Project Description

Interview with Crystal & Mark from BELLUSIRA

Bellusira are have landed back in Australia for a run of dates for their “Endless Highways Tour”. Crystal and Mark sat down to give AMNplify’s Pauli Dee the EXCLUSIVE on the name of their up-coming album, the inspiration behind it, how life has changed and what’s in store for the future.

 

Pauli: Hi Crystal. It looks like Bellusira have some exciting times ahead of them, once again. How is everything going?

Crystal: Yeah, I think it’s by far the MOST exciting time for us right now. We’re so happy!
It hasn’t come without challenges, you know, it’s been scary, coming over to the U.S and not knowing anyone here, it’s been one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. I think sometimes you just don’t know what you’re actually getting yourself into when you pack everything and move half way across the world. Back home we were a lot more comfortable financially and coming over here was a bit of a struggle at first, but now is the exciting part & all the hard work is paying off!

 

Pauli: You went on the road earlier this year as part of a massive tour across America, which had you pretty much drive the entire circumference of the country. That must have been an amazing way to see the country.

Crystal: yeah well it was pretty much our first taste of what it’s like to be a full-time touring band, because in America, it’s so different to Australia. Bands here can play for 6 nights in a week! So that was absolutely amazing. I was worried as to whether or not my voice would hold out or not, until I looked into it a lot & made sure I had the right technique, which is great, because it has really helped me become a better vocalist, but as a singer, you have to look after your voice and look after yourself and make sure you don’t get sick, which is great because you don’t have to do as much driving! Hahahaha but that tour was awesome because when you’re touring, sometimes you get to see some of the country and sometimes you don’t get to see any of it, sometimes you just literally don’t have time. Unless you only have a short drive and you can rock up early, you’re often just turning up in time for loading, working and then getting back in the car or van or bus, whatever you’re touring in and you’re on the road again, so it was intense, but the thing I love about it is in America, there are 50 states & every one of them is very different, so… Personally I REALLY liked Denver, Colorado. That was beautiful. I found it very interesting that pot is legal there, both recreationally and with a prescription so that was kind of crazy to see…

 

Pauli: So the people are really chilled?

Crystal: Hahaha, YES! Really chilled and loving and new wave… and really environmentally conscious so they’re very cool and North Carolina is really pretty. There are a lot of pretty states like Tennessee, Memphis was really pretty, they have some big beautiful trees!

 

Pauli: It sounds like you might have seen more of America than what you have of Australia?

Crystal: I think I’m starting to! I mean, we did see a fair bit of Australia because we toured a fair bit back there, but maybe in a couple of years, I think we’ll probably have seen more of the U.S than Australia! There’s just so much to cover!

 

Pauli: You’re back in Australia this week, aren’t you?

Crystal: YES! Which is very exciting. We arrive back on the 2nd of July and we’re playing main support with Seether, so that’s really cool, then we’re doing our own tour and we haven’t really supported many Aussie bands outside of Melbourne, so we’re also teaming up with “Breaking orbit” for Brisbane & Adelaide & I think that’s great because our band was sort of… not by choice, but by being forced to, we had to do all the ground work ourselves, we never really got any national supports or supports with other bands, which is interesting, you know, we had a challenging journey in Australia. On the other hand, we had an amazing run in Australia too, and some great success, but it took a while. Whereas in America, I’m finding it a lot faster, which is awesome!

 

Pauli: Do you see the positive side of taking that longer road, which may have been harder, as opposed to an overnight success story that is so prevalent in today’s entertainment industry?

Crystal: YES! Absolutely. I think if things had of gone well sooner, we wouldn’t be the band we are today. I don’t regret the way that any of it happened & I don’t believe in regrets. I believe if you work really hard and you’re dedicated, then it’s the path you’re supposed to take, so it was the way it’s meant to be! So absolutely, we came over here ready, we had the product, a great debut album, amazing reviews, we easily got our visas because it’s very tough to get your visas over here. I think a lot of bands think they can just move overseas & you can’t! You have to prove that you’re the top band in your scene basically, so it all happened for a reason and now we’re ready for the second album, which we’ve recorded over here in the U.S and we’ve just finished it. It’s being mixed at the moment & it’s the best music of our lives, so I’m glad we’re releasing that with a label.

It’s just an amazing time. We’ve got so much going on, some I can’t talk about, but major MAJOR things. Bellusira over the next 18 months, even the next 6 months… it’s just gonna be our time.

 

Pauli: Have you got a release date yet for the album?

Crystal: Well we have to talk to the label. We were going to try for the end of September. They ask for 3 months for all their promotional stuff, so the end of September, or maybe October… I’m hoping for October. I’ve got my own reasons for that. Energetically with the positions of the planets, which might sound crazy to some, but I’m right into that.

 

Pauli: Have you got a title of the album?

Crystal: We do! We haven’t told anyone yet, I was actually wondering earlier if I should give you the scoop! I might have to grab Mark and see what he thinks! Can you wait here a second? I’ll go and grab him!

Pauli: OK cool! I’d like to say g’day to him too!


