As you may or may not know, Excite Media has a bunch of musical talent. We covered off on why we think that is in our recent blog, The Secret Musical Talent of Excite Media — be sure to check it out if you haven’t already.
It’s really cool hearing about each individual person’s musical journey, and some of the Excite Media team are way too modest about the stuff they’ve done, and the stuff they’re doing now with music.
So, we did a cool little Q&A with each of the known musical talents within Excite Media, pressuring them to tell us all about their musical journeys, and even dob in other quieter talents within our team.
Keep reading to learn more about each person’s musical journey! From solo artists that gig around Brisbane to some of our resident mega-musicians who are part of multiple projects, we got the music goss straight from the horses’ mouths (a cool band name idea, perhaps).
Matthew Green
Matt sings, plays the piano, writes killer music and performs in two bands at the moment — Alta Falls, and The Amicables.
🎶 Tell us about your music (either current or past).
“I am one half of Alta Falls, an Indie Electropop duo from Brissy. I have been writing music with Nathanael (the other half of the band) for many years. However, Alta Falls is our latest project, which we launched in April 2021.”
🎯 Tell us about your current music and musical goals.
“We have just released our 2nd EP 'Wild Dreams' which we launched in Brisbane to a sold-out show in early June. The current single, which was released at the same time, 'I Can See Your Face Through The Rain' is a collaboration with American singer Michael Mayo.
“We are now starting on what we are aiming to have as our 3rd EP with the early goals of releasing the first single from this in late August / early September.
“Our short-term goal is to continue to grow our presence in the Australian Music Industry and be able to play 80-100 capacity venues in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. It’s also a goal to book a few festival gigs as well as support shows for bands who are further along their journey than we are.”
🌱 Where did music all start for you?
“It all started many moons ago (without giving my age away) at 3.5 years old. Family friends had given me a little toy piano, and after the first day, my Dad arrived home to hear me playing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' on it. He was gobsmacked at how my Mum managed to teach me that in just one day. Her reply was 'I didn’t teach him anything — he worked that all out by ear.' It was from there that my parents decided to look into some piano lessons for me. I’m sure glad they did.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
“Absolutely!! When I started at Excite Media in 2012, I knew VERY little about web design and digital marketing. I was given the opportunity to learn everything in-house and also have the flexibility to not only build a career in the industry as a Project Manager, but also have amazing flexibility in my job to be able to dedicate a lot of time to my music dream/passion.
“Mid 2022 I was able to cut back to half-time to focus more time on my music business and it would not have been possible without the support and belief of EM, especially Scott, Nathanael, and Chris.”
🤫 Want to dob in any other secret musical talents of EM?
“You have to hunt down Lorien — I have been seeing some great singing IG stories and had no idea of her musical talents. We need to know more!”
🤩 What do you think about Excite Media having so many musicians?
"I think it’s awesome! Such a creative industry to begin with, and it comes with so much great flexibility to suit musicians. The 4-day week is one of many!"
🤔 Any other cool stories of how music has related to your work/daily life in a cool way?
"Having worked in the marketing industry for 11 years, I have learnt so much that can be used in marketing my own music/band. It’s been amazing to put that to use — another great perk of EM."
💭 Anything else to add?
“It’s never too late to start learning an instrument. It’s also never too late to pick it back up if you've tried before. It’s also important to remember that there is always more to learn — you will never be perfect! (I for sure am not).”
(We, of course, beg to differ. Matt is a perfect snowflake).
📸 Photos & links
Check out these cool photos of Matt and Nathanael performing as Alta Falls.
Head to the Alta Falls TapLink for all their related links — here you can find their social media, Spotify & more.
Ben Maynard
🎯 Tell us about your music and your music goals.
“I’m writing and playing in a few bands at the moment, and split my time between recording original music and playing live in a few different bands. My current band is Lancaster Sound and we are in the middle of recording our debut EP.”
🌱 Where did it all start?
“I started playing in bands in the first year of high school and ended up playing 2-3 nights per week while still in school at venues which made it very tough to get to school on time most days. I Ended up touring with some well-known Aussie bands as a teenager, which was eye-opening but fun.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
“At some point or another, I’ve played in bands with everyone here at Excite Media. It’s a very musical little family.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“Twig (Shane) is a gun vocalist, especially for heavy music.”
