Music
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Considering the sing-along, acoustic gems that Horsham musician Toni Turner is fast becoming known for, it is something of a surprise that seh once dabbled in heavy metal genres like Metallica and Pantera.
"I would have to say that one of my biggest influences has been Metallica,", she said with a laugh.
"But I also like Matchbox 20 and Kasey Chambers. I like girl bands too. My musical friends are also my influences; Jason Pannan, Paul Drendel and everyone who has always been there for me. The list is huge!"
Toni's musical journey began when she was merely three years old and spending time with her great-grandmother.
"That's when I started playing piano, just trying to follow in her footsteps and trying to copy her."
"I guess that's where it all started."
"Then when I was about 14, I remember it was Christmas or something, but my mum bought me a bass guitar which I didn't even know what it was at first. I have no idea why she bought it," Toni said.
"I remember thinking 'what kind of a guitar is this with only four strings', but by the end of the day I was able to play a Bon Jovi song."
And that was the spark that lit the fire.
"It continued when I started school, that's when I met up with other people who were in my band," she said.
"One of them is actually recording music up on the Gold Coast now."
"We continued it after school as well for a while, just mucking around really."
However, it was once Toni joined the Weekend Warriors that her favourite hobby took off.
"It's a program run by Leading Edge Music where you put your name down as being interested in joining a band, then they put a band together for you so you pick people with similar interest," she said.
"They give you about three months to put songs together and then put on a concert at the end. That's where I met Paul Drendel."
And that's how Toni ended up as the newest addition to the Circle O' Friends group.
"He asked me to join up with Circle O' Friends and within two weeks of joining up I ended up getting three gigs in two days."
This included a recent show at Wimmera Regional Library.
"I play original stuff but I do some covers as well, just to fill the gaps," Toni said.
"Some of my favourite places to play in have been the Rusty Nail and the Dooen Pub; the people out there have been really great."
"Some of the comments about my music have been really good. They think it's great easy-listening stuff that they can have in the background while they're having dinner."
Although she considers her music as a hobby, Toni is looking at recording some songs in the near future.
"I'm trying to get some stuff down at home, I have a small studio set up though I haven't recorded anything yet. I work 40 hours and I have children, so it's my relaxation and release time."
- The Wimmera Mail Times
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Better known for inhabiting the likes of country pubs in the middle of little known areas, 32yo Mother of 3 Toni now enjoys filling in time with her acoustic guitar on the beaches of the Sunny Coast of Queensland. Toni was raised in a family of piano players and was given a bass guitar as a christmas present at the age of 14. This started an experimental era of playing in metallica/pantera coverbands as well as alternative chart cover bands. Toni left the music scene for some time to raise a family but later joined a 3 piece accoustic set in the little country town of Horsham in the Wimmera around 2002 & spent a whirwind 2 years of playing classic acoustic rock covers mixed with a few more unusual acoustic covers of classic rock songs & ballads. The group, known as Bindii Blind started writing original music and playing in country pubs, folk festivals & competing in battle of the bands. After becoming pregnant with their third child in 2007, Toni bought an acoustic 6 string and started concentrating on writing more original music and playing solo. She describes her music style as "Mood Rock" as it ranges from light, melodic tones of folk, to a more fun & cheeky sounding upbeat combo and even including some deep & dark sounding ballads that could almost lead into a different genre altogether. Although just starting out on a solo adventure, Toni hopes to tee up with another person to help share and expand the possibilities abounding her music.
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