 SPARKLING SHIRAZLOCAL SINGER-SONGWRITER AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST SHIRAZ TILLEY IS NO CHANTEUSE ORDINAIRE, SHOWING ALL THE SIGNS OF MATURING INTO A FINE VINTAGE, INCORPORATING A BLEND OF LUSH, INTENSE AND VIBRANT MUSICAL FLAVOURS. TASTING NOTES BY CLAIRE STONE.
What sort of music are you currently working on and are you enjoying it? I suppose you would have to classify it as pop-rock, but I don't like to be labeled because I think it's nice to appreciate a song on its merits alone, not just because it falls into a particular genre. I enjoy making and playing all kinds of music. As a side-project, I play alto sax and harp in a Soul/Blues/Jazz band and love every minute of it. I learn so much about myself that way. It's introspective art. When you write a song, where do you start? Is it a melody idea or are lyrics first and foremost. And where do you create these songs? For me, it's always a melodic idea that is the catalyst for composing chordal structures around that. I would never class myself as a good lyricist. Melodies can come to you in the most bizarre fashion. I carry around a little digital recorder and toy keyboard when I'm going out just in case an idea springs to mind. It provides amusement too, to see people's reaction to me sitting in my car playing a battery-powered, child's piano. Generally speaking, however, I write in my little music room, which is my retreat and haven. How did you get into the music business and were there any major hurdles? The music industry is a very ruthless and sometimes depressingly critical business. You have to stay positive and believe in yourself regardless, which develops a thick skin. Unfortunately, I think there really is an aye of who you know rather than what you know, even if you work like stink. I've had to overcome the whole attitude of "oh look a girl playing an instrument, ha-ha." Or "how cute." I had one guy turn-up for an audition for my band whose first comment was a surprised "Oh, you can play." It's quite a chauvinistic environment in my experience and I think girls have difficulty being taken seriously as musicians and songwriters who don't "collaborate" and sing/play live without miming. I have experienced a profound amount of discrimination against being female and I sometimes wonder if this job may have come easier if I could have grown a penis. But the boys in my band often comment about how I wear the pants and lay down the law. They have been wonderful! In your band what are the dynamics like and have you had some outrageous fights yet? If so, please share the details. Actually, we're pretty tame, to be honest, no scandalous stories or bust-ups to regale. We all get along very well even though our personalities are fairly diverse. I'm the annoying perfectionist who just likes to get it right. Dave Littlewood (drummer/harmonist) is the harmony buff who can literally compose beautiful contrapuntal licks and phrases while rolling a cigarette. David Doherty (guitar/backing vocals) is pretty laid back and my unofficial brother. He takes orders and a musical suggestion like a trooper and knows his stuff backwards. And then there's Corey (bass and recently a new dad) who is the reason Aussies love New Zealanders. If you could meet any musician who would it be and what would you say to them? I've already met my songwriting muse and fellow jellybean connoisseur, Neil Finn. Musician: Mozart. Entertainer: it would have to be Elvis. I think he was the greatest entertainer on the planet. I don't know what I'd say to him, since I'd be hyperventilating, but I would definitely like to share one of those infamous sandwiches with the man. |
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 SELF-PROFESSED WTF-ALT-INDIE-FOLK-POP-ROCK-COUNTRY-BLUES WITH A TOUCH OF SOUL SINGER/SONGWRITER SHIRAZ TILLEY OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T WANT TO BE TIED DOWN TO ONE MUSICAL GENRE. TONY MCMAHON GETS THE LOWDOWN ON A YOUNG ARTIST AT THE START OF WHAT IS SURE TO BE A COLOURFUL CAREER"Growing up," says Tilley, "I listened to everything from baroque to heavy rock, and my songs contain elements of lots of different genres. You also should probably add Latin, swing and funk to the mix on a few songs. Essentially, I wanted to cover all my bases, hoping I wouldn't be pigeonholed." Tilley is promising two-hour sets at her upcoming Indooroopilly Hotel and Zoo shows, which is not something punters get to see every day. "I guess you could say we're putting all our eggs (20-songs) into one basket for some showcase shows. The audience reaction and feedback will determine which songs make my debut album. I want to road test all my songs before going into the studio, which is a reverse of what the majority of bands do." In describing her live show, Tilley talks compulsion, singalongs, heavy metal and burlesque. Suddenly, the whole WTF thing makes sense. "Although the music always comes first and I'm OCD about it, when you consider what makes a great show and a lasting impression, it's the entertainment value that also counts. I think audiences want to connect with bands, to feel an important part of the experience. So we like to use audience participation, like singalongs and, basically, just have fun with them. I've got a great band of musical brothers/comics (Dave Doherty, Dave Littlewood, Corey Shepherd, Paul Kucharski and Duncan Lomas) onboard who inspire me everyday, so I'm blessed in that sense. Who knows what crazy antics they'll get up to? Take Corey, my long haired, nicely-inked bassist who plays in a Metallica tribute band. He has perfected the oh so metal 'crab walk'. There could even be a wandering-through-the-audience guitar accompaniment on 'Silent Ones', or a burlesque dancer, you just never know." WHO: Shiraz Tilley
