{"id":37801,"date":"2019-04-29T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T21:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=37801"},"modified":"2019-04-22T10:12:27","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T00:12:27","slug":"ella-hooper-of-killing-heidi-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2019\/04\/ella-hooper-of-killing-heidi-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Ella Hooper of Killing Heidi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI think that we are a band that really enjoys it and we\u2019re a band that really loves giving the crowd a good time, I don\u2019t think we take ourselves too seriously and I think that\u2019s something I\u2019m really proud of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

From Release: It’s been twenty years since Hooper Siblings\u00a0Killing Heidi\u00a0released their disarming folk pop song, ‘Kettle’ on triple j unearthed.\u00a0<\/strong>The band soon expanded into colourful teenage power pop and burst onto the national and international stage with their breakthrough debut album\u00a0Reflector,\u00a0released in March 2000. Anthemic singles\u00a0‘Mascara’\u00a0and\u00a0‘Weir’\u00a0<\/strong>made\u00a0Reflector\u00a0a blow-out success and\u00a0cemented the work as\u00a0one of Australia’s most loved pop albums. The early naughties belonged to Killing Heidi with Weir placing #2 and Mascara #14 in triple j’s Hottest 100. Reflector went onto to take out four ARIA awards and reach 4 x platinum status. The Hooper siblings also won the critically-acclaimed APRA songwriters of the year award.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne, we gave Ella Hooper a call to talk about Killing Heidi\u2019s upcoming tour with Baby Animals, being out on tour again, new music, old music, and much more\u2026<\/p>\n

Of course we’re here because you’re heading back out on the road with the ever so awesome Baby Animals. What can people expect from a Killing Heidi show in 2019?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s frankly better than ever *laughs* if you saw us back in the day well good for you but we are so much better at what we do now. We\u2019ve added quite a bit of extra flavour, keyboards, backing vocals, violins, lap steel guitars and we still rock out of course. It\u2019s feeling really, really, awesome, all the old songs are still there but they\u2019re sounding better than ever.<\/p>\n

What’s it been like being back out on tour again?<\/strong>
\nWell it\u2019s a bit of a shock to the system at first *laughs* because I\u2019ve still been gigging quite a bit and playing music but these tours are really hefty, we\u2019ve done some big ones now and the Baby Animals ones will be really decent and you sort of have to eat your Weet-Bix and prepare for them, I\u2019ll be in training put it that way.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it like for you when you go out with a band like Baby Animals that have been doing the rounds for a long time but what\u2019s it like watching someone like Suze up there for you?<\/strong>
\nWell I\u2019m just all eyes and all ears because I want to learn everything I can for people that have paved the way for me and there weren\u2019t many, there haven\u2019t been many artists that I can relate to that are from this country at least, so that\u2019s super exciting to look and learn and soak it all up.<\/p>\n

It’s funny, I think with a band like Killing Heidi that it’s not nostalgia that this is about, it\u2019s about a band that people still love. What do you think it is about your band that people just attached to and stayed attached to?<\/strong>
\nWell thank you that\u2019s so nice of you to say that, I don\u2019t know I think we\u2019re just so lucky I think we still love it, we took a big break so I think that\u2019s part of the reason we\u2019re still so enthusiastic about it now, I just met a man in his mid-forties who hasn\u2019t even lived in Australia for that long, he came over from England and he had never heard Killing Heidi until he heard \u2018Mascara\u2019 on Triple M or something and we became his new favourite band, so I don\u2019t understand how we keep doing it, how we keep getting new fans after all these years but I\u2019m very glad that we do.<\/p>\n

Now you’ve continued to make music but do you think there may be a chance of new music from Killing Heidi in the future?<\/strong>
\nLook, I don\u2019t know and I definitely won\u2019t say no, I think it\u2019s possible. I think that we haven\u2019t done it yet, we\u2019ve just been focusing on touring and doing all the other amounts of crazy stuff that we do but it\u2019s absolutely a possibility, I did have a dream about it the other night so that might mean it\u2019s seeping through my sub-conscious into actions.<\/p>\n

Well with violins and lap-steels now, maybe a different direction, a different sound?<\/strong>
\nI reckon it would be a slightly different sound, I think we should still rock out because frankly that\u2019s just something we do really well but I think it would be more mature for sure.<\/p>\n

