Greg, Katey & Rick are Gold Coast based and will travel to any major centre. Quotes on application
Bookings include audio equipment - Speakers, Mics, Mixing etc. However, depending on venue or specific requirements, additional sound & lighting equipment may be required at additional cost. Quotations based on individual applications.
Greg Aspeling, Katey Aspeling and Rick Best can be booked as a single performers - Rick with keyboard
Greg & Katey with electronically recorded audio instrument/orchestral tracks
Rick Best
Rick has been a professional musician and arranger for over 35 years. His experience in the entertainment industry has been wide-ranging and has included clubs, hotels and all manner of private functions and corporate events as Band Leader and Musical Director.
Between 1967 and 1975 he performed extensively in and around Sydney and during these years backed many international artists. In 1975 Rick formed the group that was to become Compared To What, featuring singer Kerrie Biddell, one of Australia’s most highly acclaimed and respected Jazz vocal stylists
Early in 1979 Rick travelled to Japan to take up a position as pianist/arranger for a touring Continental group and remained overseas for almost four years performing throughout Asia and Europe.
On returning to Sydney in 1983 Rick was appointed as musical director at the Mandarin Club in Sydney, a position which he held for just over five years. In more recent years he has toured with artists such as Doug Parkinson, The Drifters and John Rowles; and has written for many well-known Australian artists including Daryl Braithwaite and Rhonda Birchmore.
During the 90’s, Rick held long term residencies at Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, Sydney’s Bourbon and Beefsteak Bar, and The Garden Court Lounge at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel. Rick has spent much of the last 10 years on the Sydney club circuit acting as Musical Director, Keyboardist and Arranger for many of the industry’s Ace Award and Mo Award winning performers.
In 2009 Rick relocated to the Gold Coast and in just a few short months established himself as one of the coast’s most sought after players.
Greg Aspeling
Greg is new to the entertainment industry and has long held the ambition of becoming a performing artist as a jazz/pop/swing singer. Not until 2007 did he begin to realise his ambition when he preformed in the Art Centre Gold Coast’s production of Broadway in Concert. This all came about by chance as Greg was involved in providing direction for his then 17 year old daughter, Katey, a talented singer herself (more on "About Katey" page). He arranged for Katey to audition for a role in the production and decided to audition himself. They both won a place and Greg was asked to do two solos. Since then Greg has performed in private and corporate functions. While he has his own vocal style, Greg says it's a blend of Michael Bublé, Harry Connick Jr, Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin.
When Rick Best arrived on the Gold Coast at the beginning of 2009 he made efforts to contact as many people in the local music industry, amongst them Greg. As fate would have it, Greg had an email malfunction in his entertainment website. When he eventually discovered and rectified the problem in October, 2009, amongst the 278 emails finally downloaded from the server, Greg found an email from Rick. He didn’t respond to the email immediately as he and his family where in the process of moving to a new location. After a week of settling into their new place, Greg decided to call Rick. As the conversation progressed the question of where each lived came up. And if ever there was a story where one could say “It was fate….” this is such a story. Having not yet actually got to the stage of getting to know the neighbours, other than a smile and a wave to one another, imagine their utmost surprise when they discovered that Greg had moved in right next door to Rick............. And the rest, as they say, is history. Greg and Rick not only formed a friendship but also formed “Coastline” with the purpose of providing entertainment packages tailored to any event with Rick as Musical Director, Arranger and keyboardist and Greg as the vocalist.
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