Martin Cilia
Encyclopedia
Martin Cilia moved to Perth, Western Australia
with his family in January 1968. Cilla is best known for his songwriting skills, and his membership in The Atlantics
, where he performs on the guitar
. Cilia played his first gig in a school hall in Morley High in 1972 with fellow students. He remembered playing songs by The Shadows
, The Monkees
, The Beatles
, and Cat Stevens
songs.
before spending a year in London in 1979. In 1982 Cilia joined Invasion Force where he met locals Alf Demasi and Lloyd Allanson. Together they formed the Perth band The Flying Fonzarellis. The Flying Fonzarellis released several recordings and toured Sydney in 1984. The band had some chart success holding the number one spot in Perth for a few weeks.
After the Fonzarellis, he went on to play in Dave Warner
's Sensational Sixties and then with Midget and the Farrellys who were extremely popular in Fremantle throughout the Americas Cup. Already his passion for that stinging surf music
guitar sound was obvious.
He went on to tour and record with Dave Warner's band, Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs. Cilia moved to Sydney in 1989. He played & recorded with The Brookes. He toured Western Australia in 1993 with the Big Land - Big Heart tour. That band contained Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers, Ernie Dingo, Dave Warner, Greg Macainish of Skyhooks, Paul Hitchins, (Sports) Dave Clarke and Cilla. They toured Vietnam with a similar concept in January 1994.
In 1998 he recorded some instrumental guitar songs. Bosco Bosanac, the bassist
with the popular Australian group The Atlantics
heard one of his demo tapes. The band is noted as the "Australia's own surf music maestros".
One Friday afternoon Bosanac called Cilia. He said "You sound all right on the recordings but can you play live?" His band's guitarist had just called in sick. Martin did the gig and Bosco told the other members from The Atlantics about him, and Cilla has been an integral and permanent member of the popular surf music band since. The Atlantics have gone onto record many of Cilia's songs, which have appeared on various Atlantics records, in feature film soundtracks, surf movies, and PlayStation games
.
In August 2007 Cilia released his solo album Revenge Of The Surf Guitar.
, a 1957 Fender Precision Bass
and a 1965 Fender Jazz Bass
.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
with his family in January 1968. Cilla is best known for his songwriting skills, and his membership in The Atlantics
The Atlantics
This article refers to the Australian Surf rock band. See paragraph at the end of this page for information on other bands called The Atlantics....
, where he performs on the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Cilia played his first gig in a school hall in Morley High in 1972 with fellow students. He remembered playing songs by The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
, The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, and Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
songs.
Start of career
At age 14, Cilla became a professional musician. He played in various bands in and around PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
before spending a year in London in 1979. In 1982 Cilia joined Invasion Force where he met locals Alf Demasi and Lloyd Allanson. Together they formed the Perth band The Flying Fonzarellis. The Flying Fonzarellis released several recordings and toured Sydney in 1984. The band had some chart success holding the number one spot in Perth for a few weeks.
After the Fonzarellis, he went on to play in Dave Warner
Dave Warner
David Robert "Dave" Warner is an Australian rock musician, author and screenwriter.-Biography:Dave Warner was born in Bicton, Western Australia in 1953. He attended Aquinas College and then the University of Western Australia where he graduated with a B.A. , majoring in psychology...
's Sensational Sixties and then with Midget and the Farrellys who were extremely popular in Fremantle throughout the Americas Cup. Already his passion for that stinging surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
guitar sound was obvious.
He went on to tour and record with Dave Warner's band, Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs. Cilia moved to Sydney in 1989. He played & recorded with The Brookes. He toured Western Australia in 1993 with the Big Land - Big Heart tour. That band contained Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers, Ernie Dingo, Dave Warner, Greg Macainish of Skyhooks, Paul Hitchins, (Sports) Dave Clarke and Cilla. They toured Vietnam with a similar concept in January 1994.
In 1998 he recorded some instrumental guitar songs. Bosco Bosanac, the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
with the popular Australian group The Atlantics
The Atlantics
This article refers to the Australian Surf rock band. See paragraph at the end of this page for information on other bands called The Atlantics....
heard one of his demo tapes. The band is noted as the "Australia's own surf music maestros".
One Friday afternoon Bosanac called Cilia. He said "You sound all right on the recordings but can you play live?" His band's guitarist had just called in sick. Martin did the gig and Bosco told the other members from The Atlantics about him, and Cilla has been an integral and permanent member of the popular surf music band since. The Atlantics have gone onto record many of Cilia's songs, which have appeared on various Atlantics records, in feature film soundtracks, surf movies, and PlayStation games
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
.
In August 2007 Cilia released his solo album Revenge Of The Surf Guitar.
Equipment
Cilia is an avid collector of classic and unique electric guitars. Some of his most valuable guitars can be heard on Revenge Of The Surf Guitar including an original candy apple Red 1963 Fender Stratocaster, a black 1963 Fender JaguarFender Jaguar
The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar introduced in 1962. A descendant of the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar quickly caught on in the emerging Surf music scene...
, a 1957 Fender Precision Bass
Fender Precision Bass
The Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
and a 1965 Fender Jazz Bass
Fender Jazz Bass
The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
.