Grace Woodroofe interview - music feature from The Blurb

Homecoming queen

Grace Woodroofe is probably one of those artists you’ve heard of but can’t quite remember why. A regular on the festival circuit for the last year or so Woodroofe has had a pretty spectacular rise through the music industry that has culminated in her recent tour of the US supporting Ben Harper. Returning to Australia soon for the Pyramid Rock Festival over New Year, Grace Woodroofe graciously accepted a long distance call to her LA pad to have a chat to us about touring in the US, the evolution of her blues sound and the remarkable circumstances that led to her discovery.

Evan Hughes: Can you give us a little background of how you got your start in music? Because I think it’s quite an interesting story.
Grace Woodroofe: When I was 16 I was discovered by [actor] Heath Ledger because I’d put some demos on the triple j Unearthed web site and it was passed along to him. And then he passed it along to Ben Harper and, long story short, Ben ended up producing my album Always Want. It’s coming out in the US in January but it came out in Australia in December last year. I’ve been touring for the last few years and I just came over to the States and did a US tour.

EH: It’s got to be a pretty surreal experience first getting discovered by Heath Ledger and then to be introduced to someone like Ben Harper, record with him and now tour the US as his support.
GW: Yeah, it’s amazing. But I never take it for granted because I know how lucky I am. It’s just been an amazing succession of opportunity and luck but also a lot of hard work. It’s just been phenomenal really – I’ve been really lucky.

EH: How have the crowds in the US been reacting to your music?
GW: It’s been really good. It’s kind of amazing – I’m really surprised to be honest. I came over here thinking I’m going be really insignificant in this ginormous pond of artists and musicians because the American market is so much bigger than the Australian one and I’m still tiny in Australia anyway. But so far the response, from the Ben [Harper] tour in particular, has been incredible – people have been so positive with great feedback. And we sold albums after on the tour after the shows and we’ve had so many people come up. It’s just been really surprising – so far so good touch wood!

EH: For people who don’t really know your music can you explain the type of music you do? There’s kind of elements of folk and blues and roots and jazz all mixed in.
GW: I primarily describe it as blues but there’s definitely folk. And I’m getting more into punky-rock now – the live show is definitely taking a turn into a more intense rock show. People listen to the album and they’ve been saying it’s subdued and subtle music but with the sound I’ve been developing over the last few years I’m starting to really embrace the blues and rock elements of it.

EH: I guess touring with someone like Ben Harper that bluesy-rock sound is bound to rub off a little.
GW: Yeah, I guess we’re a good pairing in that respect.

EH: You’re heading back to Australia for the Pyramid Rock Festival. Will you be here for long?
GW: I come back to Australia in late November – I want to do a bunch of shows in Perth then possibly on the East Coast – until maybe March. Then I’ll come back over to the states again. So I’ve got a few months to do some touring which will be really great.

EH: You’ve played a couple of festivals before – East Coast Blues and Roots and Splendour stand out – how do you find the festival crowds respond to your music?
GW: Every festival is different. There are major ones like Big Day Out, Southbound and Splendour in the Grass and then there are smaller boutique ones like Playground weekender so it differs for each one. With festivals you never really know what you’re going to get – people are never specifically there just to see you. I do really enjoy it because there are so many different types of shows you can play and that’s another one that’s part of the job and so far I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve done festival-wise. I’m just really looking forward to Pyramid Rock because, it will sound cliched, but being [in the US] and playing the size of crowds I have been playing with the Ben tour and the scale and impact of them I feel has really help me evolve and learn and get more confidence. So I’m looking forward to coming back and just owning it in Australia.

EH: I think that new-found confidence is only going to help your profile in Australia.
GW: I hope so. I’m just going to come back stronger and better than before. I’m so excited about the next bunch of shows I’ll be playing there.

EH: After you get back to LA will you be working on some new material?
GW: Hopefully. I’m in LA for another month now and I’m going to be doing demos and stuff for the next album and fully working out the plan for that. And who knows where I might end up recording? Maybe I’ll do some recording for the album now but I think most likely when I come back in the New Year it will all be about putting down the next record.

EH: Sounds awesome. Well thank you so much for chatting to us today. We wish you the best of luck with Pyramid Rock and the rest of your plans!
GW: Great – thank you so much for chatting with me today!

