• News Archive - November, 1999

28Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Panel gives Molly Ella
26Nov1999 - The Killing Heidi Realm: Ella interview
21Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Siblings' song strikes a chord for school-leavers
18Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Gone South shaping up to be giga gig
12Nov1999 - TPA: Gig report 12.11.99

28Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Panel gives Molly Ella <return to top> By GRAHAM PEARCE.
The Panel may be gone but the memories - and the music - linger.
The boys and girls from the show were joined by most of the musos whose performances on the show have been compiled into a new CD. Simply called The Panel.
They had the party at Circa in the Prince of Wales and a party would not be a party in Melbourne without Molly Meldrum.
Mol's here with purple-haired Ella, from Killing Heidi. Ella charmed the old rocker by telling him they both come from the bush in Victoria, but that Molly is old enough to be her grand, um, mother.
So, for the rest of the night he was Grandmother Molly.
Good news is that The Panel has re-signed with Channel 10 next year. - SECT-News.
(C) 1999 Herald and Weekly Times Limited.

Source: SUNDAY HERALD SUN 28/11/1999 P103

26Nov1999 - The Killing Heidi Realm: Ella interview <return to top>
Ella Hooper was just 13 when TRIPLE J unearthed KILLING HEIDI's indie rock arsenal on the Australian Countryside. With her equally talented brother Jesse, Hooper has since released two Kick-ass singles and has an album on the way. She's used to raising a few eyebrows. It tends to happen when you have multi-coloured dreadlocks, and arresting voice and a slightly crazy glint in your eye. But 16 year old Hooper insists that she's actually the least crazy of her group of friends, who she left back in country Victoria after quitting year 11 a few months ago.

"We're just the ones you probably walked by and went 'ok, what are they up to?'", she gushed with a typical enthusiasm. These days she's living a full time, six day a week rock existence in Melbourne, staying at different friends house in true hippy-chick style. Her trademark dreds are actually an accident. She admits she never brushes her hair so they develop naturally.

"Im not into the hair-care thing at all, " she laughed. "The only thing i ever did for it was dye it once a month." These days she goes to a hairdresser to have them "spunked up" for gigs, that she plays every weekend - despite the fact that she is not even old enough to buy a beer. At the tender age of 16 she takes it all in her stride.

"We're just musos and we happen to be young," she said. Since being unearthed, the ridiculously talented Hooper siblings have been signed by WAH WAH RECORDS, released two singles - Weir and Mascara - and collected two new band members - Bassist WARREN JENKINS and former NON-INTENTIONAL LIFEFORM drummer ADAM PEDRETTI.

Ella and Jesse, 18, are still the songwriting powerhouse of the group and their clean and slightly kooky country image remains a selling point. But Hooper hopes people realise they are not the same sort of gimmick. "I cant't help that i'm going to have appeal because im 16, appeal because im a girl, appeal because Jesse and I are brother and sista," she said.

Her Britney spears teen appeal is not something that is lost on her, though. But while Britney is flashing her cute teenage underwear around, Hooper is signing about suicide and depression, throwing her purple, white and black dreds around. If you've seen her do it, you'd know Killing Heidi's youthful intensity is no lie. They may be young but they are serious about making original music. Their strangely sinister brand name is actually a reference to the loss of childhood innocence, but Hooper's sparky conversation peppered with giggles and girly asides hardly seems that of an old and jaded grunge devotee.

On the other hand she loves NIRVANA.

"I reckon Nirvana's biggest fan bass is in the country - If you don't know the words to Love Buzz, and you live in a Country town, You're a freak," she said. Suprisingly, Hooper's main influence is BOB DYLAN although at the moment she's been really getting into blackmusic. She wants Killing Heidi to sound different to everything else on the rasio, which isn't a tough ask when you've got an angelic and commanding voice like hers. She sings about things that happen to kids her age and unlike a lot of bands, she can actually claim to be living the "teen hell", which they all sing about.

"Blink 182 are like 23-24 and i'm living it right now, so my songs are definitely about all the dramas and all the high points of being at this stage. "I've written a few songs about youth suicide because living in a rural area it affected my life a lot," she said. Weir and Mascara are prime examples of Hooper's ability to write lyrics that young people can relate to. And if they are any indication of what is to follow on the bands debut album Reflector, we are in for a treat.

Produced by "the daddy of the band" Paul Kosky, who has worked witht he likes of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and CROWDED HOUSE, the album is set for release in February. "I'm very happy with it, " Hooper said. "I've been listening to it for a long time now - it grows on you a lot". "Everything that you want is in there. It's got slow songs, it's got melodic stuff, it's got a lot of sort of punky indie-pop tunes. Half of it's quite forceful and jumpy and kind of in your face and the rest is just sort of like lullabys.

"During the recording, Paul opened up all these doors and now we've got the samples and scratching and all this stuff that we love and couldn't have done ourselves." Hooper still gets blown away by how ausiences respond to KILLING HEIDI's vibed brand of indie rock. Even the usually overly critical crew on late night talkfest THE PANEL were impressed. "They were like, oh, okay, you guys can play. They were really nice". In fact they liked them so much they invited them back to play Weir again for the final show this week.

Of late, Killing Heidi has been doing the TV circuit including The 10:30 slot, The ARIA awards and the now defunct Hey Hey It's Saturday. But wiht constant media appearances, even budding rock stars like Hooper sturggle to find somthing to wear.

"That's the biggest dilemma in this family - What to bloody wear", she said.

