BEREA singer, songwriter and guitarist, Gavin Ferguson, is working to make his musical dreams a reality.
Gavin, who enjoyed drama at school and achieved full colours for the subject says he initially started writing songs in his matric year, but it was only until much later that he decided to pursue music as a career.
“I studied engineering at Congella Technical College and worked full time. I would perform part time at open mic events in the evenings. I used to travel a lot in Africa, and this is where I reached the pinnacle of my career and realised I wasn’t happy,” he said.
He was on his way to a work project four years ago when he decided he would rather be broke and doing what he kept trying to find the time to do – perform music.
“I found I was always thinking about a gig I was going to be performing at that night rather than focusing on the job at hand. I decided then to take the chance,” he said.
Gavin said he fell in love with music when he was in school, after hearing Seal’s Kiss from a Rose in a Batman movie.
“That was my first experience of how beautiful music can be. I started playing the guitar after that. I was 16 years old at the time. Song writing also just came naturally to me,” he said.
His first year of making a career out of music was tough and required that he do a lot of cover gigs. “Playing covers is not my passion, but it paid the rent! Now that I have made more of a name for myself, I am being asked to play at gigs and events and can be more choosy and add my originals to the line-up,” he said.
He has proudly shared the stage with artists like Khan from The Parlotones, Jeremy Loops, Matthew Mole, John Ellis, Majozi, December Streets and has played at festivals like Splashy Fen, Smoking Dragon, Lube and Tube, Biosphere, White Mountain and the likes. He opened for Locnville on Saturday night in Umhlanga and was very happy with his performance and the feedback he had received.
“I have made a name for myself by being the resident musician at the Oyster Box, Zimbali and I play regularly at Elangeni, Maharani, Tall Ships and Blue Waters Hotel. I also play at other venues, weddings, private parties and corporate events,” he said.
His genre of music encompasses the full music spectrum and includes rock, old school hip hop, jazz, light blues, RnB, dance music, classical, indie and big band with a flare of southern gospel sounds all mixed into current pop music and old school classics influencing his playlist.
“I’m influenced by the latest music which at the moment is Future Bass. Now that I am a producer, I am producing that kind of music too,” he said.
Where once he travelled to Kloof to do his vocal takes, he now has a studio, built by his own hands, at his home in Marloth Gardens.
“I Googled how to build a studio and got advice from my friends. The quality is good and guys under Sony Records are now recording at my place. I can do my own vocal takes when I do songs. After discovering producers never did what I wanted with my songs, I learnt how to do it myself. I’m pretty new at it and have been producing for a few months but have partnered with some of the best producers, such as Daynik, in Durban to get advice,” he said.
He said if musicians wanted to get a record deal, they needed to do all the work themselves something he is well on his way doing.
“I play as a solo artist now. I have my pedals and loop station and can put on a big stage performance as a solo artist!” he said.
Connect with Gavin on Instagram @gavinwferguson, YouTube (Friend Zone) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccLG_DWwUVY and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gavin-Ferguson/104972579586833