It’s now been twenty years since ‘Weir’ was released, looking back what are some of your fondest memories when it all started to take off for the band?<\/strong>
\nMan it was all such an impressive, shocking, exciting, overwhelming ride it\u2019s hard to pinpoint things but I think touring in Melbourne, even the first couple of gigs selling out the Prince of Wales two nights in a row for this teenage band was such a huge deal, I thought it was a dream to play those gigs and those venues and then selling them out and moving on to theatres and stuff was incredible.<\/p>\n

You were only seventeen when Reflector was released, as you’ve grown up how if in any way has your approach to song writing changed?<\/strong>
\nWell it\u2019s massively changed I think we were just throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks when we were young, we were just trying things to see what works we didn\u2019t know any techniques or rules or tools and we got very, very lucky, we were instinctually quite successful song writers but now I know so much more and almost tried to forget all of the rules and tools and things that I\u2019ve learnt because I want it to still be fresh. I think I\u2019m a much better songwriter now to be honest but I don\u2019t always get that naivety and that charm that those young songs had is undeniable, so a balance would be good.<\/p>\n

How do you feel still playing these songs that came out when you were that teenager?<\/strong>
\nI thought it would be tricky to tap into that fifteen year old me and I thought it might be a bit weird like this mid-thirties me jumping around singing about what a sixteen year old cares about, but guess what, it\u2019s not that different *laughs* it\u2019s like the same sort of feelings are still there and the subject matter is still relevant in my life in some ways not every song, the high school sort of feeling like the odd one out, bullying sort of stuff doesn\u2019t so much resonate for me but it still resonates for so many people out in the crowd but all the sort of teen angst love affair sort of stuff is still going strong. The connection you don\u2019t forget about those connections that you have with those songs, they soundtrack your lives.<\/p>\n

Now over that time it can be very easy to say what’s changed but what would you say is the one thing that’s stayed the same about Killing Heidi?<\/strong>
\nI think that we are a band that really enjoys it and we\u2019re a band that really loves giving the crowd a good time, I don\u2019t think we take ourselves too seriously and I think that\u2019s something I\u2019m really proud of, we are a fun, heavy rock band, and some rock bands are awesome and heavy, some bands are fun and silly and always have been and we\u2019re right in between we\u2019re like a fun, heavy, grungy pop band so I feel we have a niche.<\/p>\n

Was there one piece of advice you were given when you started playing music that you still use to this day?<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t bore us get to the chorus *laughs* I think it still holds strong.<\/p>\n

What’s next for the band?<\/strong>
\nObviously the Baby Animals tour we\u2019re so excited about that, and then big plans in 2020 as well, so lots of touring I\u2019m gonna be road dogging like I used to and trying to just get to every corner of this country.<\/p>\n

Lastly let’s look ahead to the future. Finish this sentence for me. By the end of 2019 Killing Heidi would like to…<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ll have to think about that\u2026 *pauses* well we\u2019re gonna achieve it *laughs* I would\u2019ve loved to have learnt all the possible lessons I could\u2019ve learnt from touring with Baby Animals and I\u2019m gonna, because I\u2019m still learning and that\u2019s what I love about this .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BABY ANIMALS GREATEST HITS TOUR 2019<\/strong>
\nWith Special Guests<\/strong>
\nKILLING HEIDI<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday May 3 – Revesby Workers Club, Revesby, NSW<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday May 4 – Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW<\/strong> Tickets from\u00a0Ticketek<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Metro Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday May 10 – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne, VIC<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday May 17 – The Gov, Adelaide, SA<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday May 18<\/strong> – The Gov, Adelaide, SA<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday May 24 – Astor Theatre, Perth, WA<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday May 25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Metropolis, Fremantle, WA<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday May 31 – Southport RSL, Southport, QLD<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday June 1 – The Tivoli, Brisbane, QLD<\/strong> Tickets\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Victoria, Australia<\/p>\n

Band members: <\/strong>Ella Hooper \u2013 lead vocals, Jesse Hooper \u2013 guitars, Adam Pedretti \u2013 drums, Clio Renner – keyboards, Tim Curnick – bass<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> \u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/killingheidiband\/<\/a><\/p>\n