Evan Hughes

For more of Evan Hughes’ music reviews, check out Timber and Steel

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Grace Woodroofe Album: Always Want Website: gracewoodroofe.com.au
Homecoming queen Grace Woodroofe is probably one of those artists you’ve heard of but can’t quite remember why. A regular on the festival circuit for the last year or so Woodroofe has had a pretty spectacular rise through the music industry that has culminated in her recent tour of the US supporting Ben Harper. Returning to Australia soon for the Pyramid Rock Festival over New Year, Grace Woodroofe graciously accepted a long distance call to her LA pad to have a chat to us about touring in the US, the evolution of her blues sound and the remarkable circumstances that led to her discovery. Evan Hughes: Can you give us a little background of how you got your start in music? Because I think it’s quite an interesting story. Grace Woodroofe: When I was 16 I was discovered by [actor] Heath Ledger because I’d put some demos on the triple j Unearthed web site and it was passed along to him. And then he passed it along to Ben Harper and, long story short, Ben ended up producing my album Always Want. It’s coming out in the US in January but it came out in Australia in December last year. I’ve been touring for the last few years and I just came over to the States and did a US tour. EH: It’s got to be a pretty surreal experience first getting discovered by Heath Ledger and then to be introduced to someone like Ben Harper, record with him and now tour the US as his support. GW: Yeah, it’s amazing. But I never take it for granted because I know how lucky I am. It’s just been an amazing succession of opportunity and luck but also a lot of hard work. It’s just been phenomenal really – I’ve been really lucky. EH: How have the crowds in the US been reacting to your music? GW: It’s been really good. It’s kind of amazing – I’m really surprised to be honest. I came over here thinking I’m going be really insignificant in this ginormous pond of artists and musicians because the American market is so much bigger than the Australian one and I’m still tiny in Australia anyway. But so far the response, from the Ben [Harper] tour in particular, has been incredible – people have been so positive with great feedback. And we sold albums after on the tour after the shows and we’ve had so many people come up. It’s just been really surprising – so far so good touch wood! EH: For people who don’t really know your music can you explain the type of music you do? There’s kind of elements of folk and blues and roots and jazz all mixed in. GW: I primarily describe it as blues but there’s definitely folk. And I’m getting more into punky-rock now – the live show is definitely taking a turn into a more intense rock show. People listen to the album and they’ve been saying it’s subdued and subtle music but with the sound I’ve been developing over the last few years I’m starting to really embrace the blues and rock elements of it. EH: I guess touring with someone like Ben Harper that bluesy-rock sound is bound to rub off a little. GW: Yeah, I guess we’re a good pairing in that respect. EH: You’re heading back to Australia for the Pyramid Rock Festival. Will you be here for long? GW: I come back to Australia in late November – I want to do a bunch of shows in Perth then possibly on the East Coast – until maybe March. Then I’ll come back over to the states again. So I’ve got a few months to do some touring which will be really great. EH: You’ve played a couple of festivals before – East Coast Blues and Roots and Splendour stand out – how do you find the festival crowds respond to your music? GW: Every festival is different. There are major ones like Big Day Out, Southbound and Splendour in the Grass and then there are smaller boutique ones like Playground weekender so it differs for each one. With festivals you never really know what you’re going to get – people are never specifically there just to see you. I do really enjoy it because there are so many different types of shows you can play and that’s another one that’s part of the job and so far I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve done festival-wise. I’m just really looking forward to Pyramid Rock because, it will sound cliched, but being [in the US] and playing the size of crowds I have been playing with the Ben tour and the scale and impact of them I feel has really help me evolve and learn and get more confidence. So I’m looking forward to coming back and just owning it in Australia. EH: I think that new-found confidence is only going to help your profile in Australia. GW: I hope so. I’m just going to come back stronger and better than before. I’m so excited about the next bunch of shows I’ll be playing there. EH: After you get back to LA will you be working on some new material? GW: Hopefully. I’m in LA for another month now and I’m going to be doing demos and stuff for the next album and fully working out the plan for that. And who knows where I might end up recording? Maybe I’ll do some recording for the album now but I think most likely when I come back in the New Year it will all be about putting down the next record. EH: Sounds awesome. Well thank you so much for chatting to us today. We wish you the best of luck with Pyramid Rock and the rest of your plans! GW: Great – thank you so much for chatting with me today! Evan Hughes For more of Evan Hughes’ music reviews, check out Timber and Steel HTML Comment Box is loading comments...