On the 6th of January, we decided to take on the mighty task of interviewing 16 people in one day.
Feeling like we needed to kick off the new year with a stack of good news, we put the word out on social media for people to send in their projects and events in order to be on the interview roster.
We had a few more than 16 contact us so, not wanting to turn anyone away, we added them to the list, and are still interviewing into next week.
But, for the sake of the catchy 16 for ’16 name and gimmick, here’s how our day went. Full interviews will be published in the weeks following.
Interview one:
We started the day in style, with the very charismatic and interesting Greens Senator Robert Simms. He talked us through his vision for South Australia and his plan for his upcoming Federal Election campaign.
He said, “Politics is about changing people’s lives for the better. Unfortunately in our politics, there’s been so much focus on the politics of power and personality, we’ve forgotten about the politics of purpose and passion.”
Full interview here about his portfolio, plans and reasons the 31-year-old entered politics.
Interview two:
This was scheduled to be the incomparable Asher Treleaven and Gypsy Wood. They are performing Peter and Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside at The Garden of Unearthly Delights this Fringe Festival.
Unfortunately, due to their involvement in London in La Soiree and them generally being fabulous and busy, we had to reschedule for next week and we absolutely can’t wait to hear about their new show.
We eventually caught Asher and Gypsy. You can read it here.
Interview two (take two):
Amelia Ryan is an award winning cabaret performer and an Adelaide local. After the success of Storm in a D Cup, she is back at the Adelaide Fringe with Amelia Ryan is Lady Liberty, which explores all manner of liberty through song and hilarity.
With a feminist edge to it, Amelia said the show explores the “pressures, often self imposed, of women to have it all and do it all and to do it by a certain time; it deals with body image, social sexual standards and expectations and the whole notion of purpose as a woman. I try not to be too heavy handed though!” Sounds fantastic! Book through Fringetix and read the full interview HERE.
Interview three:
Matt Vecchio is a name constantly heard around the music traps and is synonymous with quality production, great music and awesome gigs. We spoke with him about Summer Jam, which is a pretty cool sounding festival coming up at Crown and Sceptre on January 23rd.
With two stages (one is a beach and the other is a treehouse – if that doesn’t entice you to go, probably nothing will!), Summer Jam will host a heap of local Alt Pop bands for a night of music, dancing and reasonably priced drinks. Oh, it’s also free.
Click here for the full story!
Interview four:
The cool thing about Fringe Festival is the diversity of productions and events you can see. Adelaide writer Peter Maddern is making his playwrighting debut with the comedy That Siege in Adelaide, directed by Matt Vecchio (see above), the play hopes to satirise the way the media deal with emergency situations to create rolling coverage.
Based around news stories from in and around Adelaide, but most prominently focusing on the Rodney Clavell siege, That Siege in Adelaide will shine a light on reporters and reporting. Intriguing!
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Interview five:
We had a feeling talking to Anya Anastasia would be a treat, and we were not disappointed! Her show, Torte e Morte: Songs of Cake and Death is a three person show about Marie Antoinette.
She said when she was writing the show, all she knew to begin with, was “she was this French queen who was very decadent and a spendthrift, and ended up getting her head chopped off at the start of the French Revolution! But as I started reading about her, I discovered how young and naïve she was, and how she was from Austria. Also, she was the first big fashionista. She was the first celebrity people would watch for what she was wearing. She would use fashion and things she’d weave into her giant hairstyles to make political comments and statements way before Lady Gaga!”
Here tis! The full interview with Anya.
Interview five and a half:
Although a late entry, we snuck musician (and winner of SCALA Star Encouragement Award, 2915) Daniel Brasher in because his band Surfer Rosa were playing at Crown and Sceptre on Friday night. The multi-genre band is a part of an already exciting live music scene in Adelaide.
Daniel said of the band, “Brad [Sutcliffe, drums] has been playing for ages. He’s played for a bunch of punk bands, like Stray Cats and a couple of the old dogs from around the scene. Nicki [Bullock] is our bassist, and she used to be a music reviewer and has travelled around a lot. She is a violist and she’s only just started to pick up bass.
