Since releasing their debut album Love Your Band as a three piece in 2009, The Little Stevies have released two albums (their debut and its 2011 follow up Attention Shoppers) and performed over 300 shows across Australia and North America, including performances at the prestigious CMJ Music Marathon in New York and Canada’s highly regarded Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference (OCFF).
Diamonds For Your Tea is the latest offering and third official studio release by The Little Stevies, and is a deeply personal album inspired by new life and death and all that life has presented to the sisters over the last two years. An album that presents a more mature and thoughtful outlook from the Stephen sisters than ever before, this coming Oct/Nov 2013 sees the girls take it on the road around Australia with their new 5-piece line up, to showcase their most daring and impressive collection of work to date.
In your biography, you said, “each song’s a story that you’ll want to hear again”. What are these stories about?
Diamonds For Your Tea describes the experiences Byll and I have had individually and collectively over the past two years. There have been huge changes for us over this time; life changes. And being in a heightened state of emotion usually works wonders for us when it comes to writing songs. We’ve lived more life, gained more perspective, and put it all on this new album. Just like when I hear someone else’s song describe an experience I’ve had myself, and I want to hear it again and again because I feel comfort in the fact that someone else has also experienced it and been able to articulate it so beautifully, I feel like these songs on Diamonds For Your Tea will have much the same effect for many others.
Your sound is very unique – a folk pop vibe with a lot of harmonies. Why did you choose to make this kind of music?
I think this was the type of music that chose us. When we write and demo a new song, more often than not it’s been written on an acoustic instrument, and being singers first and foremost, the first thing we add and work out are vocal harmony arrangements. We write to our strengths and we write the songs that want to come out of us. I feel lucky that I have songs that come out easily, and those that don’t, I can take them to Byll and she will finish them in a flash. If what we write fits best under the genre umbrella of folk/pop, I’m not going to start complaining; I’m glad the songs we write are coming out at all to be honest.
You’re playing at Mullum Music Festival this November with acts like The Basics, Mama Kin and Jordie Lane. Who are you looking forward to seeing?
All of them! Many of the other acts on the bill we have known for quite some years now, and we’ve sort of “grown up” with them in a sense; our musical paths have crossed several times and have been similar in a lot of ways. So it’s always great to see each other play again, see each other’s new live shows and songs, and catch up on gossip.
You’re also playing Anglesea Music Festival with big names such as Brian Cadd and Sandi Thom. What do you love most about being a part of a festival line-up?
Getting to see all the other awesome acts for free! And nothing quite takes the cake over being on the same festival bill as some of your heroes and getting the opportunity to meet them as a peer.
There’s always such a positive vibe at music festivals, and people are usually genuinely there to discover new music and are music lovers and supporters. These are the audiences that you dream of playing to.
I have quite a phobia of crowds, so I’d be lying if I said I was a fan of regularly going to festivals as a punter. Being part of a festival line-up means that there’s a focus and a job to do that distracts me from all the people. Though of course I LOVE IT when lots of people come to see us play at festivals ;)
What do you think makes music festivals such important events in the music industry? (follow up question à first music festival – both playing and attending as a fan)
Festivals provide a platform for bands to perform to lots of new people who may not have heard of you or seen you perform live before. It’s a chance to play to old fans, make new fans, and meet other artists. They are hugely valuable for both the punter and the band. Most of my fondest show memories have been at music festivals.
Being 16 at the time, the first music festivals I remember attending were also the first festivals we played at as The Little Stevies. Queenscliff Music Festival was one of the very first and it totally blew my mind. I remember the feeling of standing in the middle of a major festival arena for the first time on the Saturday night, amongst thousands of people and the mashed up sounds coming together from the various stages, having just played what was at that stage; the biggest and most important show of our lives, and experiencing the biggest rush of my life. There was no turning back for me after that night. I was totally hooked on wanting that rush again and again.
What can people who are attending (or thinking of attending) either of these festivals expect from a Little Stevies show?
Diversity. Mullum Music Festival will see us present our new 5-piece line up, and at Anglesea and Portland Music Festivals, audiences will receive a very special and intimate duo show seeing us up close and personal. All three festival shows will see us showcasing our brand new songs off ‘Diamonds For Your Tea’ and a truckload of unheard stories about the rollercoaster that life has been over the past two years for us. We have a lot to tell, share and laugh about with our audiences for this album launch tour.
