Jadan: Hey Missy, thanks for chatting to GenerationQ. Give us an idea on the ‘intimate theatre mode’ for the One Night Only shows?
Missy: That’s basically it. We sometimes play in quite big venues. There’s a lot of large convention centres or entertainment centres that we play in. I’ve always been a bit weary of entertainment centres because they usually lack a lot of life or warmth. So we wanted to figure out a way where we could have decent size shows. Bigger than theatre shows but not so big that I wouldn’t feel like I’m connecting with the person in the back row. So we’re partitioning off sections to bring people in and make it feel much more intimate.

Jadan: What can we expect from you and Tim Rogers (from You Am I)?
Missy: I actually just spoke to him 15 minutes ago. We have performed at the same festivals quite a few times before but we’ve never actually been on tour with each other so it’s going to be a lot of fun. We are good friends and we both respect each other as musicians so I’m looking forward to it.

I’m not sure that if I was as confident as J.Lo on stage I wouldn’t be able to come up with the same kind of songs that I do.

Jadan: Have you done any new material together, especially for the show?
Missy: No we haven’t but we have sung some songs together. I sung on his last record. I would be surprised if he came out on stage and we performed a song or two together. He’s an amazing musician and songwriter and I’d be more than happy to join him on stage if he wanted to do a song together. But we haven’t been in the one place at the same time long enough, so we haven’t had the chance to chat about it.

Jadan: On a Clear Night was the first album I bought on iTunes, so you definitely have a place in my virtual world!
Missy: Oh. Thank you.

Jadan: The album is a little more country this time around? Was it intentional?
Missy: I guess it’s only a few of the songs that make it country. Angela, Going North and there’s some banjo stuff on Steer. I do listen to a lot of folky kinda rock that’s probably made its way into my music. People like Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams. The Waifs, I absolutely love the Waifs. So there are definitely some of those influences there. I was actually listening to Angela, and I thought, this sounds a lot like Joelene by Dolly Parton! Yeah it has the same kind of concept. I wasn’t really doing it intentionally. Angela was inspired by an old black and white still from Gone with the Wind. I’ve never actually seen the movie but I just saw the picture and that’s the story that I saw.

Jadan: You’re in the US at the moment. Tell me about that.
Missy: I’m over here doing some showcases for about a month and a half and maybe doing some shows. I’m doing an exclusive release through Boarders and doing a little two week tour of the US bookstores for some acoustic shows. Next year, I’m hoping to release over here.

Jadan: A lot of celebrities have told me that LA people do their head in. Do you agree?
Missy: It’s hard to generalise. The sense of humour here is different. The sarcasm in Australia is a little darker than it is in LA. Their humour is sort of more slapstick. I think there no such thing as self-depreciation over here, which is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It actually can be really good at times because everyone is really supportive of each other. There’s no such thing as being too big for yourself, which results is some pretty big egos but they’re also really supportive of each other as well.

Jadan: The US is a big market. If you find huge success, a James Blunt style overnight sensation fame, how do you think you’d handle paparazzi?
Missy: I would go absolutely mental. I can’t help but think its preventable, if you don’t want it. Of course you can’t control falling for a superstar and end up marrying them. So your, I guess thrust into the public eye. I think you can do your best to prevent it. I have been conscious in Australia of never putting myself out there for a photograph. I don’t see much point in going to an awards ceremony or premieres un-necessarily to get my photo taken.

Jadan: I think a lot of it is brought on. I read this about you on someone’s blog it says “She’s no born performer, She’d prefer to perform by herself in her room. People have criticised Missy for her lack of stage performance. But I think she’s got the feel for performing without hiding behind and instrument.” Do you think that’s a fair comment?
Missy: Yeah, I’m not good with criticism but I see that as kind of true. I’m definitely not a born performer and not sure I know anybody who is. It’s definitely a learning process and as I was saying before, I’m not naturally comfortable in the public eye or celebrity status. It all comes in the same box. I’ve always been a deep introverted thinker and that’s what makes me the song writer I am. So, I’m not sure that if I was as confident as J.Lo on stage I wouldn’t be able to come up with the same kind of songs that I do.

Jadan: What about faux performing. Like singing you own song on Singstar?
Missy: I don’t even know what that is.

Jadan: Yeah its on Playstation. Ive never played it either.
Missy: Its like a karaoke machine?

Jadan: Yeah, but it somehow becomes a game. How do you feel about your songs being translated into new media?
Missy: It’s totally weird. It’s outside the world that I live in. It’s finny to know that your music gets translated into that kind of thing. I know that my songs are on some karaoke machines from my sister. About a year ago, she got up on stage at a pub and sung Ten Days on a karaoke machine. She came home in hysterics because she had sung it in a really full on ocker bogan Australian accent. She thought it was hilarious.

Jadan: Another stupid question, in the Steer film clip, are you doing the burnout at the end?
Missy: Yeah that’s me! The one-eighty in the Datsun, I was very proud of that actually. The producer of the film clip, Nash, is a stuntman and he said “Do you want to do a 180 burnout?” and I was like “Yeah!” So, I jumped in the car and he gave me a few lessons. I started off in the passenger seat and he showed me all the sequences with the hand brake, the clutch and the steering wheel. It was the most fun of the whole shoot. Don’t try it at home though.

Jadan: Yeah no burnouts for me anytime soon. I’ll stick to writing for GenerationQ for excitement. And you can stick to burnouts and bogan kareoke. Something that does get you get excited though is the environment. With musicians becoming these great social figures (Bono a la mode), why do you think that’s important?
Missy: I’ve always been active with social issues and aware environmentally. Its something I feel strongly about and if I wasn’t doing music I could safely say I would be working in those fields. Some sort of social or environmental activism just comes naturally to me. My way of working that into my life is with music. Using music as a means to spread a message or raise awareness about something I’m passionate about.

Jadan: Thanks for speaking to us Missy. Congratulations on your ARIA success.
Missy: Oh.. Thank you. I appreciate that.

For more information on Missy Higgins upcoming Australian Tour, click here

Tags: missy higgins, not-so-straight