IRISChild is not only prolific with their songwriting, having already written over 25 original works and studio recorded 16 of those, but also powerful with their live performance. To truly see this band from St Mary Star of the Sea College in Wollongong at their best you really do need to see them live.   But this dynamic and highly original four piece are only just getting started. We're sure that you will be hearing more from IRISChild in the very near future.   We caught up with the band to see if there was more than meets the eye.

MSA: Could you introduce and describe a little about yourself?

IRISChild: Amy: I’m 17, and I hate capital letters, the word delicious and the sound of a vacuum cleaner.  I'm constantly putting myself into all sorts of crazy situations, with different people, for inspiration. Pretty much everything in my life somehow contributes to my creative side, my music, my art and my creative writing.  Ever since I was little i've been writing songs, and taught myself piano since I stole my mum’s Aldi keyboard in year 5.  I took lessons for two years a while back, but had to stop when things with the band got a bit more serious.  The band is my way of expression, and I am definitely going to strive to make a career out of it.
 
Emma: I'm 17, my favourite colour is purple, I enjoy candle-lit dinners and long walks on the beach (kidding!). I'm quite a positive young girl, and enjoy hanging out with my friends. Music plays a big part in my life - I've been taking singing lessons for 8 years, and performing is the one thing that I am most passionate about. I love expressing myself through singing, and absolutely love gigging it with the band. School is important, I plan to go to Uni, however IRISchild is something that I intend on pursuing in my future.

Aneshka: Music pretty much occupies the majority of my time, as does school when you include the social life. Some other musical things i get involved in are productions (fiddler on the roof), random gigs (both classical and non), orchestra e.t.c. Hobbies and passions include art, art movies, cafes, op shops and sleep.

MSA: How did you come together as a band?

IRISChild: We three girls got together with a few of our school friends for a school talent quest in 2007, which we won, and then came together later that year for an art gallery opening.  We were originally going to play covers, though at one practice Amy started playing an original, “So, Mr. Only”.  Ever since then, we've been playing our own music.  Originally, it was just  piano, violin, vocals, until Mitch joined us in March with drums.  Our music became more vibrant, lively and atmospheric, with a whole new depth to it. We are constantly improving, learning new songs and trying to get our music out there.
 

MSA: We understand that Amy writes most of the music. Amy, what’s your inspiration for your music and how do you work together to bringing it to a live performance?

IRISChild: Amy: Music is my medium for self expression.  I write about my experiences, the people around me, the emotions around me, social interactions, the way people think, everything and anything. 

So to put it plain, life is my inspiration. 

I'm just constantly trying to understand the way things work, the way people work, and music is my way of getting thoughts across to an audience.

We work together to bring our music to performance standard? It is a mix of  talent and enthusiasm as much as a process.. We find theory imposes too many limitations, so we learn totally by ear, improvise and trust each other. This usually incorporates a "hey mitch, can you play a drum beat that goes like this... boom ch boom boom ch .... FILL!!!", Aneshka gets notes and a rhythm, and she writes her parts to paper, bar by bar.

We're getting better and better, and it now takes us only an hour or so to get a piece to paper, then Emma and I work the lyrics and melody, line by line... later we just put it together at a band practice in a single session. Everyone knows roughly what they have to do, and i just yell out when they are to come in, and “tell them off” when they get it wrong :)

MSA: What do you all enjoy about performing live?

IRISChild: Emma: Basically, it's fun. Performing live allows us to get our music heard, we entertain, we inspire, and we like to show everyone our potential, as well as what we are individually capable of.

Performing provides the band with exposure in a way which releases adrenaline, emotions and creates a lively atmosphere, there's nothing I love to do more.

Aneshka: The vibe. I think a lot of people who haven't heard us before don't expect the music they hear when we start playing. Its a fabulous thing to see surprised faces from up on stage, it kinda makes u feel like you're giving a gift.

Amy: Overall, it's just the thrill of having our music out there being listened to.  It's our form of expression, and our main purpose is story telling, getting our messages across.  Performing provides us with a way to convey our life’s journey to an audience.

MSA: Is this your first video? If you had free reign to shoot whatever video you wanted what song would you choose and how would you shoot it?

