RockLaw

My passion for music started at a very early age of twelve or thirteen ... love of guitar .... love of music and creating .... love of getting together with friends and jamming ....

Starting out in a quickly slapped together school band with a few good friends and performing at a Year 9 school concert turned on the switch that still remains well lit with the burning passion for music and the drive to grow, create and share.

An exposure to Deep Purple in Rock and Mr Richie Blackmore started the love of electric guitar. This was quickly followed up by the latin melody connection with Santana ... sure there were many others, Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Alvin Lee and others, but none grabbed me the way Blackmore and Santana did.

Along the path came the first real band in Judge Jeffries (the Judge), still at school and doing parties school concerts and playing in hotels. Doing gigs with the likes of Skyhooks, Hush, Ted Mulry Gang, Finch and even a Rabbit infested ACDC in the early years (the singer out of band called Rabbit fronted them for a short spell)  ... the main line-up for the Judge was Tony Townsend, Ron Bartch, David Lee and Warwick Glover ... with a sprinkling of Louis Tesoriero from time to time.

They were the days on the Sydney, Australia music scene  ... Brighton Hotel, Coogee Oceanic, Selinas ... we were young and had little appreciation of the potential we had in creativity and appeal. We tightened up with a regular gig on a Sunday night at Newtown Leagues club. The audio tapes of the band on those nights with stops to hear the breaking glasses and tables being thrown are still around, I'm sure.  

A few other transitions after the Judge (when Rock was hit by Disco) ended up with the establishing the next milestone band called Birds of Prey. Plenty of original tracks from that outfit mixed in with selected covers from bands like the Head Boys, the Fixx, Fisher Z as well as the traditional standards. the main line-up for Birds was Michael Pitt, Lou Amato, Lou Katalinic and George Steffe.

Ahh ... my heart races again at the Australian music scene in Sydney ... Tivoli, Manzil Room, Sefton Hotel, Sundowner Hotel, Royal Antler, Dee Why Hotel, Auburn Baseball Club, Maroubra Seals, Mona Vale Hotel, War and Peace, Westower Tavern, Penrith Leagues, Family Inn Rydalmere, Lithgow Workers  ... where are they now ??

Doing gigs with Midnight Oil, Mondo Rock, Moving Pictures, the Divnyls, Sharon O'Neill, Dear Enemy, Mi-Sex. Uriah Heep, Goldrush, the Trogs to name a few ... great time ... adrenalin rush ...

Sadly finishing with Birds of Prey, the nucleus of that band went on to form a classic rock covers outfit of Easy Money - Jerry (Bolton) Wilfling took on the lead vocals. This band enjoyed a good run of success as well with huge gigs at the Collector Tavern at Parramatta (home base).

The years passed and families grew. Most of us played safe and did the 9-5 thing, ignoring the calling, the divine purpose. Whilst my fingers fluttered with a few cover outfits, the passion was always for that rock and writing.

Blow formed in 2005 to feed the soul in terms of performance, writing, sanity, satisfaction as well as many doses of frustration of course ! ... this band has meant so many different things to each of its founding members, Tony Townsend, Lou Amato and my oldest son Robert Poffandi. The blessing of the addition of Curtis Martin on drums has really consolidated the line-up. Releasing of albums and videos  has been extremely satisfying, not that this work is ever finished ... much more to come on this front.

The teaming up with my youngest son Richard Poffandi in Studio 529 duo has also been a blessing for the soul. Apart from the diversity in music and a further release in guitar playing, it has given me the opportunity to 'sing' !! .... I had always sung harmonies with bands, but now, thanks to Richard's patience, I have been able to develop that I guess I thought I had, and certainly my boys had, but not something that I ever persisted with.

So currently, apart from Blow and Studio 529, I have my solo guitar project, that brings together things that I have written over many years as well as new compositions. 

My "Inspirations" album (2017 release) is the first offering. I was fortunate enough to meet a great producer in Steve James. Apart from recognition as Aria Producer of the Year in 2000, Steve had produced the Sex Pistols, the Jam, Paul Young, Shirley Bassey, Life of Brian amongst a myriad of other international artists, while on the local Australian scene he produced the Screaming Jets, the Angels, Mental as Anything, Rumjacks, Skunkhour and many more.

The selection of songs was an intention to cover instrumental tracks from Rock all the way to Chilled and Smooth, meaning it included Heavy Country and Blues tracks. All the tracks have the common theme, guitar ! Albeit that I did also put down a vocal track or two.