While she is a Valley Fiesta first-timer, Little Birdy frontwoman Katy Steele is no stranger to travelling the countryside with only her guitar for company on stage. Opening as a solo act for seminal Aussie songster Paul Kelly on his national tour late last year, Katy sang the length and breadth of the country, from Derby to Sydney.
It’s surprising then that she admits to a lingering nervousness of performing without the Little Birdy bandmates there to back her up. It’s not uncommon for her to sit down and hold onto her guitar for two hours before taking to the stage as a calming, almost me dative experience. While finding it challenging to work in a different performance realm, Katy says, “At the same time, it’s really beautiful because there’s an amazing fragility and subtlety about it. I just make sure that I practice before playing solo.”
While there may not be too many surprises in store for long time Little Birdy fans, Katy has promised to play some material from their forthcoming album, due next year sometime. Mixing up the set with a few covers, including Aretha Franklin’s Do Right Woman, and some Divinyls, Katy strives to play covers that feel like they belong to her, as if she wrote the song to begin with. It’s amusing then that she tells of playing Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time as a staple cover. Well hey, if Travis could get away with it, then perhaps she can give it the sultry flavour it deserves. When asked if there were any special plans or surprises in store for Fiesta-goers, Katy replys, “No. I’m enough of a gift!”
It’s been a while between drinks for Little Birdy, playing on the successes of 2004’s Big Big Love and 2006’s Hollywood for the last couple of years. And there is a new album coming, even though Katy admits that it’s been a long process. The band is producing its own material this time around, holed up in their Melbourne studio. When asked if there had been any studio tantrums yet, it was a disappointing no. However, there has apparently been a lot of opinions and creativity being thrown around. Not very rock ‘n roll though. After all, what is a studio session without some trashed gear and broken egos?
Katy Steele is on the bumper line-up for Valley Fiesta, which takes over the Valley Entertainment Precinct from Friday September 12 to Sunday September 14.
