Interview: Katie O'Donnell (part II)

This is the second part of an interview with talented new artist Katie O'Donnell. The first part is here.

For you to record this EP, was this a sense you wanting to document what you've been doing thus far or you just thought, you know, I want to take my music to more people than just who's in Perth, for example.

I think it was something - it started out something that I wanted to do for myself.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could write songs that other people could relate to and other people would enjoy, and I wanted to be able, as an artist, to kind of stand up there and put my own thoughts out there and my own material out there and then, you know, obviously going through the process and the feedback that I had from people, I kind of felt that having created that , I owed it to myself then to put it out there and let people hear it and kind of let happen whatever is supposed to happen. So it was a bit of a scary process as well, not having done any songwriting before.  To put some of those lyrics and things like that out there, which obviously, you know, is really personal, but it was all part of the process and I'm still learning.

The songs are not just personal; they're quite vulnerable. Even though 'Fireproof'  sounds like it's a really strong, tough song, the lyrics show that you're quite vulnerable and so it is brave. Do you still feel a little bit exposed, now that you're talking about these songs and probably playing them to more people?

 Yeah.  Definitely.  Every time I play it for someone and they listen, you're kind of waiting and watching for the reaction because it is such a personal thing.  But it's really refreshing for me; it's so different from when you're performing covers and I'm really loving that element of it as well.  But you're right, when you start to talk about it, I guess, my naive point of view, I didn't realise that people would actually be so interested in where did the song come from; what's it about, you know, people have kind of been quite interested in the story behind a lot of it and I probably wasn't quite as prepared for that as I should have been, but it's really nice to know that people actually are looking deeper than just the melody and that initial sound.

I guess also for a lot of people, they find something in the songs that means something to them, and that'sone of the great powers of art - whether it's songs or writing books - is that you can reassure people about their own lives.

Yeah.  And I think that's why, like, some of the stuff I wrote - I've written a couple of songs about my Dad on there and he - he, you know, struggled with alcoholism - and that affected not just me, but my sister and my mum and his family, so you kind of feel cautious about putting that out there, not just for yourself but for them, because it's not just my story, it's their story. But at the same time I kind of thought, well, if we've gone through it, how many other people have gone through it? And it can only be a good thing to put that out there and probably more people can relate to it thanwhat you realise.

And by talking about it as well. Do you get the chance to play many gigs?  I know you work full time.

 I do work full time.  I do get the opportunity. I just had a little spot at the WA State Theatre on Friday night through Variety.  So through my work, which is Variety, The Children's Charity, I get to perform at a lot of different corporate and community fundraising events, so I still get to do that and really try and actually build up more of the live gigs, hoping to get over to Tamworth and a few things like that as well, so I'm definitely trying to focus on that at the moment.

In the country music tradition - and you've probably seen this yourself when you go to gigs - there's a lot of storytelling in between songs, like a lot of people say, well, this is the background to the song.  Do you think you'd feel comfortable talking about - particularly the songs that are about your dad that way, or would you rather just let the song speak for itself?

 I think it really just depends on the crowd.  I mean, when we launched it, we did do that and I was surprised at how comfortable I was talking about it; it probably helped that you're amongst family and friends and some of your really loyal supporters.  The thing I found is when you're off stage and you're talking about it, I feel that that's different to being on stage.  Once I'm kind of on stage and talking about it, I kind of slip into a slightly different mode and I find I'm actually okay singing about, you know, like the song about my dad passing away.  You know, to sing that at home in my bedroom or even in the recording process was a real struggle, but on stage it's - somehow it's a lot easier.  I can't explain it, but I'm quite grateful for that.

You've probably reached that point where you've become a real performer, that you understand that the song that you're performing at that time, belongs to the audience that’s there and that they're with you and that they give you a bit of energy or a bit of a lift to get through it, but i it's a different song each time, I guess.

Yes.  Yes.  Very true.

And just back on the point of you working full time - and this is something that a lot of artists when they're starting out in particular, and often throughout their careers manage, this full time work, often songwriting and performing.  It's not easy, you've got to be really devoted to your craft.

Yeah.  It's really easy to not make time for your art as well, because obviously you've got to bring the money in to pay the bills, so it is kind of too easy sometimes to put away - dedicating the time to writing a song or rehearsing and that kind of stuff, but I think you get so much back from it, that's where the real love lies, so you have to just make time and it's about you reap what you sow, so you have to make it happen. 

Do you get much time to sleep or have a social life?

 Absolutely.  Socialising, definitely.  And who needs sleep?

Well, that's right.  You're young!

I have a really great employer in Variety and I'm very fortunate that with the background that, you know, the Variety Youth Choir; I then went on to work for Variety, so for me getting time off to do the shows, even if they’re during the daytime, to leave early or travelling, things like that, it's never a problem for me.  I can just duck out and do what I need, so I'm probably a bit lucky there as well.

