I’ve been fortunate enough to see more than 300 contemporary music artists in my life - around 50 years of gigs, taking in artists from Australia, The UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and more. Here I talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. The sublime to the ridiculous. How many from my list have you seen?

A resurgence in vinyl record sales brings with it a revival of the lost art of record cover design. What are your favourite album covers?

Someone recently asked me what my favourite Australian song of all time was. After much deliberation I got the list down to 20. In the process I realised how inherently problematic these lists are.

The 80’s saw boom times for gigging and recording rock and pop artists, with a thriving live scene, well funded, optimistic record labels and an economy that invested in the ‘industry’ of music. It’s well understood that many of those things evaporated as the new century took hold and today’s players struggle to find gigs, or make anywhere near a decent living from the ones they can get. But what about the things that today’s artists have that we couldn’t even have imagined back then? Can we resolve this debate?

Part Two – The ‘80s: Explore Brendan Callinan’s deep-dive into iconic keyboards and synthesizers, from '80s digital classics to present. An inside look at the sound, setup, and performance purpose behind every instrument throughout his gigging career.

Part One – The ‘70s: Trace the origins of keyboardist Brendan Callinan’s 50-year gear retrospective. From the Crumar ‘Crucianelli’ Compact Piano to his time in the studio on the iconic Roland VP330 Vocoder. Vintage studio insights, rare synth history, and the iconic analog tone of a bygone era.

Bands are funny animals, usually maintaining the appearance of a democracy, but rarely behaving as one.  As in most situations, decision making can be loaded with agendas, dominant personalities, loud voices and diverse opinions, but I don’t recall much of this coming out to play in the choice of cover versions that we chose to flesh out our sets with. We chose songs that we all liked and believed could add something to our show. 

Former Radiators keyboardist and Roland executive Brendan Callinan shares what inspired his debut memoir, Life’s A Gamble, offering an unfiltered look into the heartbeat of Australian rock history. From a music-loving country kid chasing his dream to play, write, and record for anyone who would listen, to touring with one of Australia’s hardest-working pub rock bands, Brendan delivers an authentic, behind-the-scenes account for fans and music enthusiasts alike.

It was an electric time to be performing live music in Australia. Pub rock was bustling, gig opportunities were endless, and with well-funded record labels, international success was suddenly within reach. The result was an era that forged some of the most enduring and iconic Australian artists of all time.

Former Radiators keyboardist Brendan Callinan takes a whimsical look back at the band's changing lineup of drummers over the years, drawing parallels to mythical rock icons, Spinal Tap.