interview – Page 10 – TINSEL and TAP SHOES

Interview: Lisa Mitchell

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Lisa Mitchell wowed us on Australian Idol at the tender age of 16. Now ten years later, she’s about to release her third album Warriors – a inspired and a reflection on her younger years.

Why did you decide to make The Boys the first single?

The Boys, it’s a light beginning and one of my favourite songs. I think it’s also got a similar theme in being a bunch of friends. One of my boyfriend’s mates Dad passed away, so they all wanted to hang out with him. I unexpectedly got stuck out on the beaches, where they were hanging out, and a bit of a public transport dead zone and I was like, “oh shit. I’m totally going to have to crash this gathering.”

They were just driving around listening to good music. I loved getting reminded of how gentle and passionate guys can be towards each other in their own way. Of course, they didn’t talk about anything, they were just playing footy and drinking beers but it was really nice. Their energy were so great.

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Interview: Tom Wolfe from The Wolfe Brothers

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It’s been a whirlwind of couple of years for the Wolfe Brothers! Since their second place finish on Australia’s Got Talent in 2012, the band has taken home two Country Music Channel Awards (New Oz Artist of the Year in 2014 and Group or Duo of the Year in 2016 respectfully), recorded with Brad Paisley, and their third album release has been newly ARIA-nominated for Best Country Album. They’re about to hit the road on the This Crazy Life tour – being branded as a mini country festival alongside Canadian, Gord Bamford; New Zealand’s Jody Direen; and Australia’s own Troy Kemp, Craig Heath, Caitlyn Shadbolt – it’s a unique tour not to be missed!

Firstly, congratulations on your ARIA nomination for Best Country Album!

Thank you very much. It’s pretty damn cool. To be nominated, we must be doings something right. I’m really happy about that. There’s a lot of stuff going on so we haven’t had time to [celebrate]. I’m hoping once this weekends done, Saturday night, I might celebrate a bit. That’s the plan anyway.

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Interview: Country Rock Singer Troy Kemp

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Originally one half of the award-winning duo, McAlister Kemp – Troy Kemp is making a name for himself with his recently released first solo album, Against The Grain. About to hit the road on the This Crazy Life tour – we spoke about the tour, what defines modern country music and the comradery between Australian country music artists.

You’re soon to hit the road on the This Crazy Life tour, headlined by the Wolfe Brothers with artists Gord Bamford, Caitlyn Shadbolt, Christie Lamb, Craig Heath, Jody Direen and yourself. What can you tell me about this unique tour?

It’s seven acts from 3 different countries all touring together as a mini festival, on the road, kind of thing. I think in Australia there’s a real stigma around what country music is. A lot of people will think it’s all dinky and traditional – but there’s a modern wave of country music that’s coming through that’s really rocky and poppy and [country music is] becoming really diverse. If a lot of younger people heard what country music sounds like now, they’d go, “that’s actually pretty cool!” So, that’s what the whole emphasis of the show is. It’s trying to bring that awareness and sound out, and hopefully win some new country music fans [as well].

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Interview: Paul Hammer from ‘Savoir Adore’

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The Savoir Adore duo originated out of Brooklyn, New York, releasing two albums with ex-member Deidre Muro. The band’s third album, The Love That Remains (out now) features new vocalist, Lauren Zettler, and helped to define the band’s new sound and dynamic. Founder and vocalist, Paul Hammer joined me, via telephone in sunny Los Angeles, to chat about band changes, romance and the aftermath of the photo to the left.

Your new album, The Love That Remains has been out for just over a month. How does it feel to have your music reach Australia?

It is very exciting! With this album, we’ve had little bits of success around South America and Europe – with the last record too – so, for me, I’m hoping, hoping, hoping that it connects with people in Australia so we can get down there and play eventually. Hopefully next year – once we get a little bit more of a fan base there, because it’s hard to tour in Australia, especially for a five piece band. Hopefully things keep catching down there. It would be a dream to come down!

