 Muz with his great mate Billy Hayes, the hero of Turbulence |
Murray Hartin has been part of the Australian Bush Poetry scene since first stumbling into the inaugural Tamworth Poetry Competition at the 1987 Country Music Festival.
His yarn “Turbulence” is the most recited, most requested and most played poetic work in recent memory and in 2007 his stunning poem “Rain From Nowhere” touched the hearts of people Australia-wide.
The emotional distance between these two poems is as wide as Muz’s repertoire and gives an indication there is more to this Moree-born knockabout than meets the eye.
Thirteen years with The Naked Poets - being exposed to the wonderful comic timing of Shirley Friend, the incomparable stage presence of Bobby Miller, the evolution of Ray Essery, the musical dexterity of Pat Drummond and the all-round brilliance of Marco Gliori – well, it certainly hasn’t done him any harm.
A three-time Golden Gumleaf winner for Recorded Performance of the Year (“Turbulence”, “Rain From Nowhere” and “Faster, Higher, Stronger”) and one for Book of the Year (Turbulence and Other Hot Air), Muz makes his living as a professional entertainer, performing guest speaking roles and MC duties at corporate functions, sporting lunches, charities dinners and festivals across the country.
And to him, it’s all about the performance.
“My stuff is never going to win any written competitions because apparently my iambic pentameter is all over the shop,” Muz said.
“It sounds all right but it doesn’t scan very well. But look, as long as it sounds okay and the audience gets it, that’s all I’m after. I go right back to seeing Marco perform in Tamworth for the first time and it was like a revelation, well, it definitely made an impression.
“But he was up there having a good time and, more importantly, so was the audience. Not only were his poems well constructed, the people could relate to what he was talking about. See, if you’re on stage in our game you have an obligation to entertain. It’s not about giving a history lesson. The only reason you’re there is because of the audience. You have to send out energy to them which they then chew up and throw back at you via laughter or applause, otherwise no one wins.”
It’s been a strange journey since that first competition in 1987 – which Muz won after a young man was disqualified for reciting Blue the Shearer’s Cross-Eyed Bull in the Original Section.
The victory led to a career in journalism and then, in 1996, he took the bold step to become a full-time poet.
Along the way he was part of the evolution of the Poet’s Breakfasts hosted by Jim Haynes at The Longyard, featured on that group’s first cassette and with Mark Gliori staged the Festival’s first night-time poetry concerts in a very hot little church in the early ’90s which in turn morphed into The Naked Poets – the madcap group that went on to record five CDs and perform to thousands of people over a 13-year period.
“I think the secret to the success of The Naked Poets was that we were all great mates, we were all a bit different and we were all prepared to push the envelope or even take a step back for the sake of the show, whatever was required,” Muz said.
“We tried to keep it fresh each year, which meant some of the theatre pieces were a bit wild and woolly but the show found its feet over the course of the week.
“And all that has helped me get to a point where I now make my living out of poetry which means I can utilise my greatest ability – laziness.
“I know I’m not as prolific as I should be, but I’ll get around to it, I love what I do and as long as I continue to get a positive reaction from the audiences I can see no reason to pull up stumps.
“I get a huge buzz out of knowing that some of my mates who I’ve put into poems get a lot of recognition because of it – blokes like Billy Hayes in Turbulence and Scotty Parker in The Hog Whisperer.
“I mean the stories might be a bit loose with the facts but the characters are real.
“And The Naked Poets might have called it a day but we will still perform together in different ways whenever we’re together – and we’re still great mates. Always will be.
“Marco and I are going to do a few shows back at the Tamworth Golf Club next festival, something we’ve been threatening to do for 20 years, and I’m really looking forward to that. It’s all about having fun.”
* Muz has two CDs, “Muz!” and “The Tater Slater Caper” plus a DVD “Bigger Than God’s Undies” available on his website. His new book “A Whole Lotta Muz”, a combination of poems and newspaper columns, will be released next year.
Murray Hartin's poem A Second Glance
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