Australian music great Glenn Wheatley, who sadly passed away early this year, had previously narrated his unreleased audiobook Paper Paradise in the late months of 2021. The posthumous audiobook is set for release May 19, accompanied the same day by son Tim Wheatley’s new EP Shiny Tacoma. Tim, who covers Because I love You as a feature of the project, has just released the title track of the piece.
Tim, I am so sorry for your loss, although heartbreaking, how beautiful to have the recordings of his unreleased audiobook. Have you been able to find any comfort in having something so tangible to hold onto?
I haven’t been able to get past the dedication yet. That to me is a sign of how powerful having his voice ‘live on’ is, not just for myself, but my family. I feel as though it’s the most precious thing I have, just waiting to help me in my darkest hour. I’ve heard his life story a thousand times, whether I wanted to hear it or not (haha), but my daughter hasn’t, and she will one day know his voice too.
The single Shiny Tacoma is absolutely incredible, what was your inspiration behind that track, and is that same inspiration present in the entirety of the EP, or is each track coming from somewhere different?
Shiny Tacoma was written as soon as I got to London after moving from LA. I was sitting in our new apartment, everything was going wrong and I just had to laugh to myself and say ‘how did I get here, and why in god’s name did I leave’. So that became the essence of the song. To make it even more strange – it was a song that came instantly. Start to finish it took me just over an hour, and it left me in really good spirits. The rest of the EP is in exactly the same vein. Coattail rider is a tongue in cheek nod to the fact my girlfriend was at the wheel of this new adventure to England. California Tree was written on my last night in LA, about the fact we were leaving, much to the dismay of our friends and family back there, but it was getting all too repetitive, and we needed a change.
How much has your dad inspired your music career over the years? Has he always been a part of the production process, or was the beginning of the EP something unfamiliar for you?
Let’s face it, he was the only reason I played music and the reason I stuck at it. He has been omnipresent from the start, he was my sounding board, the driving force, my biggest supporter and at times – the bane of my existence. Every step without him from here on in is a first for me both musically and personally.
What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming release of both the EP, and the Paper Paradise audiobook?
I’m eagerly awaiting people’s response to both, whilst ticking a few things off the to-do list for the old man. It would be the first thing we as a family have had to really celebrate for a while. The book is filled with both horror stories and fairy-tale endings, and the past few months have been no different.
Thank you so much for your time, and for allowing readers an inside into the beautiful memories of your dearly loved father.
Thanks so much for having a chat with me!
Shiny Tacoma (EP) is out May 19 through Wheatley Records, following Paper Paradise (Audiobook) through Wilkinson Publishing.
