Having fronted the much-loved alt-country outfit Waiting for Brenda and played across local bluegrass and rockabilly lineups for years, Brisbane's Brenda Lee Kelly is one of those legends who demonstrates her passion for local music in all that she does. Her latest single, "Who Took All The Houses," marks a significant moment, as she steps out directly under her own name with a song that has two important things to say.
We asked Brenda how this personal and at the same time, socially topical track came about. She outlined the experiences that sparked it.
"I had a family member who each time I asked their community how he was they all said they hadn't seen him for a while and usually he was at the local pub all the time," she explains. "I also had another friend who was living on the Gold Coast and helping her to find housing and realised how hard it was for her to find accommodation. There is a big housing crisis where either accommodation is too expensive, or too competitive to gain or there are houses left empty by investors. I recorded this song in Canada where there is also lots of homelessness in Vancouver and where I recorded was just a street away from East Hasting Street which is full of people living on the street."
Brenda had headed over to Canada earlier this year simply to catch up with an old bandmate, and before long she found herself in a studio a long way from home. We asked her what it was about that overseas trip that made her stop and say, "Right, I need to record these songs right now."
"Well, firstly, I was going to go to the USA as I had a dream that one day I may go to Nashville and record there and visit some of the beautiful hills of Virginia," Brenda shares. "Unfortunately, there has been lots of turmoil going on there and so my travel plans changed but then I decided to visit Canada and catch up with a friend I used to play with in a female bluegrass band in Brisbane. We catch up usually in Brisbane once a year when she visits and we always jam together. My first thoughts were just catching up and jamming and then just before I left I thought well, I can't record in Nashville but I could do it in Vancouver and so just before I left I contacted a couple of studios and sent them some demo's of me playing guitar and singing 3 songs and gave them an idea of the type of playing and instrumentation I would like on each song. The only day that was available was day 2 in Vancouver so our 2nd day in Canada for the first time was spent in this most amazing recording studio. We got there at 10am and left at 8pm and Kaj who runs Blue Light Studios and who I worked with in production did the most amazing job and was so friendly plus he got two of his regular session musicians Phil Bell (Bass) and Ed Whelan (drums) to play. He sent them my demo songs and it was so good to record with them and my friend Kate Semple (claw hammer banjo). They all really were friendly and treated the songs with care. Phil has family on the Sunshine Coast and Ed had travelled to Brisbane for Big Sound with his band so was great to have that connection. My partner and I met over 30 years ago both studying Audio Engineering and all of my previous recordings as Brenda Lee Kelly have been as demo's at home so we both loved the experience of being in such a fantastic studio in a new country for us. THE best souvenir ever!! Thoroughly recommend."
Stepping into the spotlight under her own name feels like a new direction. We wanted to know how that felt, and if she had a new approach to her songwriting process.
"I have been songwriting for quite a while and also recorded and performed under "Brenda Lee Kelly" before but those recordings were demo recordings. ""Waiting for Brenda" started as an album where I wanted to put out a full album of my own songs and also was a goal while I was going through 14 months of breast cancer treatment. I had been playing in other bands which were a combo of covers and some originals songs. However, during cancer treatement and just before I was about to undergo surgery, around the time Neil Young also was as well, I was inspired my him putting out an album before his surgery, so I recorded all the songs as demo's at home with the hope that I would be able to record from home the rest of the album. Once I finished treatment I was asked to play a set at a festival of all my original songs, so just asked a few musical friends who would be interested. They all liked the songs, so from there we kept playing live and getting offers for gigs etc. One of my old band mates said you should have a band and call it "Waiting for Brenda" as everyone had been waiting for me for a while to finish treatment and get back to playing music. We finished off the album at home with most of these people who would later become some of the "Waiting for Brenda" band.
I was lucky to receive a grant to have the home recordings mastered so that enabled me to put the songs on cd and vinyl. These songs that I recorded in Vancouver and other songs I wish to record in Brisbane are all songs I recorded in the past few years, some quite a few years ago so the opportunity to record in Vancouver with Kate who I always loved playing with but had never recorded with was great. Some of the songs, I had played for the band but we just never got around to playing them so recording in Vancouver was an opportunity to have them recorded. The past few years I have tended to write for the band so going back to writing without restriction on instrumentation gives me freedom to write without thinking that it has to have certain instruments/breaks, etc., though of course I will continue with Waiting for Brenda as I also love playing live with the band and recording (with a new album just about to drop - Album number 2). Having a band (which can vary depending on availability but includes; Craig, Garry, Johnno, Peter, Darryl, Luke, Marti, Shane, Greg, Lindsay & Glenn) is great and I really appreciate that they all really like playing the songs and bring their creativity to each song as well.
