An obsession is how Anton Cleary describes his approach to learning guitar.
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The former Australian Tax Office debt collector took up guitar playing to fill in time when he retired in 2014.
"I just started playing all of the time, four to five hours per day," Cleary said.
"You are learning all the time, it's a fabulous pursuit. I took lessons for about two years in Melbourne. I learnt the basics off a young guy in Essendon."
"He said to me one day 'you are the loudest student I've ever had'. It was only acoustic guitar but I had this really heavy handed style."
"I started writing all of these little tunes from sequences I was practising, the busking was a natural progression."
Cleary started busking outside of Warrnambool Bowl in 2017. He now has a range of places where he sets up, but doesn't stay in one area for too long.
"I don't want to wear out my welcome with any of the shopkeepers," he said.
"I also have to consider my wife's need, we like to travel,"
"We have a system in place where I busk for about nine weeks and then take a couple of months off and go away with her.
"(Busking) gets me out of the house, I play about 30 songs over 2 and a half hours. I just put my head down and go for it. You don't make a lot of dough out of it, but I love it."
Cleary has established a small recording studio in his home office, and has plans to get more involved with record production.
He has released two CD's, 'Street Music' all recordings made while busking, and 'Lo-Fi Laureate' which is half street recordings and half in the studio. A third CD is scheduled for release in December.
"With the guitar I am thinking about it as a new career, I want to see where I can go," he said.
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