Rocking on: How GemLife's musical residents are making life sing
'The Gemtones get together every Wednesday afternoon, but these days we're also meeting on weekends, so the community can come down and enjoy their time with us,' explains Scruton, who performs out of his garage alongside bandmates Trevor Rix and Mark Parry.
Although he dabbled in music all his life, it wasn't until Scruton and his wife Cathy moved to GemLife Gold Coast, a luxury over-50s resort in Pimpama, mid-last year that he picked up the keyboard and saxophone once more.
When Scruton discovered that Rix, his next-door neighbour, sang and played guitar, and that Parry, who lives across the street, was also learning guitar, sparks began to fly.
'Rehearsing became a feature in the street,' Scruton says. 'People within earshot would come and sit down with their eskies, then people from other areas got wind of it and started coming too. We've now performed for larger celebrations like Christmas, New Year's Eve, Australia Day, Melbourne Cup and Easter.'
While The Gemtones may have found fame as a garage band, the trio (who cover hits from the 1950s through to the 2000s), will soon take centre stage at GemLife Gold Coast's new multimillion-dollar Country Club.
'We'll start doing rehearsals there and once a month we'll rock on in the club, so everyone gets to dance and have a good night,' Scruton says, adding that the band has become quite the social movement.
'Creating new friendships has been a delight,' he says. 'We all have different stories and interests and come from different walks of life, but we're all like-minded people.'
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