IRISChild: This isn't our first video, as all our live gigs are recorded on video, we use then to improve what we do,however we intend to make a proper film clip at some stage.

At the moment, we are all pumped about our newest song "In the Tick" which we only just performed live last Sunday, it was 1 week old.   It's very ambient and atmosheric, and has an amazing build and feel to it.  It's very unique, and different to all our other songs.

It's funny you should ask as we were only just talking about it the other day.  Emma is actually doing a HSC major project for Industrial Technology, where she is making a band promotional package for IRISchild, which includes a video clip.  We're thinking something in a forest, at night, in white teared dresses with Salvador Dali melting clocks, and preferably fire flies... is it possible? No idea. Will we do it? Of course.

MSA: Who are your crew, the people that help you with your music behind the scenes?

IRISChild: What would we do without our crew?  1. Lug around our own equipment. 2. Pay for our own equipment. 3. Set up our own stage. 4. Set up our own garage for practices. 5. Get our own food. 

Luckily, our “parentals” do this "behind the scenes".  Our Manager, Wayne (Emma's dad) coordinates all our gigs, Paul (Mitchels dad) has lots of experience with promotion and performance venues, Mick (Amy’s dad) is main roadie, and the rest of our parents do anything to assist, including pull some awesome IRISchild/Parentals BBQ’s (Aneshka’s Parents). 

Our Parental get along well, trust each other, and keep each other co-ordinated in our efforts. They are our support base, and the band wouldn't function without them. 

MSA: You’ve spent a bit of time in the studio. How do you compare the writing process between what you do in your own time and when you finally take it to the studio? How much do you think the shape of your songs change?

IRISChild: Amy: The songs develop and enrich with live performance, we find out what works and what people like. When we go to the studio, and bring with us, the learned experience and ideas about dynamics, crescendos, reverb, effects, already practiced.  The recording process is usually straight forward, and we always try to fit in as much as we can.  It's always an amazing experience, and we always come away happy.

Aneshka: I must say that its good for us other members of the band as we get our imput into the songs as well which of course alters the shape of the very first original especially (for me) in improvisational songs like Frosty.

MSA : How much does music mean to you now? Do you think it’s something that you’ll stick with?

IRISChild: Emma: Absolutely, music and IRISchild mean the world to me. I love our band, I love our unique style and sound, and I love where we are headed. I intend on putting everything I have into this band, for performing with them as a career would honestly be a dream come true :)

Amy: I agree with Emma on this.  IRISchild and the people in it are the closest thing to me and I want to keep that for as long as I can.  Music is something I am most passionate about.  Music is expression and to be able to express myself for a career would be phenomenal, I will always have music to hold on to.

Aneshka: Music to me is everything. Throughout my life it has been what i consider the most stable thing of my personality. I tend to change my mind about things a lot striving to allow the world to broaden my perspective on things, but music as form of deep and personal expression has remained constant the whole time, i am really grateful for it and i think even if i wanted to give it up i wouldn't be able to.

MSA: Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

IRISChild: On tour with a purple “combi” van?  Hopefully!  Honestly, we are dead serious about this band.  All of us are passionate about music and we will do whatever it takes to get our music out there.  They say "one song can change the world", so we're going to try to make that reality, hopefully several times :). So, keep your eyes out for us.  We plan to build a future with IRISchild.

MSA: What do you think it will take to win MySchoolAct?

IRISChild: First of all, something we pride ourselves most on, is our originality.  We're not your regular electric guitar, bass, drums, covers band. 

Each of us is individually talented, and that comes across in the way we play our music. We allow time for each of us to express ourselves in the song, so different listeners can like different elements.

Our instrumentation sets us apart, as well as our quirky approach to songs. We are not limited by style or preference, and are prepared to break rules to get a sound, a moment, an emotion, a story told.

But most of all we come together and entertain, to make people of all ages happy.

MSA: Anything else you’d like to add?

IRISChild: To get to the next round of MySchoolAct would be amazing.  We are all dedicated to our music and we hope that shows.

 

CHECKOUT IRISCHILD'S MYSCHOOLACT ENTRY AND BECOME A FAN