Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Recently I was privileged to attend the album launch of The Coast Sessions. It is a double CD of fantastic hit songs from famous artists living on the Central Coast, along with some undiscovered original songs and I have no doubt includes a few future hits from music stars in the making as well. The album is a joyous mix of well-known artists now living on the Central Coast and young musicians whose talents remain undiscovered so far, but whose great potential shines through on this CD. The launch was held at a famous music venue on the Central Coast, Lizotte's at Kincumber, and I was privileged to hear some of these musicians in action live on stage.

They were simply fabulous. There were anthems such as Joe Coffee's song Stand Talla great reggae mix that had us all singing along to his engaging and entertaining performance. Chrissi K's song Goodbye is another highlight on the album. But for me it was not so much 'goodbye' as 'hello' because I had a great chance to catch up with Chrissi King and her sister Eliza, who sang backing vocals for her on the night. In fact, Chrissi reminded me that I had taught her history class when I was a teacher at my old school in Narara some 20-odd years ago. Now she is in the process of making her own piece of music history.

Another young local singer, Daisy Sherwood-Miller, delivered a great live version of her pop song Does This Move Make You Tingle, and just for a moment I thought perhaps Bob Dylan had appeared on stage when the irresistible Dr Goodvibe performed his original song, Price Tag. Other local artists who are on the CD and who were just amazing on the night include Jess Hind, Kelly Griffith, Jake Folbigg, Alicia Brock, Ellen Mara, Sarah Lanser, Amba Mercuri, Smokin' Mirrors, New Regulars, Annabelle Clark and Liz Kitney. We also heard Hannah Smith perform her original track Ghost of You. Her voice is truly mesmerising, and I am sure she is one of our future country music stars.

When I watched Countdown in the eighties, when I was growing up, I do not think I ever imagined that one day I would get to see Central Coast-based star Billy Field perform live on stage, as I did that night at Lizottes. Billy's debut album, Bad Habits, shot to the top of the Australian charts, and his title track is one of the songs on the Coast Sessions CD. We owe this success to Innov8 Central Music. It is a group of locals determined to make the Central Coast a place where musical talent is fostered, where creativity abounds and where excellence flourishes.

The album launch was made possible thanks to the leadership of the chairman of Innov8 Central Music, David Bacon, whose vision and drive for this project helped to make the record a reality. My congratulations must also go to Graham Baker, Chris King, Dexter Moore and Grant Walmsley. And I give a special thanks to Brian Lizotte and his wife, Judy. Their place at Kincumber and now, of course, also their places in Dee Why and Newcastle are renowned as superb live music and entertainment venues which have fantastic food to go with it.

Innov8 Central Music is a genuine, vibrant grassroots initiative. In their determination to source the very best talent from the Central Coast, a live judging event was held last November, offering dozens of local musicians a shot at being included on this album. Fourteen local artists were selected in this way, with the remaining two performers being selected in a people's choice event in December last year. But the heart and soul of this project, and so much of our home-grown musical talent on the Central Coast, come from Rod McCormack and Gina Jeffreys. The guitar player you hear in TheCoast Sessions is Rod McCormack—an outstanding musician who has played on a number of hit records over the years. I heard his band jamming on stage. Their spontaneous improvisation was actually second to none. We could have been listening to a performance at the ARIAs!

Gina Jeffreys, of course, has also been reigning supreme at the top of her industry since her debut single, Two Stars Fell, shot to the top of the charts in 1993. Gina is a four-time Golden Guitar winner, and she has become one of our most in-demand performers in the country. Many of the artists featuring on the CD were actually trained by Gina. You can hear the benefits of her master class in the depth of the voices and the skills of the musicians.

I actually have copies of this landmark double album in my office, if anybody wants to purchase a copy. I will be playing it often in my office reception, and I invite you to come and listen—not just because it is great new music but because it promotes the people, the talent, the opportunity and the creativity on the Central Coast. TheCoast Sessions is about creating more cultural and economic opportunity for the Central Coast to the tune of world-class talent and the songs of some of the best musicians in Australia.

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