Tell us about the moment you decided to become a singer/writer? What did your family have to say about it?
I actually got into music from a very early age. I did the obligatory recorder and piano lessons, and my older sister and I used to make up songs and put on shows for our parents. However, the turning point for me was when my sister started taking guitar lessons when I was 8 years old (she was 11 at the time) and because I wanted to be just like her I begged my mom to let me go as well. I did acoustic lessons for 4 years and then went on to learn electric with another teacher, who encouraged me to record my first EP at the age of 12. My parents have both been extremely supportive of me throughout, driving me to gigs when I was a teen and coming along to cheer me on.
What inspired you to become an artist and who are your early influences?
I was very lucky to grow up with parents who loved music. My mother has always been into her rock music like the Stones, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, while my dad loves his soul music. I loved the classics like Etta James and Dusty Springfield but my passion always lay in rock music. I greatly admire Joan Jett, I’m a huge fan of Jefferson Airplane and Fleetwood Mac are an all time favourite of mine.
Tell us a little about your writing process, how does a song come along? What gets you going creatively?
When I’m writing solo stuff I usually start from the vocal melody up. I find a phrase or a line that really speaks to me and then I write around it. While in the band however it’s a lot more collaborative. Either Raff has a really good idea and fleshes it out or he gives it to me to do the vocal lines, as well as some great tunes that were born out of a jam session and a killer riff that we’ve just run with, much like Cheating Heart our current single (LISTEN HERE)
What current Local acts inspire you and why? What international acts?
I love Alpine because they’re quirky and fun. They mirror a lot of the attitude that I loved so much in No Doubt so it’s a throwback to my teens. Internationally I’m heavily influenced by The Donnas and Adele.
What are your future plans for 2017/2018?
At the moment we’re focussing on Aurora and getting some good mileage out of it because to be honest it’s a pretty solid album. We have already started tentatively looking at some new songs for the next album but we’re also bringing some old songs from Ascendancy and Autonomic out for our sets to keep things new and exciting for our fans.
Official Site
www.thedirtyearth.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/thedirtyearth
Spotify
www.play.spotify.com/artist
