Singer songwriter David Flower believes he inherited a special trait from his father that has been useful in his musical career - the booming voice of the saleyard auctioneer.
"My father was an auctioneer in the Australian Estates Company, so he would be off at the Roma saleyards auctioning off the cattle," he said.
"He's nearly 90-years-old now and sharp as a tack, plays his lawn bowls three times a week and bridge and he still MC's, so when I think about what I got from Dad, he's not much of a singer but he always does sing.
"And he has such a great projection in his voice, which is where I get my projection from."
David is much like the Queensland bush poets or troubadours of days past, while he calls Mount Marlow in north Queensland home, he is often away on the road playing pubs, festivals, cafes and even caravan parks.
With the blood of respected western Queensland poet Charles Augustus Flower flowing through his veins, it seems David was destined for a life on the road creating songs and stories from his experiences.
The now 55-year-old was born in Warwick before moving to Roma following his father's work, the family eventually relocated to Brisbane where David completed his schooling and was a singer in a garage band that played the local pub circuit.
After school the travelling bug hit him and he began working at various Queensland island resorts and this led him to music and shaped his unique musical style.
"I was working on Lindeman Island back in 1990 and with my second pay cheque I bought an acoustic guitar," he said.
"So my style has always been around the acoustic sound, I suppose you could call it folk roots reggae with a bit of acoustic funk.
"It's story-telling but with a groove, I never decided one day I was going to be a musician it just flowed and suddenly you have found yourself a full-time musician."
He continued working on island resorts around the state, recording his first original album Mad Flower on Tangalooma Island in 1993.
His career has seen him travel the world and record multiple albums but regional Queensland has always held a special place in his heart and craft.
"I love it when you hit those open roads and you have the wheat crops on the side and the silos," he said.
"I remember when I was a boy and we would drive past them my parents would say 'there's giants that live inside those silos' and we totally believed them."
And his touring eventually led to a poignant journey back to western Queensland, united with the voice that had helped him find his own.
"I played in Roma two years ago, when I took my father with me out there," he said.
"In between my sets he would get up and tell a few jokes, as he does with his big booming voice.
"We played at the Commonwealth Hotel Roma and we did a mini-festival in Mitchell and he did a great job and got plenty of laughs, it was special."
Meeting the Queensland girl
The long winding musical road would also eventually take David to Bowen local and now partner Bronwyn Garland, and help him write one of his popular songs 'Queensland Girl.'
"I was in an op-shop buying a spatula, because I attach my phone to a spatula and call it 'spatch-cam productions' a cheap version of a selfie stick," he said.
"I looked across and saw this beautiful girl and she gave me a glance but shyness took over me, then we saw each other again at the supermarket, and Bronwyn believed that these two points of contact meant something so she came and said 'hello.'
"I asked her to dinner and we haven't spent many days apart since then and I wrote the song because she is the epitome of Queensland, she's from Bowen, the accent and a beautiful, strong-willed person."
Currently touring David will return to Mount Marlow to finish 11 songs he has in the works.
He also has plans to create a new music festival in the region.
"I'm going to take a risk," he said.
"I'm going to run a festival called 'Flame Tree' between Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour in September.
"We are trying not to step on other people's toes that are running festivals, so we haven't got an exact date yet, and it will be all my musical friends and artists that are out there doing great things."
David Flower is playing a variety of venues for his Road to Yackandandah tour finishing at the Wintermoon Festival, halfway between Mackay and Proserpine, April 28 - May 1, 2023.
