TLSQ BLOG |
On Sunday April 23rd, 2017, 6pm, TLSQ will be performing a set of all Australian Works at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. Included in the programme is old wounds by Wally Gunn, from his string quartet work, Blood. Wally has had an interesting journey in music; from being a singer/songwriter pop star to a sought after composer of theatre, film and concert works. Wally lives in Queens, New York but still maintains strong ties to the Melbourne music scene. Read on for an insight into this man of the world. Check out Wally's own website HERE and then book tickets for our Hawthorn Arts Centre show HERE.
When did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
In 1984, when I was 12 years old, the ABC broadcast an original Australian drama series called ‘Sweet and Sour,’ about a rock band trying to make it big in Sydney. It starred Tracy Mann with a shock of punky, asymmetrical hair as the singer and songwriter Carol, who led the band The Takeaways. Deborah Conway provided Carol’s vocals on the soundtrack. Before that series, I had sung along in harmony to Linda Ronstadt LPs, and danced by myself to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and started to wonder how music was put together after listening to The Human League’s incredible album ‘Dare.’ But I hadn’t thought about being a musician. All that changed when I saw Carol on ‘Sweet and Sour.’ I wanted to be a rock star just like her. What was your first instrument? All throughout my childhood I made up ‘pieces’ on the family piano, but never took lessons. Neither did I have singing lessons, but I taught myself to harmonize and yodel. The first formal music lessons I had were for clarinet from the age of 11. I was a poor student who never practiced. The first time I really dedicated myself to an instrument was when I picked up a guitar at 16. What is the strangest music gig/job that you’ve done? My stint playing keyboards in nothing but underpants in a raucous queer new-wave punk disco band was probably the strangest music job I’ve done, and it was also the most fun. What is the strangest non-music job you’ve ever done? For a year I was a waiter and llama feeder at the café of a lavender farm in the Goldfields District of Western Victoria.
On Sunday April 23rd, 2017 TLSQ are honoured to be playing Oracle Marker by Evelyn Morris (Pikelet). So honoured that we have named the whole concert after this gorgeous work! Evelyn wrote this piece for us in 2015 and we premiered it at our Abbotsford Convent Concert Series. Playing it in the beautiful acoustic space of The Hawthorn Arts Centre is going to be a treat and you really should come along.
BOOK HERE. Evelyn is a very busy musician but she was kind enough to answer some questions for our curious audience. Have a read below.
When did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
When I was 3 apparently I told my mum I would be a concert pianist. Although I lacked the discipline to follow through on that, I have just always known music is my life-long pursuit. What was your first instrument? Piano, I nagged for lessons until I was 4 or so. What is the strangest music gig/job that you’ve done? The strangest thing I've done musically was in a group that I don't reveal to anyone I'm a part of so... I can't tell you. I also used to play in a children's band and anyone who has played to children knows that can be pretty wild and abstract. What is the strangest non-music job you’ve ever done? All work is kinda strange when you think about it... my main work over the years has been bartending in small bars and often it feels very strange watching people socialize every night and spend heaps of money on this liquid that makes them act different. But I found call centre market research to be the most bizarre job. You end up feeling as though there is a disembodied angry voice constantly in your ear. I didn't last long in that line of work though I tried it a few times. You work across many different styles of music, what was your first love as a listener and how did it lead to playing so many different styles? I can't really remember what composer was my first love but probably Mozart, as that's often the thing you are first most exposed to when you're learning. I became very keen on Debussy in my teen years and that has remained a (somewhat too prominent) influence. However also during my teens I loved Ace of Base and Abba, all kinds of heavy punk and thrash, lots of 70s music my parents had like Cat Stevens and Black Sabbath... so I guess my interest in eclecticism has always been present in my listening as well. I go through intense phases with lots of different artists, rather than a specific genre or region of music. |