I would like to tell you how my new single ‘Sailing’ came to find its way onto paper. This story goes back to when I was a young teenager. My family lived in a suburb in Sydney very close to the Parramatta River. It was there that the river was my backyard and boats became a way to enjoy this wonderful harbor.
Buying a boat at thirteen was going to be a challenge. So I worked every moment I could, saving my money. One day I was doing work for a nice old man in his garden, washing cars, chopping wood, any job that I could to help finally buy a boat. This lovely man and his wife often noticed how hard I worked. They offered to give me an old 12 foot tinny with a small outboard motor, knowing that I would pay them back for this boat in time, for which I did.
This opened up a whole lot of new adventures up and down the river, but my favourite time of the year was December when the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was about to start. The colors of the sails, the excitement of the spectator’s boats large and small, all trying to navigate to have the best position to watch the big maxi yachts fight for position. And there was me and a mate in a little tinny, but we loved every second of it.
On our journey back up river we would say “we will be one of those crewmen one day and sail all the way down to Hobart”. There was only two things that stopped me. One was I would get terribly sea sick and still do. The other was I lacked the confidence to sail so far out to sea. But that never stopped me dreaming about the romance of it all. Funny being a river rat kid, to being a farmer and nowhere near the salt water.
Now, since my wife and I decided to sell the farm and enjoy our benefits of years of hard work, we can once again smell the salt air. My utmost respect goes to the men and women that battle the oceans. – Tony Kennelly.
Tony Kennelly possesses something of an eagle eye view on the Australian music scene. For more than 45 years he has observed and played a part in its ever-changing landscape. With 30 years gone by between his youthful role as a guitarist and singer around Sydney in the 70’s and 80’s at a pivotal time in the birth of Australian Rock Music, Tony returns to his role as a songwriter in the country/folk scene.
Tony possesses a sense of musicianship and songwriting that are a testimony to his years of experience. He’s been there, done that and seen the whole story unfold. His ethos behind the music is based in a pure love for the songs and with an appreciation for the old folk tradition, there’s a real story and message behind his work.