Hi, I’m Shay Liza, the lead singer from Sharaya. I’m here with Ricki Rae, who’s the drummer; and we’re a five piece Melbourne rock band. We are about to celebrate the launch of our debut album The Road To… which is happening on the 31st May at The Corner Hotel. It’s gonna be one helluva show and we hope to see you there!
Our album The Road To… is ten tracks of dynamic rock, with powerful melodies and ethereal sonic textures combined with aggressive high-energy bass riffs, heavy rock drums and crushing guitars. Lyrically, the songs explore both intricate & introspective themes, and come from a very intimate place, pictures of personal journeys and life lessons.
The album was co-written by myself, and our former keyboardist Scott Griffiths. It was produced and engineered by Ricki. The rest of the band includes Simon Hosford on guitars, Adam on bass and Nik Pringadi, our new keyboard player, joined the band soon after we completed The Road To… As a band we all share a great camaraderie and common musical interests, we have fun together and yes, the boys do run a muck sometimes … as bad-ass rock n roll boys do!
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
Ricki: My first performance was when I was in grade 3, and I performed with my “8 year old” rock band for another school to their grade 6’s. My parents were in a band together and I would always go to their sound-checks, and apparently was fascinated with the drums and would tap along to the music. So my mum bought me a drum set as a 5th birthday present and I never looked back.
Shay: Similar to Ricki, my earliest memory of performing, was doing a Christmas performance at another school. My mum has a picture of me as a 4 or 5 year old on stage, with three of my little girlfriends dressed in identical outfits, with a microphone in hand singing. My parents were definitely an inspiration to me; music was always a big part of our lives. My dad played the guitar, as teenagers my sisters and I had a singing quartet, my aunty is a singer as well, and my cousins both play in rock bands too.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
S: Oh wow… first one was at the Palais, where I saw Destiny’s Child. I know I’ve grown into being a rock chick, but if I’m honest I did go through a pop phase.
R: Stevie Ray Vaughn at Hamer Hall. I went with Mum and Dad, as I was quite young. I think it was his first and last tour of Australia.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
R: Well, I never needed to steal any because they let me listen to all of them, but if I had to have stolen one, it would have been Alex Harvey’s Framed.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
S: Top two on high rotation are Skunk Ananise – “Paranoid and Sunburned” and Gov’t Mule’s – “High and Mighty”
R: Rival Sons, “Pressure and Time” – love it!
How do you find new music?
R: A lot of the time it’s through fellow musicians I guess, but the internet has become a great tool for searching for new music.
S: I agree with Ricki, the internet has become the place for discovering new music, with YouTube and Soundcloud, so many new bands have a conduit through which they can share their music.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
S: I have a scarf that comes with me whenever we go on stage.
R: Nope, just my sticks!
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
R: Well the bill would have to be all live music. It would be a rock festival. Acts like the Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Rival Sons, Radiohead, Stone Temple Pilots and Queens of the Stone Age
S: …and it would have to be somewhere in Melbourne of course, perhaps where we recorded our album – out Mt Macedon way. I would love to see Rammstein on the bill, as well as Muse, Incubus, Skunk Anansie and perhaps Sharaya too!
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
R: Sushi & Sake would make me happy!
S: I second that idea. Along with plenty of tequila, sambuca and jager bombs.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
R: Daniel Johns [ex-Silverchair], because he pushes the boundaries and he’s a wonderful songwriter.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
S: Now that’s a tough question, there are so many TV shows and movies out there. Simon, our guitarist, would totally have a great answer for this, as he’s quite the movie buff… can I phone a friend? Haha … If The Sopranos was still airing I’d love to pitch one of our songs for that show.
R: Movie-wise… we do have a new song that we haven’t finished yet, which Shay thinks would be perfect for the new Avatar movie. We’ll see!
S: True that. It’s called “Mother” and it’s quite a vast, epic song, all about mother earth and what’s going on with our planet. Mr. Cameron if you happen to be reading this -Sharaya calls dibs on your next Avatar soundtrack! Haha!
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
S: Our album launch for The Road to… is happening on the 31st May 2012 at The Corner Hotel, and we hope to tour the country before the end of the year.
Tix to the launch available @ www.thecornerhotel.com