🤩 What do you think about Excite Media having so many musicians?
“We’ve done a few little music projects together for Excite Media over the years, including a Christmas video that we recorded live here in the office. That was fun.”
💭 Anything else to add?
“Music is always a valuable way to connect with people, especially in business. Almost everybody has had some exposure to playing an instrument at some point in their life.”
📸 Photos
Here’s a shot of Ben on the left during an Alta Falls launch concert recently. He often jumps in on guitar, bass or backup vocals for a bunch of different projects and bands. You can also see Nathanael at the front, Matt on the right, and Scott on drums at the back.
Scott Maynard
🎶 Tell us about your music
“I enjoy playing drums and guitar (although drums is the main thing). My entire family enjoys the constant tapping on any surface, at any time. It’s a real joy for them, which they surely appreciate. My neighbours also thoroughly appreciate the constant backing beat to their lives.
“My teachers at school would tell me the tapping was 'driving them crazy', which is a rock n roll way of saying they dig it and to keep going.”
🎯 Tell us about your current music and music goals
“I’m playing drums with a few different groups. 'Whiskey Lips' is a blues rock band with good friend Brendan Leggatt (also featuring Benji (Ben Maynard). 'Lancaster Sound' is an alternative rock project with Benji - currently recording a bunch of songs to release. I also play occasionally with Matt and Nathanael’s band 'Alta Falls'.
“Goal-wise — I’m keen to play as much as possible and broaden skills and genres. I enjoy being called in to help with other bands’ recording projects or live performances.”
🌱 Where did it all start?
“Kurt Cobain. I wanted to be him (well, the musical parts, not the 'other' parts). I started learning guitar in early high school, and enjoyed wasting/investing many lunch breaks hammering the school’s acoustic guitars with Nirvana classics. I think some of those M-Block guitars still have remnants of teen spirit still stuck in them to this day.
“I became friends with Nathanael in Grade 9. He was a good and proper kid, but I dragged him down to my level. He got into guitar as well, grew his hair, and we started a band to enter in the high-school Battle of the Bands competition. The girls went wild (probably). We were 'kind of a big deal' (to ourselves), but just didn’t seem to get the accolades we deserved from the wider school community.
“I switched to drums half way through high school, and our grade 12 band actually did ok in the high school Battle of the Bands comp, so we got the opportunity to record a song in a 'real' recording studio. We also got the opportunity to play at Festival Hall - a venue that Nirvana had played a few years earlier, so “technically” we’ve 'shared a stage' with Nirvana….”
🤝 Who from Excite Media has helped you on your musical journey?
“I’ve been playing music for many years with the likes of Nathanael, Matt, and Benji (Ben Maynard). All are talented musicians in their own right, and it has been great collaborating with them over the years.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“Chris — he played in a lot of our early bands (keyboard, guitar, backing vocals). Andy plays guitar/bass. NickyG is learning guitar. Nezza (Nerida Currey) (obviously!). Rebecca is a singer. Hmm… I’m sure there’s more!”
🤩 How cool is it that Excite Media has so many musos?
“I’d say it’s cool to quite cool. It’s been good to collaborate with a few of the other music peeps like Rebecca and Nerida with their songs!”
Nathanael Hubbard
You might know Nathanael as one of Excite Media’s founders — or if you’re one of hundreds of thousands of social media fans, you might know him better as one half of Alta Falls!
Nathanael is an insane musician, instrumentalist, and singer/songwriter in addition to his business genius. A man of many talents!
Here’s what he had to say about his musical journey.
🎶 Tell us about your music (current and past). Spare us no details.
“Growing up as the youngest of four meant being a sidekick to my siblings’ extra-curricular activities. Carted off to my sisters’ ballet lessons each Tuesday, I'd be drawn to an old, somewhat forsaken piano in the corner. In the few minutes before their class began, I’d tinker on the piano trying to work out songs. It wasn't long before I coaxed 'Waltzing Matilda' from its keys, prompting Mum to organise formal piano lessons for me.
“Enter: the world of classical piano lessons. I’ll never understand why the default piano lessons were classical music back then (maybe they still are?), and I believe they drummed any natural talent or musical ear out of me.