“Myself, I’ve been travelling around Australia; I’ve been in Melbourne, Tasmania and WA. I’ve got a Certificate III in Music and a Bachelor in Performance. I was travelling around playing folk music and then I came back here and got the band project going and we moved towards the groovier, rockier stuff which is the stuff you can’t get from just a guy and his guitar; the awesome beats with James Brown and Pixies punk influences.”
Interview six:
Another great tribute show is A Case of You: The Music of Joni Mitchell which is written and performed by Deborah Brennan. Taking the l
eap from accompanist to front woman, Adelaide local Deborah is thrilled to be bringing her show to Adelaide Fringe because she wants to continue to keep the music of Joni Mitchell alive.
She said she was inspired to write the show because, “last year, there were reports of her being sick. I don’t know how serious it was, because reports varied, but all I could think was if she died, people my age don’t know who she is. It would be so sad if she died and we didn’t know her music anymore.”
Read about Deborah’s debut as a frontwoman HERE.
By this stage, we were getting pretty inspired by all of the amazing personalities we had spoken with, but it was time for a caramel latte and a short breather before tackling Hans, the German Boy Wonder and Adelaide celebrity.
Interview seven:
Hans was out to lunch (chicken rice, allegedly), so we rescheduled for 6pm.
Interview seven(take two):
At only 19 years old, Louis Donnarumma has already earned himself a reputation around Adelaide as a serious musician. Ambitious and passionate, Louis has a lot to offer Australia’s music industry.
As a huge fan of Jeff Buckley, he has collaborated with other local musicians to create a tribute show to present at the Grace Emily, but rather than a scripted venture, it’ll play as a gig.
Grace: The Songs of Jeff Buckley, which includes the songs of both Jeff and his father Tim, is Louis’ way of putting himself into a spotlight to prove his worth as a performer.
“My solo thing is the goal I want to follow, so I want to get to the next level and become more established. The Fringe show is a great way to reach out to a wider audience and say ‘This is who I am. This is one of my influences.’ I hope you enjoy the show!” Louis said.
Check out our chat with Louis here.
Interview eight:
Sophia McRae is no stranger to the Adelaide Fringe Festival, with several shows under her belt. She’s a singer, performer and horn player and brings sparkle and charisma to any stage she graces.
This Fringe, she has taken a break from writing and producing her own show and is performing in Steve Foster Presents: Dylan & Donovan: The Prophet, The Poet and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Sophia told us that according to legend, Steve was named by Bob Dylan as a preferred performer of his songs, he played in a band with Bon Scott back in the day and has many, many stories to tell!
Interview nine:
At this point, we were steered away from music at this stage and spoke with Vanessa Jones, who has written an e-book for people in the spiritual, holistic and wellbeing industry who want to promote their business.
Promote Your Spiritual Business is available now, and the best part is, you can download the first nine chapters free!
“The book covers pretty much everything. It has a big focus on digital marketing, which is social media marketing, email, how to get your website right and bring in customers. It focuses on naming your business, getting your branding right and copywriting,” Vanessa said.
What a collection of incredible minds we’d spoken to so far, and it was only 3:00pm! The rest of the afternoon was booked up with a real mix of artists and we were feeling pretty inspired.
Interview ten:
Last time Melbourne performer Natasha York was in Adelaide to perform a show, her tap dancing co-star broke his toe, his wallet got stolen, and then (because the producer forgot to promote it) only nine people turned up to watch the production.
She’s hoping for a better run this time with These Things Take Wine, which promises music, comedy and terrible wine puns. If the show is as funny as Natasha was on the phone, then it should be an absolute riot. Book your tickets and read the full interview here!
Interview eleven:
Jamie Kuijpers is a café owner and musician, and we spoke to him about Bulls on Parade, his Rage Against The Machine tribute show. They have a 
gig coming up on 13th February with Funky Monks (a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band) and Favour the Brave.
Jamie said, “The four guys in the band, including myself, have always been huge fans of Rage. Troy, the guitarist went to Sweden a few years back and played in a Rage tribute band over there and they were quite popular. When he came back, he returned with the idea.”
