Jeff Rea
Jeff Rea first realised a love for music when one of his older sisters came home one weekend from Training College in Dunedin with a guitar. It was 1965, and the Beatles were hitting their straps. He started learning classical piano when he was eight and not long after began playing guitar with his friend who lived down the road, Alec Bathgate. The sounds of the Doobie Brothers, Uriah Heap and Black Sabbath emanated from their practises. As Rea reached his teens however, he rediscovered the acoustic guitar and started listening to Jim Croce, Don McLean and John Denver, the latter having a big influence on Rea’s musical journey.
After school, Rea regularly performed in bands throughout Otago and Southland. In 1980, he won the first MLT Songwriting Award which was to be the springboard for his debut album ‘First Steps’, which was recorded in 1980. Shortly after, Rea found himself doing TV shows like ‘Threshold Promotion Company’, ‘Stars on Sunday’, ‘With a Bucket on Your Head’ but more importantly, ‘That’s Country’, on which he would soon become a regular. It was here he met American country artist Gary Morris. The two hit it off and Morris encouraged Rea to come to the States and work for him.
Starting as a roadie, Rea worked his way through Morris’ organisation, ending up being a part of Morris’ band, a writer for his publishing company and helping run his organisation. Before he and his family returned home in 1995, Rea recorded his second album ‘Full Circle’, which was produced by Morris.
Back in New Zealand, Rea continued to perform while raising a family and running a farm. He has also been heavily involved with The New Zealand Songwriters Trust which he was a founding member and is also involved in Musical Theatre. Rea continues to travel to the States to play with Morris on his Christmas tour and in November 2017 took the opportunity to record his third album ‘Who I Am’ in Nashville. The album will be released May 2018. Rea is looking forward to touring with the album and getting in front of people with his music – something he still loves as much now as when he started.
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Jeff Rea first realised a love for music when one of his older sisters came home one weekend from Training College in Dunedin with a guitar. It was 1965, and the Beatles were hitting their straps. He started learning classical piano when he was eight and not long after began playing guitar with his friend who lived down the road, Alec Bathgate. The sounds of the Doobie Brothers, Uriah Heap and Black Sabbath emanated from their practises. As Rea reached his teens however, he rediscovered the acoustic guitar and started listening to Jim Croce, Don McLean and John Denver, the latter having a big influence on Rea’s musical journey.
After school, Rea regularly performed in bands throughout Otago and Southland. In 1980, he won the first MLT Songwriting Award which was to be the springboard for his debut album ‘First Steps’, which was recorded in 1980. Shortly after, Rea found himself doing TV shows like ‘Threshold Promotion Company’, ‘Stars on Sunday’, ‘With a Bucket on Your Head’ but more importantly, ‘That’s Country’, on which he would soon become a regular. It was here he met American country artist Gary Morris. The two hit it off and Morris encouraged Rea to come to the States and work for him.
Starting as a roadie, Rea worked his way through Morris’ organisation, ending up being a part of Morris’ band, a writer for his publishing company and helping run his organisation. Before he and his family returned home in 1995, Rea recorded his second album ‘Full Circle’, which was produced by Morris.
Back in New Zealand, Rea continued to perform while raising a family and running a farm. He has also been heavily involved with The New Zealand Songwriters Trust which he was a founding member and is also involved in Musical Theatre. Rea continues to travel to the States to play with Morris on his Christmas tour and in November 2017 took the opportunity to record his third album ‘Who I Am’ in Nashville. The album will be released May 2018. Rea is looking forward to touring with the album and getting in front of people with his music – something he still loves as much now as when he started.
Link to Audio Culture