Albion Park-based school teacher Corey Legge admits he has a drive to create his own luck.
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The man with a guitar is also passionate about sharing heartfelt stories, such as experiences from the 2019 South Coast bushfires, and forge a name for himself in the music industry.
Legge is working on his third solo album which expresses his own story of living through bushfires near his family home of Bega as well as the uncertain times in a global pandemic.
"Hopefully it helps people deal with the trauma and move forward with their lives ... there's a little bit of a sense of hope in the lyrics as well," he said. "I hope people listen to it and know the worst is behind them, and hopefully it's just a nice way to document the good and the bad."
The singer-songwriter was visiting his family when fires ravaged the South Coast, his brother was on the main street of Cobargo when a fire front hit. Thankfully his family and their homes remained safe, but the devastation was widespread and some of their friends not so lucky.
"It was pretty terrifying," Legge said. "It was really upsetting, I'd never seen anything like it in my life. It was really eye-opening to be in the middle of a disaster and knowing the people that were affected made it hit home a lot harder."
A state government grant from Create NSW is helping Legge along in his musical endeavours, though there have been times since the pandemic began he questioned whether he should toss it all in.
"The past 18 months have been super tough as an independent musician, so there have certainly been times when I have seriously questioned my current career path for financial reasons," he said.
"I have lost a significant amount of income due to the pandemic, and it has been an unpleasant experience having to cancel over 50 shows so far, including my first ever European tour, which was meant to take place last year. Having said that, I feel like I am becoming more confident and prolific as a songwriter, so my creative drive hasn't diminished at all during this time."
The first single is set to be released in August, with the full album scheduled for release in early 2022.
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