When recording your third album (which is due for release October 3rd), Byll became a mother and Beth – you were completing a Master’s Degree. How did you balance your workloads?
With great difficulty. We’ve never had to have been more organised and time efficient in our lives than we were for the recording of this album. There was not much sleep had during the process.
The album was mostly recorded in the evenings, and it really was a matter of heading straight into the studio from finishing uni, work and putting the baby to bed, recording for a few hours for that precious window of opportunity that we had, before catching a few short hours of sleep, to prepare for doing it all again. There was a lot of studying and lesson preparation going on for me in between recording takes as I was doing my Masters in Teaching, and lots of feeding and tending to a new born baby for Byll. I guess what they say is true in that the busier you are, the more things you get done!
Now, going back to 2006 when you released your first EP – you said that one of your parents played the drums for you on the tracks. Is your musical inspiration sourced from your parents or other acts? (possible follow up à what bands influenced as a child etc.)
Without a doubt we became musicians and songwriters because of our parents influence. Both of our parents were working musicians and performers for most of their lives, and then again when they got together and had us. Being brought up in a house hold where as young kids it was normal to sit in on your parents band rehearsals, go on tour and see it all happening, meant it was unlikely we’d try and pursue anything else before we’d tried music.
They have always been our biggest supporters and encouraged us to pursue music, but whilst always providing us with a realistic perspective on the music industry and what following a career in music can mean, both good and bad. They exposed us to both fantastic music in a live setting at a young age growing up, and provided real experiences that gave us a taste of how exciting following music can be and how wonderful the camaraderie can be amongst the people you make it with.
You used to be a trio and a quartet. Why did you choose to become just a two-piece?
The Little Stevies has existed for ten years now, and the promotional front of the band has predictably changed over this time, like it does for so many bands. However, Byll and I have always been at the core of The Little Stevies and the main songwriters. For us, being songwriters is how we identify ourselves.
We started the band with our close friend Robin who was a major part of The Little Stevies up until recently. But it’s natural when involved in a creative pursuit over a long period of time to want to try different things, because anyone who does follow a creative pursuit seriously, knows that it requires everything you have and must be the first priority. We all get older though, and priorities can change. For Robin, last year after we had finished touring ‘Attention Shoppers’, both Nationally and Internationally, he felt it was time for him to focus solely on his film making, which is his first love and is what he is so exceptionally good at. As seen from our past video clips and tour diaries.
What’s next for The Little Stevies?
We are going to put everything we have into the release of Diamonds For Your Tea , because we are so very proud of it. It’s by far our best product and body of work that we’ve released to date. We are launching it in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and various locations in between.
Beyond this, who knows? Byll and I will keep making music together, and hope that it will continue to be well received by audiences both in Australia and overseas. In what capacity we make music, we’re not sure yet.
Tim Minchin made a great comment recently in his Occasional Address when receiving his Honorary Degree of Doctors of Letters, where he said, “your next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery, which is why you should be careful of long term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye”.
So we’ll let you know when we stumble across our next worthy musical pursuit to follow after this one.
The Little Stevies new album Diamonds For Your Tea is out now on Love Your Records.
For more info visit The Little Stevies’: www.thelittlestevies.com
The Little Stevies 2013 Tour Dates:
October 19-20
Anglesea Music Festival (duo), ANGLESEA VIC
October 25
Thornbury Theatre (Velvet Room), MELBOURNE VIC
with: The Davidson Brothers
November 2
Portland Music Festival (duo) (free), PORTLAND VIC
November 7
Camelot Lounge, SYDNEY NSW
with: Achoo! Bless You
November 8
Coogee Diggers, SYDNEY NSW
November 9
Clarendon Guesthouse, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW
November 15
Wheatsheaf Hotel, ADELAIDE SA
with: Halfway to Forth
November 22
The Old Museum, BRISBANE QLD
with: Sue Ray
November 23-24
Mullum Music Festival, MULLUMBIMBY NSW
Listen to ‘Diamonds For Your Tea’ here
