24 Jun 2017

She Will Rock You - Amelia Murray

From RNZ Music, 1:30 pm on 24 June 2017

Amelia Murray started her first five-piece, all-girl band at 16 - learning the ropes of live performance, guitar and songwriting that would later serve her so well in solo project Fazerdaze.

Amelia Murray of Fazerdaze

Amelia Murray of Fazerdaze Photo: Supplied

Amelia Murray picked up the guitar as a teenager, encouraged by the number of female players at her arts and music-focused school. She started her first five-piece, all-girl band at 16 - learning the ropes of live performance, guitar and songwriting that would later serve her so well in solo project Fazerdaze.

"I do try and play guitar like a woman. I’ve seen so many guys play guitar and I want to play guitar like I feel like playing it.

“Just recently I changed guitars - I was playing a Telecaster which I found out of proportion to my body … and I’ve downsized to a Fender Mustang ... It’s a lot smaller, it’s a shorter neck, and there’s some curves on the body so it works with a woman’s body a lot better I find.

“I felt a lot more empowered playing a guitar that’s sort of the same size as me.

"Fazerdaze is my solo project and I write, record, arrange … When [the band] plays shows I don’t think people realise I’ve written everyone’s parts and I’ve actually arranged everything myself.

“I edited this music video myself for a track of mine called Lucky Girl and it’s crazy how many people comment on my looks rather than the fact that I produced it and edited it and played every instrument on it and edited the video myself.

“No-one comments on that! ... [I’m like] but, but - look at the art I made and the effort that went into it!

"[If I had any advice it would be] practice… have fun with it, and be yourself with it… There’s no right or wrong with playing music. I wish I’d heard someone tell me that - there is no right or wrong, you can just do it your way."

Music details

Artist: Fazerdaze
Song: Last To Sleep, Little Uneasy, Take it Slow, Lucky Girl
Composer: Fazerdaze
Album: Morningside
Label: Flying Nun

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