“How I came to love playing the piano was one evening when I was thrown into the spotlight during a night-time service at our local church. The regular pianist was away sick, and I got a last-minute call-up. I was told, 'it’s easy, just play the 1-5-1 in the left hand and the chords and inversions in the right hand.' While it wasn’t exactly “easy,” the pressure of the moment fast-tracked my skills and rekindled my passion for the piano.
“High-school had me playing basketball, dreaming of becoming the next Michael Jordan, but a persistent back injury meant I had to find something else to do in my lunch breaks. But as they say, when one door closes, another opens…
“Enter: Scott Maynard, the long-haired Kurt Cobain wannabe (now my co-founder at Excite) who introduced me to the guitar. I instantly fell in love with it, not only with the instrument but also with the sounds of bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Together, we wrote songs and formed several bands during our high school years. Our efforts culminated in the High School Rock Battle of the Bands competition, where we reached the grand final, performing for around 2,000 spectators at Brisbane’s Festival Hall (a stage once graced by The Beatles!). This experience began my addiction of playing in front of a live audience.
“Post-school, I furthered my musical journey at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, focusing on sound engineering and production. This love for sound led me to Rockinghorse Studios in Byron Bay and Sunshine Studios in Brisbane, where I had the privilege of working alongside some of Australia's music legends, such as Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Mark Opitz (AC/DC, Cold Chisel, INXS), and Pete Murray.
“These days, I’m collaborating with Matt Green on a new project — Alta Falls. We're geared up for finalising and releasing our 3rd EP, with more touring and other adventures on the horizon.”
🤝 Has Excite / anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
“Scott originally taught me how to play guitar (right before he switched to drums!). I then proceeded to teach Chris how to play guitar in a spare period at school when we were 16.
“Scott, Chris, and I later teamed up on another project. Nowadays, Ben occasionally steps in on bass for Alta Falls, while Scott fills in on drums.
“Matt and I began playing music together over a decade ago, which led to Matt joining the Excite family.”
🤔 Has music had an impact in your career in any unexpected ways?
“Starting a band – or three – taught me much about the ins and outs of running a business. From marketing to recruitment/HR, project management, creativity, discipline, handling pressure, and event planning, the parallels are numerous.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“Chris can sing a killer harmony!”
📸 Photos & links
Here’s a shot of Nathanael, Scott, and Matt playing at the recent Alta Falls EP launch.
Head to the Alta Falls TapLink for all their related links — here you can find their social media, Spotify & more.
Chris Taylor
🌱 Tell us about your musical background
“I was one of those children that had piano forced down their throat at a very early age! I played piano from the age of 6, until 17 years of age when I broke my mother’s heart and quit. One more exam and I would have been a qualified teacher… whoops.
“Nathanael taught me to play the guitar during our spare periods at school when we were 16, and I realised pretty quickly how much more I enjoy guitar than the piano! I also played saxophone and trumpet from an early age.
“During my teenage years, I took a weird liking to singing harmonies….I can’t explain why, but I really enjoy it!”
🎶 Are you currently playing/making music?
“I’m not playing any more. At one stage I was in two bands - one was with Scott and Nathanael, but I gave that away when we had our first child. I then was still in 'The Brendan Leggatt Band' with our friend Leggie, but I gave that away when our second child came along. Music is now just a fun part of my life that I do for enjoyment when the opportunity arises. I like going to watch my mates play, and if the opportunity comes up to jump up and play a few songs with them, I’ll take it.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“I don’t think they’re very secret — although I will say this - Ben is the most amazing guitarist that I’ve ever seen, and he’s way too humble. Also — not many people know this, but Jason has an amazing voice that is under-utilised!
🤩 What do you love about Excite Media’s musicality?
“My favourite thing is when I see people sharing it! I’ve seen Ben teaching Nathanael some guitar stuff, and I’ve seen Ben working with Nicky G on some guitar stuff! I love it when Scott pops up on the Alta Falls TikToks – it’s just a good bunch of people sharing in the enjoyment!!”
📸 Photos
Check out these photos of Chris in action!
Nerida Currey
🎶 Tell us about your music — what are you doing now and what are your musical goals?
“I’ve been gigging as a solo act for about two years (singing and playing guitar for covers gigs with a few originals thrown in). It’s amped up a bit this year and I’m now gigging fairly regularly on weekends. I absolutely love it.
“I’ve also been songwriting since the age of 17 and am currently working on recording and releasing my music on Spotify! I have at least 15 songs at the moment in various stages of songwriting. Excitingly, I’m working on my Spotify debut with Ben and Scott from Excite at the moment — my favourite and first original, called Gingerbread Boy. I’m super pumped about that! It’s a life goal of mine to release a song, then an EP or album on Spotify.”
🌱 Tell us about your musical history? Where did it begin?
“It started with the violin for me — I started at 7 years old and played pretty seriously for 10 years. I also played clarinet, bass clarinet, and sang in choirs. I was in a bunch of school choirs, bands, youth orchestras and string ensembles.
“Then I hit about 16/17 and flipped from wanting to be a big-time orchestra violinist to thinking I was “way too cool for that” and switched to guitar. My brother taught me to read guitar chords and I taught myself from there. I started singing at about the same time, singing along while I played. A few years later, in uni, I started songwriting and started doing my first few gigs as a singer, as part of a few different duos.
“I then actually moved to Alice Springs out of uni, where there wasn’t much of a music scene, and music took a back-seat in life, and I eventually completely stopped playing in front of other people for about 8 years. It’s such a big part of my life now that I can’t believe that actually happened, but it did. I started up again about 4 years ago, excitingly, and it’s really skyrocketed pretty fast in those 4 years.”
🤔 How did you get back into music and get into gigging?
“Four years ago, I completely rediscovered my love for music. I re-learned that I can, in fact, actually sing (yay!) — (the long break made me doubt how good I actually was, or if I was just full of misplaced confidence). I started singing lessons, hit up a million open mics on the Sunshine Coast (where I was living at the time) and started writing music again. I started performing my own originals for the first time ever.
“Then I moved to Brisbane about 3 years ago and hit up the open mic scene here. I met some people that helped me a lot in my musical journey. I also started working with an incredible vocal coach and music mentor here, and my skill and confidence skyrocketed. I switched open mics for paid gigs about two years ago, and was officially back into gigging — this time as a soloist accompanying myself. It’s really taken off, especially in the last 9 months. I’ve put a lot of effort and work into it over the last few years, and that’s really paying off.”
🤝 How has Excite Media helped your music career?
“Excite has been so amazing for my music. There’s been so much advice and encouragement and genuine interest in what I’m doing with my music around the office. The flexibility of Excite Media is also amazing — I’ve been able to say yes to some gigs I otherwise wouldn’t have, and have also been able to put some love into my music on Wednesdays. I’m super grateful for how great Excite media has been and still is for my music.
“Ben has helped a lot with advice on guitar (he shreds), songwriting structure, social media promotion, and advice on getting my stuff recorded and out there.
“Matt has helped me a lot with showing me how to make money from royalties for my originals, how to earn money on TikTok as a musician, and has given me great advice on getting my songs released when the time comes.
“And Scott and Ben are absolutely legends who are helping me record my original, Gingerbread Boy, so I can release it on Spotify as my debut. They’re both such good musicians (Scott slays on drums, Ben is great on guitar and mixing) and I am eternally grateful for their help! I cannot wait for this song to be ready. Watch this space!”
Andrew Marks
🎶 Tell us about your music. Spare no details.
“My mum started teaching me piano from age 5, but I valiantly resisted for many years. Then, in high school when I picked up a guitar for the first time, I found that the music theory grounding was still there and I picked up the guitar fairly quickly. However, I've never really put a lot of time into practising, so I've never really achieved the heights of proficiency. When I've had an excuse to practise — being invited to play in various bands over the years — I've managed to hold my own. Whenever I have played in a band, it's generally been as a bass player.
“One example of my music theory playing a part — I was playing in my ex-gf's band at the opening of the 2nd Gateway Bridge and she started playing one of her songs in the wrong key (she forgot to move her capo). She was very impressed when I just started playing in the improvised key. I was more impressed that she could switch her vocals to the new key; changing the key on the bass was pretty simple.
“I did take singing lessons for a while. I have a good ear, so I can hear myself when I don't hit the right notes. But again, I don't practise enough to call myself any kind of singer.”
🤔 What about your music these days? Are you currently playing/making music?
