Good to see my former boss Tony Decaria gigging again. His band is DUO RETRO.
Here he is with duo partner Jeanette.
Tony is the founder of music retail shop Music Express, which used to be on the Logan Road in Mount Gravatt. I taught at the Music Express School of Music when I first came to Australia, and even managed it for a while.
Tony became a mate and mentor. I stopped by the shop from time to time to ask for advice, and Tony would go through the nuts and bolts of running a business, over a cup of coffee.
I met him just a few years before he retired so I didn’t know much about his early days as a versatile guitarist.
I’ve been playing in bands all my life since the age of 18 year old, that’s when I met my duo partner, Jeanette. She was 15 back then.
But we all go through our journey of life: we grow up, get married and have children. Next thing you know is that you’ve forgotten about yourself and who you are, because you’re too busy raising a family, and so on.
Tony also played bass in a Greek band called Glendi. They backed international artists and released an album world wide called Songs of Greece.
Of course, I started a business – Music Express – as you know. It was a very successful business for almost 30 years and I guess that took up most of my time.
Eventually Tony decided to sell his business, and he retired on the Gold Coast. He started posting some amazing photos from trips around the world! But what to do after a few holidays?
I’ve been down here (Gold Coast) almost ten years now. After many many years, I met back up with my Duo partner a couple of years ago, who also retired down here and lives only ten minutes down the road from me.
So what do you do when you retire and have so much time on your hands? We decided to start doing music again, ‘cause music is for life.
Tony Decaria
We do classic songs of the past as seen on our video, with me on guitar and vocals and Jeanette on vocals. We use backing tracks as well.
Tony said Covid 19 made it a challenge to find gigs, but now they’re ready to work and looking at venues like restaurants and bars, and outdoor brewery events.
I tell my students — once you’ve learned enough to play for your own enjoyment, your music is for Life. And Tony is proof of that! 👍
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