Bio: Roland Wong

Roland Wong is an independent and unsigned original artist, based in Hervey Bay, Australia. He picked up his first guitar in 1991, when he followed a mate into an Armidale music shop and decided spending all but his last 5 cents on a $79.95 acoustic guitar made sound economic sense. He hasn't looked back.

Roland has been involved in numerous bands and has been writing songs since around 1993. His most recent band was the Hervey Bay based Chaos & The Gosford Skirts. Frustrated with each band's lack of ambition and progress, he's decided to go it alone.

Roland's been spending some time recording and mixing his original music in his Hervey Bay home studio, and has been pleasantly surprised at the positive response he's received from listeners to his recorded and live performances.

Roland’s efforts have resulted in the independent recording, production and release in 2006 of his debut album, “Scenes from the Great Depression”, containing nine tracks in total. Encouraged by a positive reaction to the album – including some airplay on 4FCR Fraser Coast Community Radio and ABC Wide Bay – he’s already begun recording his second album, which is expected to be released (again independently) in 2007.

Roland’s influences vary widely, including classic Aussie pub rock, old-school rhythm & blues, 60’s & 70’s rock, punk, jazz and even some country. Most recent influential artists include Paul Kelly, Pete Murray, Neil Finn, and Powderfinger/Bernard Fanning. This broad range of influences is reflected in Roland’s original songs, which also vary widely in style.

It’s hard to pigeonhole Roland’s music, but he would describe himself as an open-minded music lover who plays for good times and to be part of other people’s good times. Simple as that.