And you were a finalist for Young Australian of the Year at one stage?

 Last year.  Last year, yeah.

And was that for your work with Variety or something else?

Yeah, a little bit of everything.  For the Variety and singing in the choir and just general involvement in the community, I guess.  That was a bit of a surprise.  I think a few people got together and put that nomination in and I had no idea until it was all announced.

Part III of this interview will be published very soon.

Fireproof by Katie O'Donnell is out now.

www.katieo.com.au

Interview: Katie O'Donnell (part I)

Katie O'Donnell is a young Western Australian performer with a great voice, catchy songs and a memorable head of flame-red hair (as her EP cover shows). And my true confession is that I meant to publish this interview several weeks ago and it became a casualty of me having a rather hectic day job - and misfiling the transcription! So with apologies to Katie for my tardiness, here's the chat we had about her debut release, Fireproof. 


This is the first part of a multi-part interview.

Katie, you've created an ear worm for me, 'cause I can't get 'Fireproof' out of my head.

Oh really?  Well that's awesome.

The last few days I just keep thinking, what's that song in my head?  Oh, it's Katie's song.

Sorry about that!  That's very good. Great for me.  Not so good for you.

Oh, it's fine for me because it's a great song. It's really, really catchy and I actually think it's really hard to write catchy songs.  There aren't that many of them in the world when you think about it out of all the songs that are written.

 Oh well, thank you very much.  That's lovely. 

How long have you been songwriting?

It's a really new, kind of, endeavour for me.  I don't know how much you know about me, but because I'm in a wheelchair I can't actually play anything, so for  three or  four years I've had lyrics going through my head and kind of developing melodies and stuff, but it really has only been in the last 12 months that I've really said no, look, I want to do this and actually found the right musicians, so I've been able to kind of connect with what I'm hearing in my head.  And actually put together what I'm imagining and what I'm trying to explain to actually produce the kind of sound that I was after, so I've been really fortunate and lucky the way that it's all worked out.

You say you don't play anything, but the voice is an instrument, and a very powerful one, so I would imagine when you were talking to these musicians you were singing them the melody that you were hearing.

Exactly.  So singing them the melody and then trying to explain in my layman’s terms what I was imagining and what I was hearing and what I wanted, the kind of sound and style that I wanted - and they got it exactly.  don't know what that says about their state of mind, but they were able to kind of connect like that, so it was great in the end.

Your voice is really strong in the mix of these songs and if we could call them voice-led songs, because that's how you compose them, obviously the producer understood that as well?

Yeah.  And I think probably as you say too, because they really did start from purely just the melody and so, you know, I think when I was writing them I tried to make that as strong as I could as well, so I think that might stand out more than a lot of some of the instruments as well.

So you've done a lot a of singing I think with a choir, or more than one choir perhaps, and is it kind of scarier on your own, or does it feel like you were always meant to sing on your own?

I've been really fortunate with the choir to have a fair amount of solos and opportunity to represent the choir in a  solo capacity, where I have, kind of, been out on my own, so I really, really enjoy that. But it's definitely very, very different to have that sole focus on you and no one else to kind of back you up, so I am still adjusting to it and every performance that I do I'm getting more comfortable with it. 

And you mentioned you're in a wheelchair - I'm really curious, and I hope you don't mind me asking, but from a physiological point of view, I know that I don't sing as powerfully when I'm sitting down as I do when I'm standing up, so I'm just wondering for you - because your voice is not exactly weak, so I'm just wondering what kind of adjustments you might have had to make to be able to sing with that amount of power?

 Well, I don't really know. I guess for me, because I did used to be able to walk around, but I certainly wasn't performing on stage when I was still walking, so by the time I really started seriously performing I was already in the wheelchair, so I have nothing to compare it to.  So in my mind this is just how everyone sings, but by the same token, you know, my lung capacity is only about 30 per cent, or 35 per cent compared to the average person out there. So, you know, you work with you've got and I guess when you do this every day and you just find little knacks and ways of doing it, and sometimes it's in the phrasing or in a melody and stuff like that. But it's just what it is and you kind of have to work with it.

And I guess also singing voices do come from somewhere else a lot of the time. It's not just the lungs and the larynx and that sort of thing - it's an expression. So I guess for you - well, for anyone singing - that's where a lot of that power comes from. At what age did you start singing?

I first started when I was probably about eight and then I gave it up for a little while and then I started again when I was 12 and then I haven't stopped since. So that was when I first started doing some public performances and deciding, you know, that I really wanted to pursue it, so and that’s more than half my life now. I'm turning 30 next month, so yeah - a long time. 

Part II will be published very soon.

Fireproof by Katie O'Donnell is out now. 

www.katieo.com.au