Tell us about your tour vehicle.
My white car. All good so far. Next year I will have a bus.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Vegetarian only which can be a challenge. Mexican food is a staple. Stock up at Whole Foods – nuts, berries, lentil soups. At least one glass of orange juice a day. Apples, banana, yoghurt for breakfast. Almonds.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I hardly ever break a string and I don’t like the sound of new strings so I don’t change them often. I use D’Addario coated strings – they last forever.
Where do you rehearse?
My living room – cozy, wooden floors, it’s also where I record.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
‘My life is so small, it’s all hesitation.” Written at a tram stop in Melbourne in the dead of winter. I was a waitress at a horrid pub. And I was reading “Crime And Punishment.” I had on a warm overcoat. I was singing aloud. There was no one around. It was midnight. Pretty melody.
Describe your first gig.
My first gig was at a friend’s party. We were all so shy we played in a room and we put our amps out the window by the pool so no-one could see us.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I never loved any of my day jobs, fingers crossed I won’t go back.
How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?
I expect to make a ton of money in the future from music. Of course CD sales dropped off for everyone, starting around 9/11. For the 1 % of artists that meant they sold a million less. For indies, it meant 10,000 less or 1,000 less, it’s all relative. I am just about to release my first album in 5 years, so things are looking up! 🙂
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I think I would have had more faith in my voice and my own style of music. I have spent many years working as a side musician but sometimes I wish I had kept my very first band together with my mates from school. Perhaps we would have been one of those real bands, but I didn’t think I could sing then and I had low self-esteem. It’s not worth wasting time by lacking confidence and hanging around mean people. Get the mean people out of your life and also the ones who tell you it can’t be done.