Please tell us your story! How did you get to where you are today?
This is such a huge question, because I feel I am the sum of so many disparate parts, and winding meandering musings! Ultimately I think I am where I am today because I believe in ideas, and I have a knack of finding ideas, and then knowing what a simple execution of it would look like. I think part of where I am today is due to the fact that I would rather try things then get stuck in perfection, which means I’ve had to learn to process regret and humility in equal measure with the “successes” I’ve achieved.
I get lots of ideas, and a lot of them are far too complicated, but when one lands that I can very clearly see the pathway to, I can’t resist but at least try it. The Management Workshop was born out of an idea, imagined and explained in real time with the very first committee that formed The Seed Fund. It was an idea, that although ambitious, also felt simple, and achievable.
I test my ideas through a few filters. One of the key filters is; can I explain it in 2 sentences? If not; simplify. The Management Workshop from the get-go was; We make a space for the emerging and the established within our music community to be in the room together, to exchange, to understand, explore and design, to dispel the myth of isolation and competition and replace it with connection. The workshop is still the embodiment of this at its core. That’s proof of a good idea. The central tenement lasts across the many iterations and developments. Love that.
Why did you want to get into the music industry?
I was born into a family band. I didn’t necessarily “get” into the music industry. Music is an intrinsic part of my familial and cultural understanding. It is knitted into every aspect of life that I know from funerals to road trips, weddings to weeding, storytelling, culture keeping and growing.. the industry is the machine which sits in SERVICE to a cultural practice.
What is your role & responsibilities in the music industry?
I am an artist first. Then an advocate via various formal and informal roles including mentorship, facilitation and philanthropy. I am the co-founder and Director of The Seed Fund, the co-designer of The Management Workshop, and a board member of Music Australia.
“Play the long game. Do it all on the way, don’t wait until you get “there.” You can have it all, just not all at once”
Tell us about some of your mentoring, community advocacy work.
I am an ad-hoc mentor. I don’t really take on traditional mentorship roles at the moment but I am the “phone a friend” to many, and I really enjoy that role. I love it because when I was first starting to release my own music as a self-managed artist, those phone a friend convos kept me going. They are often very quick and can save you from the quicksand of your own time-wasting indecision. A well-timed trusted birds eye view can be a game changer.
About a year ago I accepted a formal role as board member of Music Austalia. I have always been wary of what getting bogged down in bureaucratic systems, but I was genuinely inspired and excited by the possibility of what could happen under the Revive National Cultural Policy, so I considered it a great honour to be asked to add an artist centric, grass roots voice to that conversation.
I feel that my most substantial contribution to the mentoring and community space though is through my work with The Seed Fund. I am so proud of and excited by the energy around The Management Workshop. The resounding support of this initiative by alumni who are scattered throughout our music community, is the greatest proof to me of its success. The reputation it has earned as being a cornerstone initiative and a career defining moment for many is all the motivation I need to keep it going.
Let’s talk about the highs vs the lows of your career. What is your greatest achievement? And are there any moments you would like to share that you learnt greatly from?
My greatest achievement is the diversity of my career. My greatest achievement is my reputation, the relationships I have with my collaborators, my team, my colleagues, my family, my supporters, my community. Learning moments – every day – but mostly staying with the long road, rather than the quick fix, staying with the opportunities rather than the temptations.
The lows for me are the crashes, the mental health struggles, the fatigue, the loneliness, the self-doubt.
Have you had to overcome any challenges or adversity in your career, and if so, how did you approach them?
Learning every day. I think my greatest learning is to avoid comparison and competition and seek connection instead. For me that means that when comparison or competition start to raise their toxic little heads it is a flag that I am feeling insecure or disconnected from my community or my craft… so stop drop and get connected – first to myself through my own practices of meditation, movement and making, and then with my community by reaching out for some IRL collaboration.
Who has been your biggest champion in your career?
I’ve had a few. My partner John, my first manager Clara Iaccarino, my brother Michael Caruana who I did my first ever Mama Kin shows with, and then we toured together for 4 years, Stacia Goninon, my long time friend, collaborator and co director of The Seed Fund, Carlo Santone, who was my very first “phone a friend”, who basically coached me through my first trembling steps forward as a releasing and touring artist and lastly every babysitter I ever had.
What is the best piece of life advice you’ve ever received?
Play the long game. Do it all on the way, don’t wait until you get “there.” You can have it all, just not all at once.
What have been your career highlights to date?
I love collaborating, and I love connecting live with an audience. I just love it. I have had so many of these peak experiences, rolling off stage, heaving with joy and endorphins and connective tissue.
“Listening. Really listening. And then making spaces for more listening. It is really seeking to understand the different between equity and equality at all times and seek and advocate for equity through understanding and listening.“
What would you tell your younger self if you could tell them anything?
See above! I’d tell her to listen to herself. The alarm bells aren’t ringing for no reason. I’d tell her to take dance classes.
What is your big picture career goal?
We talking The Seed here? I would like The Seed to be fully resourced so we can get on with the good work we do, employ more
people to help us make it just a little easier, and the extend a longer arm after the program and pay mid career artists a decent wage to support the new alumni coming through.
