Geoff Achison is a blues-roots artist from Australia known for his energetic live performances and unique guitar mastery. Geoff began his apprenticeship with legendary Australian blues stylist ‘Dutch’ Tilders establishing himself as a fine lead guitarist before striking out with his own. He began music on his own Jupiter 2 Records label in the early 90s touring throughout the USA, UK & Europe. Geoff’s music has been compared favourably to Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers Band having a solid foundation in the blues whilst embracing a variety of electric & acoustic styles. He has won awards for his guitar playing, songwriting and live performances and was honoured in 2011 as official Patron Of the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society.
Geoff was born on Phillip Island, the third of five siblings, and raised in the Victorian country town of Malmsbury. His parents were music lovers and when Geoff famously discovered a forgotten old guitar beneath the stairwell, his trumpet-playing father enthusiastically found him a guitar teacher. His first gigs were with his father’s dance band where he displayed promise enough to attract the attention of local jazz musician Alan Watson. Through his new mentor he was exposed to jazz and improvisation. At Watson’s suggestion Geoff temporarily switched to bass-guitar which provided him with a greater understanding of the rhythm section. After gaining valuable experience as a bassist Geoff developed a keen interest in American blues and returned to the six-stringed guitar with renewed focus. In rural isolation, he was mostly unaware of the electronic effects employed by some guitarists and devised some of his own techniques to emulate the sounds of echo/delay, tremolo and wah-wah pedals which contributed to a unique playing style.
Geoff first arrived the music scene playing lead-guitar for popular Australian blues performer ‘Dutch’ Tilders. After several years touring with Dutch, Geoff struck out on his own and released his debut solo album ‘Big Machine’ in 1994. He represented Melbourne at the ‘International Blues Challenge’ in Memphis TN winning the coveted ‘Albert King Award’ in 1995. Encouraged, he set his sights on the world market and successfully established international touring routes chiefly in the USA and UK. To overcome the difficulties of bringing a band from Australia, Geoff traveled alone playing solo shows to break the ice and hiring local musicians to form a backing group when required. On his first extended overseas trip, Geoff received a beautiful Gibson guitar from the famous American company, lived in London, England for several months and recorded an album of original music in Portland, Oregon. Upon his return to Melbourne, Geoff was able to recruit an all-star band which featured some of Australia’s most celebrated musicians. With Mal Logan on keys, Roger McLachlan on bass and Gerry Pantazis on drums, Geoff was finally able to realise his musical vision with The Souldiggers and built the group’s reputation with exciting and spontaneous live performances.
Equally adept with acoustic guitar, Geoff often hits the road alone providing a complete show with only his acoustic guitar and vocals. A multi-dimensional player, his music is firmly steeped in the blues and all of its derivatives (soul, funk, jazz etc) with occasional forays into folk, country and even classical styles.
As a song-writer, Geoff explores a myriad of themes from love & loss to politics & philosophy and often with his wry sense of humour shining through. Vocally, Geoff has been compared favourably to the gruff voiced Joe Cocker, Warren Haynes and Paul Weller.
Geoff has been a driving force on the Australian blues/roots scene since the early 90’s and has been honoured in ‘Australian Guitar Magazine’s’ Top 50 Guitarists, True Fire’s ‘100 Guitarists You Should Know’ and he is also Official Patron of the ‘Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’,
“Geoff is one of the finest blues guitarists I know with a completely individual style. ~Jorma Kaukonen, Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna”
“Make sure you never, ever miss an opportunity to see Geoff Achison ‘live’ ~Ron Currens Hittin’ The Note magazine USA
“What makes him unique is not only his instrumental skills but also his multi-faceted approach" Alison Richter ~ Guitar World USA
Artist: Geoff Achison Record Label: Jupiter 2 Records
LOCATION: MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA