He attended St. Pius X College in Chatswood, excelling in sporting and artistic pursuits but showing little interest in other subjects.

[2] Whilst not being as acclaimed as bandmates Reg Mombassa or Peter O'Doherty, Plaza has become prolific in recent years.

He has held numerous solo exhibitions working with a variety of media and has entered the Archibald Prize, notably with a self-portrait and a portrait of Mombassa.

In the early days of Mental As Anything, band members would often invent pseudonyms for each other that combined an exotic last name with a common Australian first name.

In 1986, Plaza performed with the Rock Party, a charity project initiated by the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) composed of many Australian and New Zealand artists including members of Crowded House, GANGgajang, Models, and Mental As Anything.

2 hit in Australia with a cover of the 1960s Unit 4+2 song "Concrete and Clay",[2] and the subsequent solo album Plaza Suite also charted.