Sydney singer songwriter Beck Fielding always looks forward to an opportunity to sing and play her heart out, share her personal creative discoveries with her audience and connect with new fans. She’s already got a long list of gigs under her belt and isn’t stopping anytime soon. Catch her this Friday, July 18th when she takes the stage at The Lair with her band for round one of Emergenza Festival Australia, and in the meantime, check out what Beck had to say to us before the show.

WHAT FIRST INSPIRED YOU TO SONG WRITING?
Songwriting has always felt like something natural for me to do. It’s not like one day I woke up and “decided to become a songwriter”. I think it’s been more of a natural progression from learning piano as a kid and needing to express myself creatively and emotionally. Music is such a great place to do that. One of the big kick-starters for taking songwriting more seriously was hearing Missy Higgins on the radio in 2004. At that point, I thought the songs I write might have a place in the world… and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

WHAT DO YOU SEARCH TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCES?
That’s a tricky question… I suppose ultimately it’s my experience as a human being in the world—what I feel, the lessons I take from life, what I witness in other people’s lives. If I resonate strongly with someone or something I see, I write about it. There are both humorous and humanitarian or healing aspects to my songwriting, so performance is a way for me to connect with an audience and share a message of hope.

WHAT'S YOUR LIVE SET UP LIKE?
Usually it’s just me on vocals and guitar, but with my support band for this comp I am joined by Rob Festinger on bass and Hele Pallis on backing vocals and percussion. We create a pretty full sound, but there’s always room for more!
IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Warm, soulful, earthy.

WHERE HAVE YOU PLAYED BEFORE AND WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM GIG?
Mainly in a lot of cafés and pubs around Sydney’s inner city, inner west and eastern suburb areas, places like The Basement, The Sandringham, The Excelsior Hotels (Surry Hills and Glebe), Mars Hill Café, Coogee Diggers, 35 Degrees, Coach n Horses Hotel, Newtown RSL, Kelly’s on King and the Surry Hills Festival. Out of the city I’ve played at the Katoomba Winter Magic Festival, Hush in Canberra (now closed), pubs Brunswick and somewhere up in the hills of Kincumber. Dream gig: I’ve always thought it would be a great honour to play for the Queen… even though I’m not much of a monarchist. In Australia, I’d probably go for the Entertainment Centre (while it’s still standing), Acer Arena, Byron Blues Festival or Sydney Opera House. Overseas, I reckon England is the place for me, with no specific venue in mind.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT YOUR SHOW AT THE LAIR?
Heaps! Having fun with my band, connecting with the audience, playing alongside great musicians at a venue of “notability”, enjoying great sound on stage, seeing the pro photos after the show, and hopefully making it through to play at The Factory Theatre in Marrickeville.

WITH OTHER BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS AROUND, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE EMERGENZA?
Partly through persistence by Emergenza staff to contact me on Facebook and my website… On a more serious note, it’s an opportunity to rise to a challenge. Being a muso takes a lot in today’s times. We’ve got to be our own promoters, marketers, stylists, social media experts as well as writing the songs, performing and producers. The band comp creates an environment to test and develop in all of these areas. And my motivation is partly political as well. Music plays such an important part of culture, as it reflects the culture we live in. With a mandate for commercial radio stations to flood 80% of Australian airways with American music, the Australian voice is quite simply smothered. How can the general public know what Australian artists have to offer under these conditions? Competitions like the Emergenza band comp provide audiences with the opportunity to not only support Australia’s undiscovered talent, but to foster the growth of our unique identity, voice and culture.

For more details on the show at The Lair @ The Metro Theatre in Sydney on July 18th, click here.