Muso returns for Cobram reunion

The past and present came together for four old friends from St Joseph’s Primary School, Cobram, on Saturday, September 7.

Roger King organised the reunion at Squire’s Winery, Esmond, with old Cobram school friends Debbie Brasser, Margaret Djapri and Genevieve Nielsen.

Mr King met his three friends while attending St Joseph’s Primary School from 1965 to 1969 before he moved away.

After their mother passed away in 2015, Mr King and his sister went through their family’s photos.

One of those photos took him back to his days at St Joseph’s.

“I saw my friends’ faces frozen in time, and I thought, ‘I’ve got to find out how their lives have turned out’,” Mr King said.

Now working in the transport industry for FedEx in Geelong, Mr King said he hoped to return to Cobram “many more times” in the future.

Mr King is a lyricist, meaning that he writes the lyrics for his songs but leaves the singing for others.

He has collaborated with singers from nations across the globe, from Argentina to the United States.

“A couple of years ago, I heard one of my favourite songs, and I sat down and thought, ‘I’m going to have a go at this.’”

“At the end of it, I’d written one and thought, ‘Gee, that’s not too bad.’”

Mr King’s father taught guitar, while his mother taught piano and organ.

He said if one wished to write music, it could be done.

“You don’t have to be John Lennon, you don’t have to be Taylor Swift. If you’ve got a passion for it ... let your imagination roam free. You’ll find that the pen will almost write itself,” he said.

Before going into the transport industry, Mr King was an apprentice shoemaker.

But he soon realised that music had “always been my passion”.

“Songwriting takes you on a journey,” he said.

Mr King lives in Geelong West with his son and wife, but returns to Cobram whenever he can.

Cobram, for Mr King, can be summarised in just one sentence.

“The best friends, the best people, and the best town and the best era is the way I describe it,” he said.

“[I] think I’ll end up back there permanently in time.”

Mr King’s latest track, Complexity of Time, was released on Tuesday, September 10.

Readers may already be familiar with Mr King’s earlier track Forever my Home, inspired by his love for the Cobram community.

Readers can listen to Mr King’s music on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.