“I have an old Martinez guitar which I've been dragging around for 20 years. Whenever I get the urge to play, it's generally acoustic rock covers like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Dandy Warhols, or Turin Brakes. It's usually when I hear a song and think 'that's cool — I should figure that out!' But that's about it — I now have kids and work full time — carving out time for music is getting harder.”
🌱 Where did it all start?
“Besides my mum's efforts to get me to take up piano, I think we were on a holiday in Hervey Bay when I was maybe 15 or 16, and I found a Guitar magazine at a newsagent that had an interview with some rockstar I was into. As I was flicking through the rest of the magazine, I saw they had transcribed a handful of current rock songs, and I used that to teach myself how to play guitar on that holiday.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
“I went to high school in Maleny with Ben. He was always in a band. In fact, I think he was in grade 8 when his band won a competition and got to play on Saturday Disney (the Saturday cartoon show at the time). He's invited me to play in a few collabs over the years, and I always ask him any music theory questions I have.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“One of Mikey's personal goals this year is to record some music. And I've seen Nicky G on the socials, pumping out some Blink 182.”
🤩 How cool is it that Excite has so many musos?
“Frosty. Ice cold. It is fun that there is a lot of musical talent in the building. We should certainly have an open mic night or something!”
Rebecca Nordqvist
🎶 Tell us about your musical background and what you’re doing now
“My musical journey started fairly young with my debut role playing a sheep in While Shepherds Watched — a Musical — when I was four. My family is super musical, so it was kind of ingrained into me at an early age. I started playing clarinet at age 7 and had to learn left-handed as my fingers were so small. By 9, the church my parents attended was trying to move away from using an organ and so they created a worship band, which I led vocally. I mainly sang in musicals, and some that I've been in include: The Tempest, Heartbeat, We Will Rock You, CATs, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Seussical.
“From age 14, I was leading a worship band three times a week until I was about 19. In that time I achieved my Grade 7 Trinity Certificate for Clarinet as well as my AMEB AMusA for Vocals and my Grade 5 AMEB for Music Theory. I actually managed to get a 100% mark in one of my grade exams as well over the years.
“I also got to go on a tour to New York City with my Jazz Band when I was 13. It was a very competitive band to get into and performing in New York was one of the greatest highlights of my musical career.”
“I performed in a range of competitions over the years, including some eisteddfods, winning a variety of awards and I actually had a scholarship to high school for performing arts. I was also offered a position in a professional theatre company’s internship program but turned it down to pursue marketing. I also won the music and music extension subject prizes in school.
“After school, I didn’t really pursue music so much. I did a little bit of vocal teaching, and I’ve still sung at Church and performed at several community concerts, with my biggest crowd being 12,000 people (I was so scared).
“I also recorded an album to help out a friend who was studying at SAE, which I never released. Instead, my Mum just carries around a copy in her car (haha).
“However, I did work with a hip hop group helping youth from Detention Centres write their own lyrics to help them work through their situations.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite Media helped you on your musical journey?
“I have been doing some recording with Ben recently on a couple of originals that we’ve been working on, but just for fun.”
🤫 Any secret musical talents you want to dob in?
“LORIEN — she has the most amazing voice and has been recording some songs with a friend of hers from Uni!”
🤔 Are there any strange ways your music has made its way into your career?
“I once had a singalong with a client about one of the songs I did for my music extension 'Georgia On My Mind' whilst we were going through their report… but I do forget the context.
“I will say I think my performance skills, and my improvisation skills from being a predominantly Jazz clarinettist, have given me great abilities to feel confident when presenting in front of clients and being able to formulate whole sentences that are actually meaningful.”
🔗 Links
This YouTube video is from Bec’s music extension program. You can hear her Mum cheering loudly in the background.
📸 Photos
How cute is young performing Bec?
Mike Green
🎶 Tell us about your music
“I played in mostly cover bands in high school and an originals hard rock band in my early adulthood. More recently, I’ve been messing with synthy stuff, and that’s my focus at the moment — I have a MicroKORG that I’ve been experimenting with.
💭 Tell me about your current music, music goals etc?
“I've put together a bit of a home studio and am planning on trying to record a few tracks. My latest piece of equipment is a Roland-TR8S which I haven't used all that much yet, but I have taken huge inspiration from the album DECIDE by Djo and want to start making slightly more synthy/electronic music.”
🌱 Where did it all start?
