The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction Book - DVD

Kirk LorangeI started playing the guitar a long time ago: at age 12 in 1961. That was the year I heard Hank Marvin playing the tune 'Apache' (thanks, Hank) and I've been hooked ever since. I've been earning my living with my guitars since 1968, about the time I started playing slide, which is what I'm best known for in Australia.

I lived in London during the early seventies where I recorded an album with fellow Montrealer Dwight Druick. We formed a band with a young American guy called Seymour Duncan on lead. I remember he was always dissatisfied with his sound.

In 1975, I moved to Sydney Australia and began playing on various recording sessions there... album tracks, movie soundtracks and more TV and radio commercials than I could count (discography below). I formed a band called Sleeping Dogs with Doug Ashdown and Wayne Findlay which opened for Supertramp around the country on their World Tour. I also toured and recorded with one of Australia's great songwriters, Richard Clapton, contributing to his albums 'Goodbye Tiger' (which went top 5), 'Mainstreet Jive' and the 'Highway One' soundtrack. I also met Tommy Emmanuel shortly after I arrived in Australia. We have shared the stage on many occasions and worked in the studio together often.

In 1984, I recorded and produced a solo album of my own songs called 'No Apostrophe' (see below) which received great reviews and went top 15 in Perth and Adelaide. During that period I also recorded and toured with the late Marc Hunter who had left his band Dragon to pursue a solo career. Glenn Shorrock, ex Little River Band also hired me for his band and more recently, Glenn hooked up with his old cohort Brian Cadd to form Blazing Salads, a wonderful band which toured Australia several times.

During the late eighties, Kevin Bennett and I formed a four piece band 'Chasin The Train' which enjoyed legendary status in Sydney. We play some of our own material and covered a bunch of Little Feat, Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jesse Winchester and the like — Country with a boogie beat. The Train supported John Mayall and The Band (a cut down version, minus Robbie and Levon) on their Australian tours. Another band I formed, The Six Amigos, had the pleasure of opening for The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash) during their Australia tour in '92.

Other international acts I've opened for as a solo act include Leo Kottke, John Martyn, Bert Jantsh, Mose Allison and John Hammond. I have always given lessons on a casual basis, but about fifteen years ago I started staging workshops where I passed on my 'trick'. I wrote a 6 page booklet for those workshops, and that booklet grew into PlaneTalk a couple of years later. I flew to Montréal where my tasteful brother Gerry designed and edited it on his big Mac. Thanks, Gerry.

I moved to Tamborine Mountain (near Brisbane) in 1998 to be closer to my three kids Danny, Rohan and Astrid who lived in Byron Bay. I formed a three piece band there called MumboGumbo, I played in three or four other line-ups, worked solo, marketed PlaneTalk, staged workshops, wrote songs, designed web sites etc.

In May 2004 I returned to Canada and stayed for a year in British Columbia. I'm now back at Tamborine Mountain, dad again to little Georgia Lorange.

All these are Australian productions album productions featuring my playing with the exception of the first, Spooky Tooth's Mike Harrison, which was recorded in Nashville. This list is not necessarily complete.

Mike Harrison - lp - 1975
Kevin Johnson - lp - 1976
Richard Clapton - lp - 1976
Graeme Connors - lp - 1976
Marcia Hines - lp - 1977
Doug Ashdown -lp- 1977
Richard Clapton - lp - 1977
Kevin Johnson - lp - 197
Robyn Archer - lp - 1980
Kevin Johnson - lp - 1980
Carol LLoyd - lp - 1980
Mike McClelland - lp - 1980
I. Toften - s - 1981
Johnny Ashcroft -lp - 1981
Marc Hunter - lp - 1981
Simon Gallagher - lp - 1981
Dan Johson - lp - 1982
Swanee - lp - 1982

Reels - lp - 1982
Richard Clapton - lp - 1982
Doug Ashdown - lp - 1983
Jon Coleman - mlp- 1983
S. Williams - lp - 1984
Debbie Byrne - lp - 1985
Renee Geyer - lp - 1985
Kevin Johnson - s/track 1985
Marc Hunter - lp - 1985
Alan Caswell -lp - 1987
Anne Kirkpatrick - lp - 1987
S. Williams - lp - 1988
Graeme Connors - lp - 1988
John Hanlon - lp - 1988
Johno's Blues Band-lp-1989
Mike McClelland - lp - 1989
Tony John - lp - 1989
Johno's Blues Band - s -1989

Evelyn Bury - lp - 1989
Mike and Zeph - lp - 1989
Richard Clapton - lp - 199
Sharon O'Neill - lp - 1990
Shane Howard - lp - 1990
Keith Urban - cd - 1991
Helen Kay - s - 1991
Club Hoy - lp - 1991
The Kanes - lp - 1991
Chris Kemp - cd- 1993
Dragon - cd - 1993
Danny Timms -cd- ---
Llewellyn Rae - cd - 1995
Dave Reynolds - cd - 1995
Gary John - cd - 1996
Brielle - cd - 1997
Angela Hayden - cd - 1997
John Williamson - cd - 1999
Andy Collins - cd - 2002

Movie and TV soundtracks

The Shiralee - Feature film
Young Einstein - Feature film

Police Rescue - TV drama
Paradise Beach - TV drama

Over the Hill - TV comedy
Women of the Pilbara - Documentary

Kirk Lorange No ApostropheIn 1984 I met a very talented engineer / producer by the name of Michael Stavrou who had moved to Australia from the US via England. Together we put together an album of my songs for WEA Records. It was my only foray into the corporate world. The album became one of those underground classics according to some but was deleted from the record company's catalog years ago.

I've made it available again; you can order it here.

 

 

 


Copyright © 1998-2010 Kirk Lorange, all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without
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