Crystal runs off to grab Mark (Dalbeth – Bellusira bass guitarist and Crystals husband)


Crystal: OK, so I’ll tell you about the title, because it’s really amazing. For us, we’re finally doing what we always wanted to do with music & our goal to help people, so the album is called “The Healing” Mark and I have been on a spiritual journey for the last 5 years & changed a lot as people. We’ve learnt a lot about living life through your heart and not through your ego and learning about what we really came to this planet to do. We always knew, but we’ve actually implemented it with this album & the album’s really candid. I wanted to do something that helps abuse victims. I’ve written about abuse and how everything has a positive result because where we’re at as people is we don’t hold resentment for what we went through, we look at things as lessons & we believe you shouldn’t be resentful about those things and actually honour it as a gift & see what that brings you & it’s a early important message. I think the world really needs it right now. I don’t think people understand how prevalent abuse is. It’s extremely high. Most cases are NOT reported & those that are, are as high as one in three, but I would say it’s probably closer to two in three & I think it’s really important that people heal because a large portion of abusers were abuse victims & we’re going through this massive cycle so the album isn’t JUST about that, but there is a theme in a few songs & I just want to be there for especially teenagers, for anybody that’s contemplating suicide or anything like that. I know this is intense, but it’s actually a beautiful & positive album. When it touches on darkness and anger, then we get into this is the positivity, this is what worked for us and what you might need to do & we just hope it helps people.

 

Pauli: I’m looking forward to coming to the album listening party in Melbourne. Will you be performing songs or just playing them over a P.A?

Crystal: We will acoustically play some songs but we’ll also play the whole actual album from start to finish & we’ll talk about what the songs are about. We’re not allowing any filming or any recording on the night because this is going to be something really special and personal where I’m going to be talking about what my experiences were, because I’m not going to talk about it a lot any other time because I want this album to not be about me or Mark, I want it to be about everybody so it’s going to be a very special thing we do.

(Mark comes and sits down to join the chat)

Mark: Hey Pauli, how ya going man?

 

Pauli: Hey mate. I’m well thanks. I’ve got this shocking cold, that I’m struggling to shake! It’s about 10 degrees here today, so this is what you have to look forward to for next week!

Mark: Haha, it’s pretty much perfect 30 degree summer weather here every day at the moment so give us some rain. It’ll break things up a bit, it’s fine!

 

Pauli: Well I’m sure we’ll put some shitty weather on just for you guys! Are you staying in Australia long? Or is it a quick visit, then back to the states?

Crystal: We’re only coming for 3 weeks! We live here now! This is home at the moment. Australia is always home because it’s our heart, but America is in our heart now too, so we have 2 homes! …3 actually including New Zealand because mark is a kiwi! There’s just a lot happening and it just makes sense for us to be here.

 

Pauli: Only 3 weeks? That’s going to be a busy 3 weeks, isn’t it? Trying to work and catch up with all your friends and family as well?

Crystal: Yeah we’ll try to see as many of our friends as we can & we’ve arranged a few things for fans so we can see them & actually catch up with them and talk to them for a decent amount of time.

Mark: We had to do a similar type of thing when we went back earlier this year. We had to go back and sort out some visa stuff, so we were like “if we’re going to spend all this money on going back there, let’s do a bit of a tour” and by the time we did Brisbane and Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, it was time to come back & we hadn’t really seen anyone. We just tried to cram as much in as possible.

Crystal: I think we had like 2 days off in Queensland & it was actually quite difficult. We had some close friends that had just had a baby and we didn’t get to spend any time with them. It was hard, it was quite a sacrifice.

 

Pauli: Where would you like to see yourselves in 10 years?

Crystal: Woah! That’s a big question! There’s a LOT we wanna do!

There’s the band, I’m going to be doing a solo project that Mark might be a part of, but Mark may also do some things with other bands, so we’ll see where that goes for us. I definitely want to write more of a Sia-style album where I’m playing a bit more piano and maybe get some other artists involved, I mean Mark has always been and will always be a great writing partner, we’ve grown to be a great writing team, so we’re planning things like that and you know, we want to have a family one day too, so working out how we do that alongside our music is something we both want to do and Mark’s managing a band now too, so all of that ON TOP of Bellusira. Uber-long-term I think we want to make enough money to be able to really help people, you know, the end-game goal for us is to make enough money to build a “healing centre” where we can help people with music and talking about their problems & teaching meditation and things like that.

Mark: We’re also very competitive people as well.

Crystal: Only with ourselves, not with other people!!!

Mark: We’re happy with where we’ve come so far in Australia and now starting to make a name for ourselves in the U.S, but we still haven’t reached that point with Bellusira where we want to be. We have a goal in mind that we want to achieve, which is set pretty high & I don’t think we’re going to be completely happy until we get there & hopefully this album helps with that.

 

 

Pauli: I’ve got this thing that I do in my interviews called “One Random Minute” and it’s basically where I put 60 seconds on the clock and you have to answer the questions as fast as possible. Up for it?

Mark: Yeah I’ve seen this!

