Peter Meerman - Flamenco Guitarist
Q: How did you get into flamenco? Why flamenco?
A: It was something latent in me. My mother once told me that when I was 10 years old, I suddenly announced, “I want to learn Spanish.” I don’t remember it, but she swore it was true. Years later, after a breakup in my early 20s, I was a bit lost. A friend suggested I try guitar. I’d already been listening to flamenco records, so it just drew me in.
Q: What were you doing before music?
A: Many things. At 13, for my bar mitzvah, I got a camera and fell in love with photography. Later, I played tennis obsessively—I was even in my school team and played club competition.
Q: How did you actually begin learning flamenco guitar?
A: My first teacher didn’t sound like the records, so I taught myself by listening to vinyl. Then I met Bob Haberfield, an artist and guitarist who became a close friend. He refused to “teach,” but he showed me things, and we’d spend hours playing—and drinking wine.
Q: When did you first go to Spain?
A: In 1967, after only two and a half years of playing. I scraped together enough for a ticket, flew to London, then drove with friends through Europe in a broken-down van. Eventually I reached Spain, where I played nightly in a Frenchman’s bar. Later, I worked in flamenco tablaos, got Spanish residency, and even spent two years in Tenerife with dancers and singers.
Q: And when you returned to Australia?
A: I played for flamenco groups here and worked in theatres. But my hearing started failing in 1969. Now I’m completely deaf in one ear and struggle with the other. I can’t properly hear the guitar anymore, so performing isn’t possible.
Q: Has photography filled that space for you?
A: Absolutely. About 15 years ago, I picked up my cameras again—this time digital—and got drawn into Leica. Photography gives me an outlet where I don’t need hearing. Paris last year was a dream for photography, but even St Kilda beach in winter inspires me.
Q: How do you keep inspired?
A: Projects help. And sometimes friends remind me—just get out and shoot, even if it’s bins in the street. You only get a handful of great photos each year, but that’s enough.
Q: Looking back, how do you feel about your life in music and photography?
A: I’ve had a good run. I regret some things—hurting people when I was younger, mistakes with my first wife—but I try now to do something kind every day. Without photography, I don’t know what I’d do. It keeps me going.