"Things like skirts and dressee just aren't my thing. So I'm always wearing pants and tops and stuff and again i want to be creative. "Jesse and the guys, Adam and Woz, they've got great suits with neo-industrial velcro clips and buckles. It's a cross between mechanic overalls and MARILYN MANSON.

After GONE SOUTH, Killing Heidi is hitting the road for the big Australian tour in a couple of taragos. For Hooper it will mean weeks of living in close confinement with the band's three boys. But this doesn't freak her out. "Sometimes it is testosterone overload. But i'm pretty good at counteracting that, I'm not a shy little wall flower. "They tell me to change my socks - I'm the grotty one. They're like 'Ella, just have a bloody shower'." As one of the first date's on the tour, fans can expect to see hooper looking clean and sparkly at Gone South. She is already psyced about meeting other bands like SILVERCHAIR who she credits with paving the way for teen bands like hers.

She'll be watching out for POWDERFINGER, though they nearly over her at the ARIAS, literaly. "It was a big stampede of Powderfinger guys running through and I was standing there getting my photo taken. I had to jump out of the way before they stepped on me.

21Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Siblings' song strikes a chord for school-leavers <return to top>
By KATHY McCABE.
IT took two teenagers to write this year's anthem for teens - and young friends everywhere have taken it to heart.
Australian band Killing Heidi's debut single, Weir, is a tribute to friendship - an old-fashioned value that has appealed to Year 12 school-leavers in particular and been taken up as their signature tune.
Formed by teenage brother-and-sister songwriting team Ella and Jesse Hooper, Weir has sold more than 50,000 copies. After four months it is still in the top 20 as their second single, Mascara, is released.
Ella, 16, whose powerhouse voice thrills when it soars from a whisper to a scream, revels in the impact Killing Heidi has made.
"I wrote Weir about growing up with my group of friends and how strong the bonds are between us," she said. "I am totally blown away that so many people love it - that's beautiful."
Ella and Jesse, 18, began writing songs together "out of boredom" in Violet Town, a Victorian village, when she was only 13.
After a debut performance at the seminal Push Over festival in 1996, the pair were discovered by producer Paul Kosky, who has worked with Crowded House, The Clouds and Rage Against The Machine.
Rather than play on their youth, Ella and Jesse spent the next two years honing their songwriting talents and working out their dynamic sound.
When their song, Kettle, won Triple J's Unearthed competition last year, the stage was set for a professional music career. - SECT-Local.
(c) Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 1999.

Source: SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (AUSTRALIA) 21/11/1999 P38

18Nov1999 - AUSTRALIA: Gone South shaping up to be giga gig <return to top>
HARRIET BINET reports on Tasmania's concert of the decade
TASMANIA is about to host its biggest music event in more than 10 years and organisers tip it will become a permanent fixture on the national music calendar.
Gone South next month at Launceston's Inveresk Railyard will feature top Australian acts Powderfinger, silverchair, Paul Kelly, Grinspoon, Alex Lloyd and Killing Heidi, as well as a line-up of Tasmania's finest original and secondary school bands.
No festival of this kind has been staged in the state before and it is expected to attract between 10,000 and 15,000 and rival such successful mainland gigs as Homebake and the Big Day Out.
"It could be branded as a unique festival and we don't know where it might lead," says promoter Charles Touber. Multi-band festivals in outdoor venues have been growing in popularity in Australia over the past decade.
"The 1990s has been the festival decade but there's been nothing here in Tasmania," says Touber.
Bands such as silverchair are particularly attracted to the festival format, he says, but big acts have tended to leave Tasmania off their tours because of a lack of suitable venues.
"For bands like silverchair the Derwent Entertainment Centre hasn't been their preferred option," he says.
"A high-profile festival like Gone South is an appealing way for them to play to a large fan base.
"It maximises the audience they can play to, as opposed to the numbers they would reach if they came here as individual groups."
The two main venue choices in Hobart were the City Hall (considered too small and with poor acoustics) and the DEC (not favoured because of the seating).
Bands reluctant to perform in the state in the past have jumped at the chance to be part of Gone South, says Touber.
"Once a few of the bigger headline acts come onboard, everybody wanted to get involved," he says.
A festival, unlike a traditional concert, is a complete musical experience.
"People want to stand up and mosh and be part of the total experience - they don't want to be sitting in plastic bucket seats.
"Festivals have really taken off because they are a physical as well as a musical experience."
He believes the event has the potential to become one of the country's major music events, pulling music lovers from interstate.
After a public stoush with Glenorchy City Council, the Gone South promoter, who had planned it for Hobart, took it north to Launceston.
"The Launceston council has a good history of doing these events and had the systems in place to deal with a major project," he says.
Despite its rocky beginning, and Tasmanians' reputation for being slow ticket buyers, Touber says ticket sales have had a flying start with about 5000 gone already.
"It's really been quite amazing," he says.
The festival has been made possible by a strategic partnership between Arts Tasmania, the Launceston City Council and promoters, says Touber.
Gone South is on at the Inveresk Railyard, Launceston, on December 4 from 10am to 11pm.
(C) 1999 Davies Brothers Limited.

Source: THE MERCURY (TASMANIA) 18/11/1999 P36

12Nov1999 - TPA: Gig report 12.11.99 <return to top>
Killing Heidi @ Wodonga Blue Light Dance under 18s 2500 payers @$10.huge response from crowd ( and no percentage deal! try renegotiating with police promoters)