Crystal: I’ll let Mark answer and maybe just jump in if he doesn’t wanna answer something!

 

Pauli: But then Mark will cop out of all the weird questions and they’re the fun ones! How about you both answer?

Crystal & Mark: Hahaha, Cool! Let’s do it.

 

Pauli: OK. Favourite sandwich

Mark: Turkey, gherkin, mustard and mayonnaise!

Crystal: I like vegie spread.

 

Pauli: Vegie spread?

Crystal: Yeah it’s like vegemite that’s good for you! It’s not made of yeast! ..or peanut butter!

 

Pauli: Favourite dessert?

Crystal: I love cheesecake.

 

Pauli: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Mark: Eggs, hash browns

Crystal: American hash browns, not Aussie ones & free-range organic eggs!

 

Pauli: Who is your idol?

Crystal: How can we answer that with one person? There are so many people… Kurt Cobain!

Mark: It’s funny you mention that because we’ve sort of been channeling him and he’s sort of been in the heart of this album and the whole process, which is a whole other story but we’ve sort of called on his presence for this album.

Crystal: We just think he was an amazing song-writer and we really connect with him on a lot of levels, so we’ve call on him a lot, energetically.

 

Pauli: That’s really cool and is that what you want, as an artist, to connect with someone and find that down the line someone is calling on your energy?

Crystal: Absolutely. That would be an honour! I think that’s the whole reason why a lot of song-writers write music.

 

Pauli: What’s one food you never eat?

Crystal: Anything with artificial shit! …NO GMO! We don’t eat anything that’s been genetically modified. It’s SO bad for you. Don’t eat it!

Mark: I don’t eat bacon! I love pigs & I don’t wanna eat them!

Crystal: We used to be vego, we were almost vegan and then…

Mark: Then I passed out! Hahahaha

Crystal: Yeah Mark got sick, but I didn’t. These days we do eat meat, so we just try and make sure it’s cruelty-free. You know, if we’re going to eat it, we just want to make sure it’s been cared for properly.

 

Pauli: Who’s your favorite super hero?

Crystal: Astro Boy! He was my hero! I wanted to be a boy growing up! I didn’t really embrace my femininity until my late teens or even early 20’s! hahaha

 

Pauli: If you couldn’t sing or play bass, what would you be doing?

Crystal: I’d be a healer. I’d be a reiki healer or dealing with healing somehow or some sort of a councillor.

 

Pauli: So you’d be going for the same goal, just via a different avenue?

Crystal: Exactly! I mean, I never knew it was possible. You know, you get fed so much shit from people that say “You can never do this or that, you need to do something academic” so I went to uni and was going to psychology, but when I met Mark, he had so little to lose, which I connected with, but he had so much drive, he was just like “I’m gonna make it” and I was like “Ok then!” and I quit uni and I don’t regret that at all, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made!

Mark: and I’d be doing something in music, if I couldn’t physically play, I suppose managing is a whole new challenge, it’s different, the guys in the band I manage are really nice which makes life easy. It’s a whole new way of looking at things from a different angel rather than from a musicians point of view, so it’s fun!

 

Pauli: What do you prefer, writing, recording or performing live?

Mark: I would’ve said performing live up until the last couple of months, but I’ve just had such an amazing time in the studio lately, hearing these songs come to life. I used to get a little nervous and uncomfortable in the studio, but these days Im loving the studio and hearing these songs come to life.

Crystal: We’re working with a really talented producer and Mark and I pretty much wrote the whole album, but we’ve let him write with us and he’s just amazing.

 

Pauli: What animal pet makes the best pet?

Mark: A dog! They’re there for you, they love you unconditionally. I love cats, but you really have to work to get their love!!!

Crystal: Marks dogs are back home with someone that takes really good care of them, so we miss them and once we can afford it & have a house, we’ll fly them over here!

 

Pauli: Elvis or The Beatles?

Mark & Crystal: The Beatles!

 

Pauli: Summer or Winter?

Mark: Summer.

Crystal: hmmm I love summer, but I also love snowboarding… If I can snowboard in summer, that’d be awesome!

 

Pauli: This “One Random Minute” has sort of turned into “ten random minutes” but I’ve really enjoyed the chat and thank you so much for your honesty. You guys are a lovely couple and I hope that comes accross to the readers.

I’ll wrap up ‘One Random Minute’ with: Apples or Bananas?

Mark: Apples

Crystal: Bananas because of their potassium. I had one this morning!

 

 

Do yourself a favour and catch BELLUSIRA at one of the following shows:

Saturday, July 4th, The Forum (Seether Support) Melbourne Vic
Sunday, July 5th, Musicman Megastore, Bendigo Vic
Friday, July 10th, Enigma Bar (with Breaking Orbit), Adelaide SA
Saturday, July 11th, The Bald Faced Stagg, Sydney NSW
Sunday, July 12th, Woodys Fine Liquer, (Listening Party), Melbourne Vic
Friday, July 17th, New Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore, NSW
Saturday, July 18th, New Globe Theatre, (with Breaking Orbit) Brisbane, Qld

 

Tickets from HERE

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