Tickets are very reasonably priced and available through Moshtix. It looks like a great night. WIN TICKETS HERE!
Interview twelve:
The Vanity Cure are an Adelaide band with a great sound. They have an album launch coming up at Crown and Sceptre on Friday February 5th. 
With a stellar line up featuring Pablo, Surviving Sharks and Cal Williams Jnr, it’s set to be an excellent way to kick off your weekend.
We spoke to Lee, who was great fun, and who reckons the launch will be a great night of local entertainment.
Oh, and it’s YET ANOTHER FREE GIG! Sorry for yelling, but people are giving their fantastic music away for nothing, so you should go and support them.
Check out the details and our chat with Lee here.
Interview thirteen:
Combining her EP launch with the Adelaide Fringe Festival at the Salisbury Fringe hub, Kylie Brice will share her angelic voice and some poignant visual art with you. Kylie says she has only just started taking her music more seriously lately, and that is due to a number of contributors.
“As a teenager, I would write songs and it was a very private thing for me. Only my very close friends knew I wrote songs. I didn’t sing in front of many people until recently. I’m now 29, so it wasn’t until I was 27 that I started more confidently singing in front of people.
“It wasn’t until I was a mum, which has been one of the most important changes in my life and has had the biggest effect on my music and made me feel if I’m going to do it, I have to get over my insecurities and work on my self esteem issues so I can be a good role model for my son,” Kylie said.
That’s pretty brave, so book your tickets to Broken and Beautiful, because she is worthy of our support.
Interview fourteen:
We saw TuskFM at last year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival and it was a fantastic show.
If you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac (even if you aren’t – you will be after this show!), check them out at this year’s Fringe as the Adelaide tribute band play the incredible back catalogue of the troubled band and even reveal some lesser know tales of tribulation and tragedy.
Go along to see what started out as a Weekend Warriors band and has turned into a polished, entertaining rock show with music true to the originals.
The rumours are true, Tusk!FM: A tribute to the music of Fleetwood Mac is a great night out! Read the full interview.
Interview fifteen:
Louise Messenger grew up listening to and loving the music and movies of Doris Day so she has written A Sentimental Journey to pay tribute to a 
remarkable woman. She returns to The Adelaide Fringe Festival after a sell out season in 2013 and can’t wait to get the show back on the stage and being a part of the festival this year.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people. The audiences are always fantastic at Fringe. A lot of them have really personal stories they want to share with you afterwards. They’ll come up and say, ‘I really loved it because my mum really liked that musical’ or ‘my dad used to sing this around the house’ so it’s really heart warming.”
Book your tickets fast for that one because it might sell out again!
Read our chat with Louise HERE.
Interview sixteen:
Brace yourselves, Hans is back in the Garden this year, but this time with more glitz, glamour, feathers and sequins than ever before. Is that even 
possible?
Viva Hans Vegas is the inspiring musical tale of a young German boy who dreamed of performing in a sparkly casino in Nevada. Although that never happened, The Spiegeltent is a pretty good substitute, and Hans promises to knock your socks off (especially if they don’t match the rest of your outfit) with this new show.
“It’s going to be booze, show tunes, show girls, gambling… It’s Nick Xenophon’s least favourite show in the Fringe, but I have a feeling Jamie Briggs is gonna love it. I’m backed by my usual band The Ungrateful Bastards, and my dancers The Lucky Bitches (or as Peter Dutton calls them, The Mad F*cking Witches).”
Hans shows always sell out super fast, so grab your tickets and prepare to be entertained like never before. Read his chat with Libby here.
And there ends our 16 for ’16. What a sensational bunch of talented and passionate people! The full stories will be published in the lead up to the various events with even more to come. Keep those emails coming in to contact@theupsidenews.com because we’d love to chat with you about your upcoming event in Adelaide.
By Libby Parker
Photos supplied or stolen from the Fringe website or Facebook
All interviews conducted by Libby Parker
Libby Parker is a journalist, teacher and life enthusiast.
You can follow her on Twitter at @upsidenews_lib
Upside Adelaide 