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An Interview with Leanne Tennant

Cairns singer-songwriter, Leanne Tennant has been singing professionally on and off for around fifteen years. The 2015 Queensland Music Award Winner for best ‘Blues & Roots’ artist, and 2016 Billy Thorpe Scholarship finalist, is currently on tour with her new album, Red Wine, Late Nights.

Where does the name Red Wine, Late Nights stem from?

I think the type of work I created on this last album is suitable for late nights and red wine. A few of the songs were brainstormed over a bottle of Shiraz. Red, over White, yes [is my drink of choice].

I work with a great photographer called Matt Loncar. We did a shoot in the Princess Theatre in Brisbane and felt the vibe suits the sound of the album [so used it for the cover].

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An Interview with Michael from Until Home

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Matt Reisinger, Michael Trapp and Clayton Mullins, as pictured above, make up the Brisbane-based trio, Until Home. Currently on tour with their debut EP, Optimistic and working as disability support workers; I spoke with the lead singer, Michael about band origins, emotive songwriting, and life spent on the road.

So, how did you guys meet?

We met at school. Matt and I had been friends since we were quite young – we took up music together, playing guitar, learned to sing, wrote our first song together, learned our first cords together – so we’ve been doing it for a while. We [as a complete band] started playing together around late 2013, around Brisbane and the Gold Coast for maybe a good year and then we decided to start recording.

It wasn’t until after school, I started as a disability support worker and then one after the other, Matt started and Clayton started a few months later. So, we met at school but we still work together, which is cool. We’ve got such a supportive work group. Our manager is absolutely awesome! [He allows] us to get time off and he comes to our gigs. We [also] have a wide network of supportive friends which is really great, really good to have.

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An interview with Thom Lion

Currently working as a radio producer during the day and touring with his band, The Tamers, at night – I spoke to Adelaide-based singer/songwriter, Thom Lion, about artistic beginnings, music videos, night terrors and his latest release.

You’re currently on your promotional tour for the release of your EP, Sleep Riots, playing extremes – from the huge Teneriffe Festival in Brisbane, to an RSL on the Gold Coast. Do you tailor your shows to suit smaller vs larger audiences?

A little bit. For the smaller gigs, because there’s more intimacy there, I might throw in a few more witty stories or just a little bit more banter. The band is quite new we’ve been working on this, just having one great show in one big set that we do really well. The festival was obviously amazing, because there were thousands of people there! And the stage was sitting on the river. The RSL was a little more low key. It’s the first time this band has gotten away together, so [it’s been] a lot of fun!

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An interview with Ryan Wyatt from Project Montreal

If you are drawn to alternative pop music that blends in an orchestra sound, then you may just enjoy Project Montreal’s debut album, Patterns. I spoke with Ryan Wyatt about his four year creative journey, how the experience has shaped him musically, and whether he has any future aspirations brewing.

Firstly, how would you describe Project Montreal?

It’s a bit of a weird one, but I’d say just alternative pop. I like that term – you can throw just about anything in to the mix with the word “alternative”. The name, it’s a bit of a long story, but I remember back at Uni, we used to have competitions about coming up with names – whether it be like a clothing brand or something. One day we were doing band names and I told my friend, “Project Montreal, that’d be a cool band name.” And he was like, “Man, that sucks. That’s such a shit name!” So I was like, I’m going to show him. (laughs)

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An Interview with Hollie Smith

Hollie Smith is one of New Zealand’s most recognisable singer-songwriters. She began her career in her teens, collaborated with some of the industries best, and has had numerous number one singles and albums. She is touring Australia this July. Her current album, Water Or Gold, is out now!

Firstly, what was the idea behind the creatively artistic cover for the album?

The artist, who’s quite well internationally known, is Askew One. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. He’d done some really beautiful portrait stuff in a recent exhibition. I approached him and asked him if he’d be keen to do the artwork and he was really really excited about it! He goes through this amazing process of layering different colours on flexi glass using this really interesting process. He did a couple of the single artworks as well, [so it] was a real pleasure to have him involved. [It] was all pretty exciting and I’m very lucky!

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