I think I did leave with a bit of a cough, but I wasn't unwell.
Jason Vorherr:Now, I was the same. What I loved Kevin Bennett and Flood, and I loved Steve Balbi and the Mi-Sex show yeah.
Cheryl Lee:Yeah, yeah I just love the whole lot.
Jason Vorherr:Yeah, yeah, it was great, yeah, it's fantastic.
Cheryl Lee:So, as you would imagine I might see you on Rock the Boat next year.
Jason Vorherr:Yeah, no worries, good on your Cheryl.
Cheryl Lee:Lovely to speak to you, ta-da.
Jason Vorherr:See ya, bye.
Cheryl Lee:I'm going to leave you with the beautiful song Radio Show from Jason Vorherr, Living in the Suburbs, album dedicated to his brother, a fellow radio lover. Thank you so much for joining me on the Still Rockin' It podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.