WHERE & WHEN: Indooroopilly Hotel Saturday Aug 7, The Zoo, Thursday Sep 16
Interview Web Link: Time Off |
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 ALEX STARK PUTS SOME QUESTIONS TO LOCAL FOLK-POP-SOUL SINGER-SONGWRITER SHIRAZ TILLEY ABOUT HER BAND, THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST AND WHAT LEAD HER TO START WRITING IN THE FIRST PLACE. ALEX STARK: It seems like the past two years have been incredibly busy for you as you've started building a profile. How do you balance a normal life with songwriting and performing? SHIRAZ TILLEY: Yes, the last two years have been a bit of a blur to be honest because they have been so hectic. I have become reliant on my diary for everything. Music is the one thing that keeps me sane, actually, especially when I was finishing my dual degree (Drama/Music). Most of life is just going through the motions of earning to live and finding enough time for nana naps, whereas music is much-needed escapism. I can say the things I would find too difficult to say in a normal conversation and you can dream and love all in the one creative outlet AS: What obstacles did you encounter when starting out as a solo artist? ST: Solo artistry is indeed scary at times. But it's all swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand I have total artistic control over what I sing and play, but on the other it is difficult to be objective when the songwriting and arrangements are all my own. The most damaging effect of solo work is finding that I'm always critiquing and questioning myself. There is nobody to hide behind and new material is raw and untried so you feel exposed and naked. The one thing I take absolute pleasure from, however, is the feeling of achievement when you have completed a song or even a riff that means something special to you or a listener. That's when you know it's all been worth it. AS: Who would you say influenced you the most at the very beginning of your songwriting career? ST: I guess I would have to say my dad was the biggest influence on me musically, since he was the first person to talk music with me and play "the greats" to me as a child. When most of my peers were listening to Peter Combe's Newspaper Mama, I was dancing around to Talking Heads and singing Psycho Killer at Pre-school. Stylistically, I have always felt like an old soul because I mostly listen to music that pre-dates me. In terms of musicians and bands that have inspired my music, the list is large but at the top are Neil Finn, Pete Townsend, Thom Yorke, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, The Eagles and jazz and Latin licks from such performers as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. AS: When playing shows, do you prefer to perform solo or would you rather be accompanied by your band? Speaking of your band, how did you meet the guys? ST: Performing in a band is such a wonderfully unique feeling because I get to hear all the separate parts come together. Since I write all the music and lyrics I don't know what collaboration is really like from the composition point of view, but as a band, the guys and I openly discuss and experiment with the finer details and musical elements in a song. I have grown a lot as an artist through rehearsals with them and live performances. I met the guys all separately through my manager or Rave Ads. They're wonderful people and I consider them a bit like brothers because of the relationship I have with them. Interview Web Link: Rave Mag |
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Once in a blue moon, before a single note has been played or sung, you just sense that you're in for a special treat. Such was the anticipation last night as the house lights dimmed and Shiraz (my God!, she's even more beautiful than her publicity photos) and her band of seasoned musicians and backing singers drifted on stage to whoops of delight from the packed audience of invited family, friends, fans and yours truly. Without much ado and clearly delighted by their rapturous reception, the band launch into the welcoming All Together Now, a jaunty and catchy number that sets the scene for an evening of sing-a-longs, toe-tapping, wit, humour and general joie de vivre. There is an emotional intensity and sensitivity to Shiraz's beautifully crafted songs that draws the listener in, making you want to connect. She knows the power of appearing to confide her innermost thoughts to you and only you. Her devoted fans hang on every achingly honest word, smile or nod knowingly at every secret allusion and sob at every tug of the heart strings. One of the many highlights of the evening was the audience participation on the mesmorising Move With You, a tribal three-part harmony led by Shiraz. In between songs, Shiraz casually chats to the audience as if they were gathered round the piano in the family home. Throughout the entire show, there is a magical audience connection born of an unmistakeable air of confidence and charisma. And Shiraz's musicianship was equally impressive, moving seamlessly from piano to keyboards, to saxophone, to guitar and harmonica and back to the piano, all magnificently aided and abetted by a band of equally brilliant instrumentalists and backing singers, who were in particularly fine form. After almost two hours of non-stop entertainment, the set ends with a single song encore, one of only two covers of the evening, a stirring rendition of Cat Stevens' First Cut Is The Deepest. What this new convert has just witnessed is the kind of show that, in a few years time, when Shiraz is playing to sold out arenas, I'll be able to say "I was there." - James Peters
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