My Story
Whilst I was born on the Sunshine Coast, my first few years were actually spent in India. My parents Gavin & Kellie would work there sometimes as professional musicians, and so at the ripe old age of 8 months, I was off on my first overseas adventure. After moving back to the Sunshine Coast a few years later, my twin sisters were born, and the Hamburger 5 began its family journey together.
To say I was surrounded by music from an early age would be an understatement. With two professional muso’s as parents (who also run a music school), its pretty much inescapable – but also wonderful. I would see so many people come in from different walks of life to perform in their own unique way, and I would think: ‘That looks so cool. I want to be them one day.’
Here’s the thing though – I was never the child prodigy. Far from it. I was actually more into acting and film growing up, and just kind of cruised through the music stuff without giving it too much thought. I also did some training and got some work doing voice overs, which was a lot of fun.
School was not such a great time for me – square peg in a round hole – you get the picture, and I’m sure many of you can relate.
Then something fantastic happened!
For grade 11 and 12, we made the decision that I would attend MIC (Music Industry College) in Brisbane. Its basically a specialist school for people getting into the music industry. It was such a complete contrast to regular school. I was finally with other creative people just like me. They just ‘got me’ and it really allowed me to come out of my shell and grow. I loved that school !
Then something else fantastic happened!
In grade 12, I discovered a New York band called Lawrence. I kid you not, their music completely altered the trajectory of my life. Sounds like a cliche, I know, but it’s true. Their music (actually everything about the band) spoke to me in a way like nothing else had before, and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do.
Energised with a heap of Lawrence inspiration, in 2023 I formed an 11-piece soul-pop band called Instant Soup.
It’s soooo much fun being in a big band with your friends, who also happen to be amazing musicians.
We’ve been doing mostly corporate gigs on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, along with some small festivals up our way and won a band competition.
Our mission is to take that next step and break through onto the bigger stage in the coming few years as we continue to develop our own unique sound and release our original work.
As you may already know, I entered the 2025 edition of Australian Idol, somehow managing to WIN the grand final . It’s was an amazing ride, and whilst it was sometimes stressful, it was incredibly fulfilling at the same time. It showed me the insides of how the television and music industries work, which has been a real eye opener and a fantastic experience.
I often get asked, “what’s your favourite musical style”? That’s easy. Anything with a groove, or it has to have soul (preferably both). Those are my two big tick boxes for anything I do musically or anything I write. My mission is to share my version of that with as many people as possible who dig that style.
Thanks so much for being curious enough to get this far and finding out about my story, however it really is only just the beginning. There is going to be so much more to write. If you would like to come along on this ride with me and my band, join the Super Fan Club below. I’d love to have you right there with us.
All the best, and hope to see you at a gig soon.
Marshall