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Interview with
SHEPPARD

(9th December 2021)

Interview by Dave Bruce

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Photo credit: G.G.McG

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Is there someone who is a “driving force” in the band, or do you all make decisions together?
We each have our roles in the band. George, Jay and myself make the songwriting decisions, Emma has a great visual eye and also helps with our merch and Jay produces a lot of our songs. Any big decisions are made as a democracy. 

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
We have a lot of anthemic songs. Our music is generally uplifting and even our sad songs seem to have an element of hope in them. We like to think people feel good when they listen to our music. 

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
As a band, we really look up to Coldplay. They really encompass what we aspire to achieve in terms of songwriting ability, live performance and fan interaction. 

Your new single ‘Christmas Without You’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
We wrote this song about our dad. We haven’t seen him in two years and it breaks our heart knowing we are going to be missing another Christmas with him. We know that many, many people are in a similar situation to us with borders still difficult to cross so we dedicate this song to everyone missing someone this Christmas. We’ve been thinking about writing a Christmas song for years now but it never really resonated with the “Holy Jolly” type vibe. This one felt real and genuine to write. 

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We are really excited to announce that we will be going on an Australian tour with Delta Goodrem. Delta has been so supportive and kind to us over the years and we are honoured she has chosen us to be her support act.  It’s the first time we’ve been able to tour our album “Kaleidoscope Eyes” so we hope the fans know some of the new songs by now. 

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How has COVID affected you to date? What have you introduced to balance the losses from missed events?
The lack of touring has been very difficult for us. We’ve tried our best to write and release as much music as we possibly could have over the last two years. In 2020, we wrote and released a song a month along with a music video- It culminated in our third Album. We’ve continued to regularly release music including two new tracks “The Reasons Why”- A song I wrote for my husband on our wedding day and “Christmas Without You”- Our version of a Christmas song. We’ve just really tried to keep our fans happy and engaged even though we haven’t been able to physically perform outside of QLD. 

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
Personally, I’d love to perform with the one and only, Stevie Nicks. She’s inspired me so much over the years with the way she stays relevant throughout the years just by writing amazing songs and staying authentic. 

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a band that you’re yet to tick off the list? 
We’d absolutely love to grow our fan base to a stadium filling level. I guess that’s our long term goal. We’d also love to do a song or tour with Coldplay who have inspired us so much over the years.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
Performing to a live audience is our chance to connect with fans and truly experience the impact our songs have had on them. When we are on stage we can feel the energy- something you can’t get through streaming or YouTube or social media. We’ve been so fortunate to have many career highlights but as far as live performances go, I’d say the AFL grand final last year or Rock in Rio festival where we performed to 100,000 people.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
Artist –  Fleetwood Mac/ Coldplay
Movie – Dumb and Dumber 
Place to visit –  For a holiday – Anywhere tropical! For touring- Europe.
Venue to play – Fortitude Music Hall
Food – Literally any type of pasta. 
Drink – Amaretto Sour
Person in History –  frida kahlo
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?)  No tattoos…yet. If I were to get one, it would be band related to mark a milestone. 

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SAT DEC 11
BRISBANE LORD MAYOR CHRISTMAS CAROLS
The Riverstage
(CH9 QLD Broadcast)

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
VIA BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL WEBSITE
– REGISTRATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL

ENTRY $5 WITH ALL PROCEEDS
TO CHARITY PARTNER FOODBANK

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Sheppard is Amy Sheppard – Singer/Keys, George Sheppard – Lead Singer/Guitar/Keys, Emma Sheppard – Back-up vocals/Bass Guitar, Jason Bovino – Guitar, Dean Gordan – Drums.

Stream: Christmas Without You

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Follow SHEPPARD
YouTube – Facebook – Spotify – Instagram

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Press Release 12th November 2021 (below) HERE

SHEPPARD
announce new single
‘CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU’

+ Brisbane Lord Mayor
Christmas Carols

Stream: Christmas Without You

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AMNPLIFY – DB