All grown up: Nathan Cavaleri, right, with new bandmate Col Hatchman.
ERIN PEARSON
FROM a knee-high blues prodigy to wannabe rock star, Nathan Cavaleri has heard it all before.
He made headlines as an 11-year-old for his extraordinary guitar skills before travelling the globe in his pre-teens with the likes of Australian rockers Jimmy Barnes and Diesel.
Months later he had appeared on US televisions shows CNN and Good Morning America and billed alongside superstars Bo Diddley, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page and Elton John.
But many Australians would simply remember him as the little boy in a denim jacket on Hey, Hey It’s Saturday.
After all the early fame and fortune, Cavaleri said he had finally found his calling alongside former Screaming Jets drummer Col Hatchman in Nat, Col & the Kings.
“When I went through school it was at the same time I was on TV and people enjoyed putting me down, so it was hard to be confident in my art,” Cavaleri said.
“That all changed when I met Col. He’s the king of the world and completely brought me out of my shell.”
Cavaleri said that as a child he had no idea what he wanted from music but was thankful his parents kept him away from all the “offerings”.
“I didn’t really know what I felt. I just knew that when I was on stage I took out what I was feeling on my guitar,” he said.
“People wanted me to stop playing guitar; others wanted me to join a boy band.
“Now what I’ve got with Col is magic. We have a vision in common.”
Cavaleri said he was “thrilled” to be on the bill for this year’s Queenscliff Music Festival.
“Festivals are an amazing thing because people don’t just go to see one gig after work. When people go to a festival they go to completely lose themselves and are ready to escape,” he said.
“It’s a magical experience.”
Cavaleri said audiences could expect a “new-generation stomp blues” sound when Nat, Col & the Kings performed this weekend at the music festival’s sneak peak show before the event proper in November.
“I grew up listening to a lot of old blues and then went through the ’90s listening to Nirvana, so we’ll be mixing them both together,” he said.
“I like to think we’ll give people stuff they remember but at the same time put a new spin on it.
“Escape all the pressure of the world – that’s what we’re all about.”
Queenscliff Music Festival’s Winter Warm Up will be on Saturday night.
