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Photo – Luke Henery

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Interview with
ELIZA
from
ELIZA & THE DELUSIONALS

(20th May 2022)

Interview with Dave Bruce

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Photo – Luke Henery

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How did the band come together? Is there someone who is a “driving force”, or do you all make decisions together?
I started the band around 2016, and didn’t really know what I was doing. I just wanted to write songs and play shows and make something happen for myself. Eventually Kurt, Tex and Ruby came on board as permanent members and the rest was history. Kurt and I do the songwriting, so I guess I’d consider that a bit of the driving force, but the band really wouldn’t be the band without the four of us together.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
It’s always an interesting question because I feel like everyone thinks of genres in a different way. I want to say alternative pop rock, but I think that’s a really broad spectrum. I think we sound like Eliza & the Delusionals. 
For me personally, I always connect the strongest with songs that feel honest. You know when you listen to a song and you can tell that the artist just put everything into the story of the lyrics or how it’s produced? I like to think we’re honest songwriters, and I think if you’re writing for yourself and what you want your music to be, people will always connect with it.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
I’m inspired by so many artists every day, but a moment that has always resonated with me throughout my career as a songwriter and performer has been my first concert. I saw Coldplay at the Brisbane Entertainment Center in 2008 or ‘09, I was probably 11 or 12. My eyes were so glued to the stage the entire time. They were my favorite band, and the show was everything I could have hoped for and more. I’ve always told myself that that is exactly what I want to do when I grow up after that show. I guess that keeps me focused still to this day whenever I’m feeling doubtful or low. 

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Buy/Stream HERE

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Your new album ‘Now And Then’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution. 
It’s a really weird thing to say that the album is finally released. We’ve been working on it for so long, so it doesn’t feel real that it’s actually out. I guess it started when we were in LA between tours in 2020. We had a few writing sessions with Sarah Aarons, John Hill and Keith Harris which ended up being the first few songs that we demoed for the album. Shortly after that we obviously all went into crazy lockdowns, and we kind of had no choice but to create a studio at home and write the entire record.
It was definitely weird and not how I had pictured creating our debut album, but it was definitely the best outcome that came from lockdowns and the pandemic. It was also weird not playing shows in between and perform some of the newer songs live and feel a reaction to them before we recorded them, which is what we’ve been able to do in the past. It was all based on gut feeling I guess. It was a really hard choice to cut down to the final tracklisting, but I feel really proud and happy with how the record came out overall. 

What are the signature tracks and which is your favorite?
I know everyone in the band would probably have different favorites, but for me personally ‘Save Me’ and ‘Halloween’ were always stand out tracks and are my favorite songs on the record. I think in terms of signature and defining tracks for the album as a whole, ‘Give You Everything’ was the first one that started defining that 90’s/Y2k vibe for the record and where we realized our writing and sound felt really comfortable there.

What is happening on the event/touring front? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We’ve just spent the last two months touring across Australia with The Vanns and our own headline shows, which has been so much fun and it’s felt really nice to be back on stage. We’re currently in the USA getting ready to play Bottlerock in Napa, CA as well, which is something we’ve been waiting to do since 2020. Now that a lot of the restrictions have been lifted it’s definitely starting to feel a bit more normal and I feel like we all needed that. I think fans can expect high energy Eliza & the Delusionals shows, because we’ll never take being on a stage for granted again.

How has COVID affected you to date? What have you introduced to balance the losses from missed events?
It’s been really tough, as it has been for most artists. It felt so out of the blue as well – one minute we were heading to SXSW in Austin, TX and planning to head out on tour in the USA with Beabadoobee, PVRIS and a whole bunch of festivals, to having to scramble for the first flight back to Australia we could get on and sitting in our respective houses for the better part of three years. Losing all of our touring and opportunities was almost like mourning the death of someone. You can’t help but think about where you might be if everything had gone according to plan. It was kind of the “big break” we had been dreaming of ever since we had decided to be in a band. In the recent months, we’ve almost had to teach ourselves to let go of what could have been and just be present. Overall it’s made us really appreciate being able to tour and be in good company, I’m never going to take it for granted again. The record was the best thing to come out of the pandemic for us, and we felt like it was natural to lean into nostalgia as a form of escapism and inspiration for the songs. 

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If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
This is a big question, but it’s been a career goal of mine to go on tour with Coldplay someday. I’m manifesting it!

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist? 
I guess for me personally it was to be able to do this forever as a career. It’s the only thing I know how to do really, and I feel like the band makes up a huge part of my personal identity if that makes sense. I want to do this forever really!

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
There is really nothing like standing on a stage hearing people sing back the songs you wrote in your room. It’s such a special feeling, and for the two years or so when it couldn’t happen it was almost like a large piece of my identity was missing. It was really strange. But one of my fondest memories is when we toured with the Silversun Pickups across the USA in 2020. It was seriously the most incredible experience, and they were so lovely to us. They really set the gold standard of how to be a band. A stand out show for me on that tour was playing at the beautiful Fox Theater in Oakland, CA. It was just overall incredible, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget how much fun that show was.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Parachutes by Coldplay
Artist – Coldplay
Movie – Spirited Away
Place to visit – New York or Tokyo
Venue to play – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Food – Cheese pizza any day!
Drink – Coffee in many forms
Person in History –  Dolly Parton
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?)  I have a “The Balcony” artwork tattoo on my arm, I get a lot of interesting comments on that one haha

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NOW AND THEN is released today, Friday May 20th

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Follow ELIZA &
THE DELUSIONALS
Official Website – Facebook – Twitter
Instagram – YouTube – Triple J Unearthed

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Press Release 20th May 2022 (below) HERE

ELIZA & THE DELUSIONALS
release their
long-awaited debut album
‘NOW AND THEN’

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AMNPLIFY – DB