A broken wrist became the catalyst of change for a former schoolteacher now forging a career in the music industry.
Cam Cronk and Simo Taylor are the musical duo behind recently formed band Little Mountain, who came together almost by accident.
For Mr Cronk, his musical break came after an unfortunate bone break.
“I broke my wrist and as part of my rehab I was advised a nylon string guitar would be a great way to get dexterity back into (my) fingers and wrist,” Mr Cronk said.
“So, I did it and I got taught four cords and it just went from there.
“I started writing songs and learning covers.”
With his wife, Lisa’s, corporate career growing, Mr Cronk decided to stay home with the children during the day and gig on weekends.
With five years of solo gigging under his belt, the self-taught musician met Mr Taylor at a Kings Beach cafe.
“Simo was a waiter at Coffee Cat, one of the cafes I was plodding along at with my solo gigs, and he was a bit of a fan,” Mr Cronk said.
“He was clapping between songs and we got chatting.
“He has a semi musical past; he is also self-taught and has played in a few bands prior to this.
“We exchanged numbers and then we decided that in the COVID downtime, with all that spare time on our hands, we’d have a jam.”
Mr Cronk said the pair “clicked” instantly and have since been recording music and performing local gigs.
They released their first single, Devil’s Jaded, in October 2020 at the Caloundra Mini Festival, where they took out the 2020 Caloundra Music Festival Local Limelight Award, and now Little Mountain is gearing up for the release of their second single, Suitcase Memories, on January 24.
There are also plans for an already-recorded EP to be released in the coming months, co-produced with Tim Hart from Aussie band Boy and Bear.
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Harnessing the sounds of indie folk and melodic rock, Little Mountain’s main influences include Boy and Bear, Fleetwood Mac, Pixies, Paul Kelly and Middle Kids.
“Prior to Simo I was all about the acoustic guitar, I was very much into my indie folk,” Mr Cronk said.
“That’s sort of the vibe we’ve gone down now, it’s still indie folk and indie rock.”
Mr Cronk said the inspiration for the band name drew from their homes in Little Mountain.
“We thought it was a pretty cool little oxymoron.
“We were thinking more global and thought it was a bit of a cool name.”
So far, audiences have responded well to the duo, but Mr Cronk admitted, as two guys in their early 40s, they had to overcome their own adversities and prove that age was no barrier.
“It was a challenge for us to get that out of our heads, but I think when it comes down to it, age is just a number, and music is music.
“It’s worked a treat that we’ve both been dads as well.
“We both understand that family comes first and there’s family commitments, so we have to work around that.
“We are both fairly present fathers in our kids’ lives too, so they’ve played a bit part in supporting us and helping our growth as well.”
Mr Cronk said his eldest daughter would be the star of their first music video set to be released with their upcoming single.
As for 2021, Mr Cronk said the duo would keep “grinding along” and continue to grow.
Having invested in their own music producing equipment and with the EP ready to go, Little Mountain hope to include a small tour with the EP release around Queensland, and the greater east coast of Australia if borders allow.
Until then, their music is available on Spotify with their upcoming single launch at Coffee Cat in Kings Beach on January 24.