For me as an artist, I just want to keep exploring more and more ways of connection with my audience, with my craft with my collaborators. I want everyone I work with to get paid really well for the art we make together. I want it to be viable, abundant, so we can inject more and more into partnerships with other artists.
Who are your role models in the industry be they local or international?
I am REALLY inspired by Fanny Lumsden.
The “industry” said no, but she knew her fans were out there somewhere, so she packed up her caravan and went hall to hall and made fans one tiny remote country town at a time, she has 2 young kids now, has 2 ARIAS, record deals, publishing deals, is opening up on big bills, is touring internationally, and she and her team did it from scratch.
I love Jenn Grant, she is a Canadian musician, and a mother of 2 boys and she is prolific, and socially active and quirky and magnificent and a dear friend. I really admire Joan as Policewoman for her creative and stage craft. Just brilliant. I admire everyone just out there giving it a red hot go to be honest. Especially those who tirelessly build their audiences.
Who are your top 3 artists to watch?
I am an Emma Donovan tragic, love that woman so much. I also know that Emma is well watched by now but I love her and will never stop cheering for her.
I am loving Miss Kaninna’s energy – everything I see and hear is making me pull the “damn that makes me feel” face.
Elana Stone – Love her tunes, love her sass, love her passion. Love her energy. She cracks me up.
Baby Velvet – LOVING her new song!
I know that is more than 3 but I could go on!!!
What are examples of tough conversations that the Australian Music Industry isn’t having that it could greatly benefit from if confronted?
I think we really need to understand the role of the lead artist more clearly, and to understand that they are conduits to every other creative partnership and pay point within the industry either via session musicians, engineers, producers, photographers, videographers, graphic designers etc, they are also what the PRODUCT is that sells the tickets for festivals and venues, the ones writing the songs and investing in the records, and often also the ones writing the grants, and hustling to make it come together. This GRIT, is a HUGE ASSET, and I don’t think the industry fully, fully gets that.
Do you think the Australian Music Industry is where it needs to be in regards to diversity? If yes or no, what would you like to see/have you seen?
No, not really, I think until the Industry is representative in equal measure to the population then it can’t be really.
What does true allyship look like to you?
Listening. Really listening. And then making spaces for more listening. It is really seeking to understand the different between equity and equality at all times and seek and advocate for equity through understanding and listening.
“I think we really need to understand the role of the lead artist more clearly, and to understand that they are conduits to every other creative partnership”
What does a safespace look like to you?
Freedom. It is the exhale. It is the ability to move out of hyper vigilance, or even micro vigilance! It is knowing that the space holders have considered the experiences of everyone in the room whether they are in receipt of something or delivery, or service.
With an array of artists that tour the festival circuit & with the current festival climate, what do you think the festival circuit needs to remain sustainable?
Maybe it needs to listen to audiences and artists as that is who they are ultimately in service to and see what they are wanting, how are artists wanting to deliver, how are audiences wanting to receive? What is shifting? Why is it shifting? What are the challenges and the obstacles to getting there, to being there, for audiences and artists alike.
What advice do you have for self managed artists?
Today I am going to not do advice – I am going to do WOW YOU ARE THE ACTUAL FRONT LINE MAVERICKS! Seriously I think that self managed artists are so incredible. The skill set it takes, and the grit and determination is a huge asset of energy and intelligence. OK I have some advice.. take it seriously.. you are running a small business, but don’t forget that the product that this whole business spins around is your music, your songs and your craft, so as a self managed artist you have to make
real time for both. Also don’t be surprised if you love self managing! It is also an act of creativity and connection.
Which part of the industry do you believe needs the most Government attention?
Artists, Artists, Artists… it is one thing to say a story for every place – it is another thing to understand that stories are held, or written and told by artists.
Do you believe the Government is assisting the music industry sector enough? Yes or No?
I think the current Revive Policy has taken a huge leap in the right direction. I think there is great intention and momentum happening.
“I want everyone I work with to get paid really well for the art we make together. I want it to be viable, abundant, so we can inject more and more into partnerships with other artists.”
Self identity & imposter syndrome are issues women in the industry struggle with. Have you faced this issue? If so/not, what tips can you give to encourage others to stand in their truth?
I experience paralysing degrees of self doubt, exhaustion, imposter syndrome generally served with a side of self loathing, and this used to all be enough to keep me from stepping out. However, I eventually realised that there was no point in waiting to resolve all of these plaguing intrusions, I was going to have to find a way to just pick them up and take them with me. My antidote to this condition now is to get busy, return to the craft, sing a song, write a song, go to a gig, put on a tune and dance it
out.
Any big plans for 2024 going into 2025 that you can let us in on?
Big plans ahoy! New album as Mama Kin Spender out next year, working on a theatre-ish show, and The Seed Fund Management Workshop is back! In my spare time will chuck in a couple of Choir Camps. So many exciting projects!
What is your go-to song for Karaoke?
Greatest Love of All – Whitney! Mostly so I can do Whitney style mic holding which includes the thumb and pointer finger hold, and then the remaining 3 finger tap. Also it is wayyyyy out of my vocal range so just that full out karaoke scrunch face leap into Yelling Out the Wrong Note vibes, is a special kind of fuck out that you really want to save for the karaoke bar.