“My parents definitely pushed me towards music with piano and cello lessons throughout primary school, but it wasn't until a hiatus in high school that I eventually did fall in love with the electric guitar. I played in various high school bands and played in a band called Dos Beagles in my early adult life.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
It's currently in my personal development plan to release an EP in the next couple of years. No doubt I'll be sharing some sounds around once I've got new stuff recorded.
It is great having so many musicians at Excite Media, because I can talk to people about gear before making purchases, and I can also discuss the music I want to make with musos and get good feedback.
🤔 Any cool stories of how music has related to your work / daily life?
“I actually got into IT/programming partly because I wanted to make plugins for pro tools and other DAWs.”
📸 Photos & links
Check out these photos of Mikey playing music as a much younger lad.
Faith Pitchford
🎶 Tell us about your music
My passion for music started when I was very young, maybe 5 years old, wanting to be like my sister who was 6 years older than me. She was in the choir and played the flute at school. When I was finally old enough, I joined the choir at school, and also joined the band, playing percussion. I also picked up the cello at my second primary school. I played percussion until year 12, and cello until year 10.
“My singing has always been my main passion. I was in the Australian Youth Choir at 11. I had solos in the school choirs from age 10 and sang a duet with my teacher. I taught myself basic ukulele and guitar at age 13/14. I took myself busking at my local shopping centre quite a bit at this age. I sang in 2 of my church worship teams (one for the kids services on Sundays and the other for the youth services on Friday nights.) I also sang solo items on Sundays and Christmas Productions.
“When we moved back to Australia I joined our new church’s Sunday worship team and Friday night youth worship teams. I was in the school choir until year 12 and was given solos. I was top of my class for music and music extension and did solo and group performances. Was in the church worship team until 2017.
“I played the zebra in our school musical ‘Just So’ in 2012.. I was given solos to sing with our school Jazz band. I was asked to sing at a fundraiser for another school
“These days I sing in the car and the shower. I need to get back into performing as it’s been far too long. I plan on joining a choir and attending vocal/performance lessons again so I can start performing again.”
🤝 Has anyone from Excite helped you on your musical journey?
“My dad (Andrew/Pitchy) has always been my biggest supporter, along with my mum. Nerida has been encouraging me to get back into it too.”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of EM?
“Pitchy (Andrew Pitchford) used to do musical theatre back in the day — I think he did ‘Guys and Dolls’, ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Kinky Boots’? Ask him, haha. I think he used to play the trombone back in the day too.”
🤩 What do you think of Excite Media having so many musicians?
"It’s pretty cool. It’s great that we can ask for opinions, help and guidance on the topic from so many around us."
🔗 Links
Check out Faith’s YouTube channel, which has some videos of some of her old performances — her voice is absolutely stunning!
Lorien Fearon
🎶 Tell us about your current music, music goals, etc.
“Music took a backseat when I graduated from high school, and whilst I've been involved in bits and pieces here and there, I’d say the most recent music activity I've been involved in is helping a producer friend out with recording songs.
"He’s in his final year at QUT and has the opportunity to submit some songs of his to be considered for a contract with a studio, so asked if I’d be willing to jump in the studio and help out by singing on the tracks, which I’ve been doing for the past couple of months. Other than that, not much else besides the odd car singalong session!”
🌱 Where did it all start?
“I grew up in a fairly musical family, Dad played drums and guitar, my little sister played flute, my little brother played drums and guitar as well, and so naturally, music was something I kind of fell into.
“I tackled a host of afterschool activities from sports, to debate and so on, but music was something I consistently enjoyed doing. I was taught piano all throughout primary school and a little bit into high school, so did things like Eisteddfods, music nights etc, and then had some singing lessons while I was in grade 12.
“I was pretty involved in music throughout high school, playing lead roles in school musicals, singing in groups that did outreach work to remote communities in QLD and helping out where I could!”
🤩 What are your thoughts on how musical Excite Media is?
“It’s really great that there is such a creative and collaborative environment encouraged at Excite, and I think you can see that by how many talented musicians end up working here and staying on. One thing that I've found is that creative people are naturally drawn to each other, so it doesn’t surprise me that Excite has ended up with such a musical space.
“Having such great flexibility has also meant that I’m able to help out with recording for my friend in the studio on Wednesdays, so that’s awesome!”
