Former Kiama High, TIGS and University of Wollongong student Tina Harris, of Jamberoo, is becoming the biggest name in children's entertainment around Australia. GREG ELLIS discovers more on her rise to fame.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cyrus Villanueva may be the talk of the Illawarra at the moment but another local singing sensation is taking Australia by storm with a major new record label signing.
Former Kiama High School, The Illawarra Grammar School (TIGS) and University of Wollongong (UOW) student Tina Harris, of Jamberoo, is emerging as the biggest name in children's entertainment in Australia.
And she is bringing her Lah-Lah's Stripy Christmas to Wollongong on November 28.
Many will know Lah-Lah’s parents Mark Gray and Casey Carrington from the days when they ran Happy Talk in Wollongong Central.
Her father still lives in Kiama and many will recognise his father’s name.
Lah-Lah’s grand-father is former Olympic cyclist Dunc Gray.
Not only was he Australia’s first medal winning and gold medal winning cyclist who had the velodrome for the 2000 Sydney Olympics named after him.
He is responsible for starting another cycle.
“He is the reason I got into singing,” Lah-Lah said.
“He is the one who used to encourage me. I would come home after school and he would have always taped the old Bill Collins musicals and we would watch them together. And that is how it all..started.”
Lah-Lah still often takes her children back to Wallaby Hill Road in Jamberoo where she grew up.
She also regularly visits Jamberoo Pub run by her friend from Kiama High School days, Erica Warren.
“It is so beautiful there (Jamberoo),’’ she said.
Lah-Lah went on to attend TIGS in Year 11 and 12 so she could study 3 Unit Music.
She then did a Bachelor of Creative Arts at the Wollongong Conservatorium for three years before being accepted into the Opera School at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
“When I was starting off my love was opera and I really wanted to go and work with Opera Australia,” she said.
But when Lah-Lah’s two daughters were born she realised the opera lifestyle just was not going to fit with a young family.
An friend suggested she open a music school because she was so good at teaching children.
One school soon turned into four.
Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band formed after husband Mark Harris started coming in and doing small concerts at the end of each term.
Parents started encouraging the talented music couple to put together a show.
So they self produced their first show under the Lah-Lah banner which debuted at the Seymour Centre seven years ago.
Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band then started appearing on the top rating ABC KIDS TV show Lah-Lah’s Adventures.
Now the group who have parents and children lining up in red and white stripey outfits are touring nationally leading up to the festive season.
The Stripy Christmas tour is also celebrating the release of a new album and DVD following the recent signing with SONY Music.
It is the first children’s act signing for SONY Music since Hi5 did it a decade ago.
“It is a really big deal because it means they are taking what we do seriously,” Lah-Lah said.
“And we are all about introducing kids to music and musical instruments. So it is very exciting for Lah-Lah. It came out on Friday (November 6). It is the release of Lah Lah’s Adventures. It is the soundtrack album..that basically has all 27 songs from the TV series.”
The tour commences in Sydney on November 20 and includes a performance at Woonona-Bulli RSL Club on November 28.
It is the second time Lah-Lah has been in Woonona this years.
And the two founding members of the group recently visited the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant for a children’s birthday party.
Ambrose and Evangelia Nicolaou jaws dropped in awe of having their favourite television stars standing right in front of them giving an up close and personal performance.
“I love coming down,” Lah-Lah said.
“I grew up down the South Coast and love coming to Wollongong. My mum and dad used to have dress shops in Crown Central. So I feel very connected to “The Gong”.”
Mr Harris is no stranger to the South Coast either.
The two met while studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
His family had a holiday place at Foxground and his grandmother lived in Kiama so there were plenty of opportunities to catch up with both families each Christmas when they were dating.
This year alone they have performed live to more than 30,000 fans around Australia and won the title of Best Children’s Show at the ACE Awards.
Lah-Lah is an official arts ambassador for World Vision Australia, performing for indigenous families in remote communities.
She said it was exciting to watch Lah-Lah grow.
“There is a lot of love out there for the band and what it does,” she said.
“The engagement we get with families on social media and through Facebook and emails we receive is wonderful,” she said.
“And the beautiful videos people send in of children playing ukuleles like double basses is great. It is wonderful. This is the best gig in the world.”
And the next step for Lah-Lah is in fact the world stage.
The TV show is now playing in Canada and the Harris family is heading off to a large international television conference in Miami in February to look at more global opportunities.
Close to home they are also considering playing a concert in Nowra during a national tour in 2016.
Other members of the group are Matt Ottignon, Gary Daley and Nic Cecire.
Further information about the concert at Woonona-Bulli RSL Club on November 28 at lah-lah.com.
