Perth Music

Local gem Pippa Drysdale showcased her talents at this years WAMI festival and is on their compilation CD. She plays at different venues in and around Perth and can heard quite often on local radio stations. So far she has over 2000 fans (Australia and overseas) and that figure is surely rising. Next month she’s going on tour with Melbourne band Kanvas Grey but before that venture she gave us this interview.

Q. Tell us a little bit of history about yourself as a singer/songwriter. How did you start out and what have you achieved?

Well, I started playing guitar while I was living in New York, six years ago. I taught myself off the internet (with no speakers, which made things kind of hard…lol). It took me about 6 months to realise that I was reading TAB (guitar music) upside down, that discovery definitely made things sound a whole lot better : ) I really only picked up the guitar to write songs.

What have I acheived? Ummm…I’ve written, recorded and released two albums, “Print of My Hand” and “Helium“, I’ve played live on the radio quite a bit, “Print of My Hand” got a couple of really nice reviews, one of which was from the States and resulted in quite a few sales and some life long fans and “Helium” was RTR’s feature album of the week some time in March. But more than anything I’ve learnt so much as a musician and songwriter and gotten to play with some pretty cool people : )

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment?

Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell, Dar Williams, Ani Difranco, Jewel, Sarah Mclachlan…the list goes on. At the moment I’m really into Cindy Lauper - a very good songwriter..

Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?

I need HEAPS of solitude. Not so much for getting inspiration, that comes from everyday life, but for the actually writing process. Anyone who knows me well will tell you how cranky I get when I don’t get enough time alone to write. I can’t even have someone else in the house. Don’t know why, that’s just the way it is : )

Q. Favourite AFL team?

The one that’s losing.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

Definitely small venues where I can really interact with the audience. My favourite? Not sure, probably the Swan Acoustic Lounge.

Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?

Generally I write it all together in one fell swoop. Most of my songs just pour out of me in the space of about an hour, but then, there are others that I walk around trying to write for ages before they come out right.

Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?

I think Perth artists are getting more attention interstate than in the past, but I haven’t noticed live music taking over every bar/pub/restaurant. So I’m not really sure about that one.

Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?

I’m going over east to play a few shows with Kanvas Grey (a Melbourne band) in May which should be really cool. After that I’m not really sure, I’m thinking of touring overseas later this year or maybe early next year, so we’ll see.

Interview by Justin Middleton

For more info visit Pippa’s official site.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 15th, 2006 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.