Nick Gregory
🎶 Tell me about your music history & what you’re doing at the moment with music
“When I was about 5 years old, my mum took me to my very first piano lesson, and that’s when my love of music took off.
“Since then I’ve played (to some degree of competency, as well as in bands/music competitions etc):
Clarinet Alto sax Tenor sax Oboe Guitar Bass guitar
“I currently play a little bit of guitar, but I’d relegate myself strictly to rhythm guitar and only if it were in a band that predominantly played early-’00s pop punk covers (i.e. basically power chords only).”
🤫 Want to dob in other secret musical talents of Excite Media?
“I really want to hear Mikey shred on the slide guitar behind his desk.”
🤩 What do you think about Excite Media having so many musos?
“I think it’s pretty astounding just how musically-inclined Excite team members there are. From professional musos (like Matt + Nathanael, Nerida, Ben, and even Scoot + Jigs), to the 'hobbyist-only' ones (who are still incredible), it seems like nearly everyone at Excite has a special musical talent (special shout-out to Ed Watson’s incredible singing voice).”
📸 Photos & a video
Check out these photos and this video of Nick playing guitar. We think he’s too modest about his ability.
Jason Howman
Jason got dobbed in for his singing abilities. It was tricky to get the information out of him about it as he’s too modest, but here’s what we were able to garner.
🌱 Growing up
“I wanted to be in school choirs as a kid but I was too scared and embarrassed to join. Then in year 6 I had a teacher ask me to join.
“I at first said 'nah' but then got told I could swap a class for it once a fortnight and I didn’t like that class, so I ended up saying yes.
“So I was in the choir and I kept getting into trouble for being louder than everyone else at the eisteddfod and had to keep dialling back my very loud voice.
“I remember getting filthy looks from girls in the choir who were very good singers for being too loud. I didn't mean to drown them out, but I always did.”
👨🎤 More recently
“One thing I think that no one here knows about is that back in the day, I had a friend’s death metal band that I got up and did a few songs for a few times as a step-in, but that’s going back a while.”
🎤 Now
“I usually only sing drunk around campfires or drunk at karaoke. Whoever dobbed me in was probably at that campfire or at that karaoke.”
We can probably (lovingly) attest to the volume of Jason’s voice and his flawless, yet accidental, projection.
Shane Rose
Ben dobbed in Shane (aka Twig) for having “gun vocals, especially for heavy metal”.
Shane at first denied having much musical talent, however he did admit to doing backing vocals on one track on the first Brendan Leggatt Band album. The track was called Sleepy Hollow, and this, dear readers of a great example of modesty — because who wouldn’t rate being asked to feature in an album as talent?!
Shane also admitted to being able to “do a pretty good version of Hello by Adele when I’m yelling along to it…”
🔗 Links & footage
We have procured this video of Shane singing this very song in the office, and although it’s a short one, signs do point to ‘yes’ for excellent heavy metal vocals.
We’re going to need to closely watch Shane around the office (in a non weird way) for more moments like this.
Here’s the link to the track Shane was a backup singer on: Brendan Leggatt — Sleepy Hollow (original version). Shane’s voice is the loudest of the four voices you can hear in the background.
Andrew Pitchford
Faith dobbed in Andrew as a secret musical talent in her own Q&A. If you’ve met Andrew, chances are you’ve noticed his melodic voice.
With a voice like that, and a background in broadcast radio, it’s no surprise that Andrew was involved in musical theatre in the past.
Andrew is modest as he is talented, but we eventually convinced him to tell us about his stint in theatre…
“My on stage musical journey started in primary school as the 'youngest brother, Benjamin', in Joseph and the Technicolour Dream coat.
“I have performed in musical shows like 'The Boyfriend' and my favourite as the character of Nathan Detroit in 'Guys and Dolls'. This role was famously played by Frank Sinatra.
“A not so musical role I loved was playing the lead of 'Brian Runnicles', an inept bank clerk in receipt of slightly pornographic cards sent to his bank in the farce, 'No Sex Please, We're British'. This role was previously made famous by two comic legends Ronnie Corbett and Michael Crawford.”
You can also hear Andrew’s talented voice as podcast host to Excite Media’s podcast The Morning Kick, on our Excite Media YouTube Channel.