Some of the songs I have recorded before and essentially the same song can be played various ways depending on who is playing ie Luke our former fiddle player from Waiting for Brenda recently left to take on parenting and so now we have Darryl on mandolin and electric guitar which also sounds awesome so always open to hearing how others interpret the songs. Would love to have other bands play some of the songs too and see how they interpret."
If you’ve heard older tracks like "Giving Me Nothing on Given Terrace" or "Rode Road," you know Brenda has a knack for inserting parts of Brisbane into her lyrics. Given she had just recorded overseas, We wondered if that strong Bris-Vegas identity would always be a fixture in her writing.
"Oh yes, for sure - love these questions. thank you," she says. "All 3 songs that I recorded in Vancouver have Brisbane identity in them which for the musicians in Vancouver really loved hearing. When I hear the songs - particularly the line in "Who Took All The Houses" - "they say he's moved to Brisbane - but that seems far to go" it gives me a feeling of much further distance than the location of Northern NSW where I was inspired to write about the person moving from their town. Also, I have two other songs to be released new year which mentions local places from Brisbane. Although I spent a few years travelling when I was younger and still love to travel my inspiration for songs always seem to have the flavour of my home town, Brisbane in them."
We asked Brenda Lee Kelly whether we can look forward to a full-length solo album, and who might join her on stage to perform these new tunes.
"Ooh - at this stage it has been a pretty busy year so my plan is to have more time to write and also to get the songs recorded," Brenda reveals. "I found that for a while there I seem to have a back log of songs that I wanted to record but just didn't have time to do. Although, we can record from home and the first Waiting for Brenda album my partner Damir and I recorded from home the big job was mixing the album and that seemed to take us about a year as we both have day jobs as well. It was so great to record some songs with Cam Smith at Incremental Studios at The Gap for the second album. He is so quick and creative and really saved time, so I'm looking forward to recording some Brenda Lee Kelly tunes with him as well as finding some new collaborations and instrumentation to work with. If I get an album recorded as Brenda Lee Kelly I would love to have a band perform with me maybe a double bass, banjo, brushes, electric lead guitar - I dunno know - maybe fiddle too - would depend on the song - love accordian and cello too - pretty open to thinking about production of songs too so first thing is to record and then perhaps put together a new band to promote the album."
Having gigged the local Brisbane scene for many years, Brenda has seen plenty of live venues come and go. We asked her what one venue in Brisbane (past or present) she thought had the best on-stage sound, and what made it special.
"Oh I think its so hard to pick one - my favourite venues are The Cave Inn, The Triffid, The Junk Bar and Banshees Bar & Art Space - they are all such lovely venues and the people who go to them are all music loving who are open to all sorts of genres of music," she says. "Each venue has a dedicated in house sound person. We sometimes get gigs where we have to lug our own PA and spend a couple of hours setting up and packing up which for a six piece band takes a bit of effort."To close out our interview, We put Brenda on the spot with a curveball. Imagine getting roped into a covers set at Brisbane's Paddo Tavern this Friday night, with the rule that you can only play songs by Brisbane bands that have broken up. What’s the first tune hitting the setlist?
"Wow - love these questions - that's a great one - lots of bands I thought had broken up all seem to be getting back together so have to think...." Brenda laughs. "Okay, well here is 3 "Was there anything I could do" The Go Betweens, "Summer Vacation" Presidents 11, "77 Sunset Strip" The Riptides. All those three songs, are from my memories of going to see bands in Brisbane. I suppose I picked the first one as I love the guitar at the beginning of "Was There Anything I Could Do" and have tried playing it acoustically and with my friend Kate on clawhammer banjo, just jamming but its' a great song."
That genuine love for the Brisbane music scene and the community around it runs through everything Brenda creates. Brenda Lee Kelly remains as authentic as they come. Keep an ear out for "Who Took All The Houses" on Local Sounds Radio, and take a moment to consider who took all the houses?
Brenda Lee Kelly on Local Sounds
https://localsounds.com.au/artist/brenda-lee-kelly
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