In his home town of Robinvale, Paul Costa is somewhat of a local legend. As one-fourth of the band Shadow Rock, if you attended a wedding in Sunraysia in the ’90s, chances are, you tapped your toes to one of their tunes. From a small-town boy to a country music icon, it’s hard to deny the talents of this homegrown Robinvale hero. Paul sat down with ASHLEE FALVO to chat about the transition from rock ‘n’ roll to country music, how he balances touring and family and why, despite earning national music accolades, he still calls Sunraysia home.
PAUL Costa is the first to admit he didn’t have natural musical ability.
Although singing always came easily to him from an early age, learning to play instruments wasn’t quite such a breeze.
“It didn’t come easy to me – it takes a lot of hard work, and I was determined to work at it,” he said.
“I remember watching a VHS of The Beatles as a kid, I was maybe 13 or 14.
“I was completely awestruck by them and the talent they had.
“My brother and I started trying to work out all the different chords they were playing back then, there was no YouTube or internet to jump on – you had to work it out for yourself by listening, or you’d have to go to the music shop and buy the music if you wanted to learn.
“If I had to pinpoint a time, that’s where it all started.”
Before long, Costa, as lead guitar and singer, and his three brothers, Don (bass), Noel (drums) and Anthony (keyboard), had developed a firm love of music, jamming in the shed of their family home in Robinvale and eventually getting paid to perform as Shadow Rock.
“I think the four of us always loved music, we grew up listening to Johnny Cash, Slim Dusty and Chad Morgan,” Costa recalls.
“Noel was only 14 years old when we started playing together, we had to get special permission for him to play on the club circuit.
“We were playing the Euston Club, Tooleybuc Club, Coomealla Club, Murray Downs – four brothers having the time of our lives really.”
With their energetic stage presence and penchant for ’50s and ’60s rock’n’roll, Shadow Rock played at their very first wedding in 1988 – an experience Costa said he’ll never forget.
“It was a huge Italian wedding – a few hundred people at least,” he said.
“Here we are, four brothers, mostly self-taught, relatively inexperienced, playing for hundreds of people. There was a mix of nerves and adrenaline, it was unreal.
“The support was amazing though, it wasn’t long before we had a following of locals who really supported us and our music.
“More and more people started asking us to play at events, weddings and things like that. People seemed to really enjoy the music.
When the opportunity to perform in Tamworth in 1993 came up, the band jumped at the chance to reinvent their image and push their musical boundaries.
“Country and rock’n’roll often go hand-in-hand, we’ve always loved country music,” Costa said.
“Listening to Way out West by James Blundell for the first time was a huge influence on my musical career.
“Funnily enough, Blundell recently re-recorded that song for its 30th anniversary; and I was invited by him to be on the track.”
The foray into country music was a “natural progression” for the boys, who performed at Tamworth for many years, before eventually the foursome became a duo.
“I always tease my brothers that they grew up and got haircuts and real jobs,” Costa said with a laugh.
“Don and I continued as a duo for a while, until a real turning point in my life – the September 11, 2001 attacks in America.
“It was at that time, when the world was in this horrible state of uncertainty and chaos, that I thought it was time to bite the bullet and do what my gut had always told me I should do – pursue music full-time.
“I spoke to my wife, and she supported my decision to chuck in my full-time job, take a leap of faith and pretty much put everything I had into my music.
“In fact, she quit her job too and we hit the road together.
“As much as I love performing covers, I wanted to leave my mark on the world through my own original music. That’s the magic, that’s what you do it for.”
What followed was a career of full-time music and gigs, writing and performing his own music at venues across the country and internationally, the release of five critically-acclaimed solo albums and a swag of awards and nominations for various accolades.
Costa has entertained Australian music lovers at the Gympie Muster, Birdsville Races, Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Deni Ute Muster, as well as performing internationally in Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and through Europe.
In 2019 he was part of the Tour de Force, consisting of a group of comedians and musicians as part of Australian Defence Force (ADF) Entertainment Tour to provide entertainment to ADF personnel deployed in the Middle East.
“Did I ever think my music would create this kind of a life for me and my family? No, not really,” Costa said.
“Did I ever think I’d be nominated for awards alongside Troy Cassar-Daley, Adam Brand and Keith Urban? No way. Those guys are my idols.
“I’m a Robinvale boy at heart, a small-town boy, and to be up on stage now and see crowds singing my original music back to me is very surreal.”
Nowadays, Costa, who still resides in the region with his wife, Suzie, and their three children, Dylan, Jamie and Isla, says he’s doing his best to balance work, life and family.
“I don’t intend on slowing down just yet,” he said.
“Robinvale is still our home base, we never sold the house down there. It’s our home, and regardless of whether we eventually move or not, it will always be our home.
“The history of my family is there and a lot of the inspiration for my music stemmed from there.”
