Interview with Kelly Brouhaha

What’s the Brouhaha about Kelly?

brouhaha /bru-ha-ha/ noun – a noisy and overexcited reaction or response to something

Growing up in in regional South Australia, Kelly Brouhaha’s family moved around a lot as her dad worked with a bank that posted him all over the state.

In a not uncommon story Kelly was the ‘new kid’ in about six different primary schools. ‘When we did the final move I basically refused to get in the car unless Mum bought me a drum kit (child logic, right!).’ 

Kelly ended up with a guitar instead and spent most of her high-school years slumped over it practising to distract herself from the loneliness of being yet again the new kid. ‘I found music incredibly healing and it’s been with me since.’

Described as a more soulful Amy Winehouse, Brouhaha will play the Old Milk Factory Lismore on Friday. Seven caught up with her when she arrived in town last weekend.

How old were you when you got into music? 

I was 11 when I started learning guitar. I went on to a performing-arts high school and was involved in choir and jazz band and the high school musical each year. A lot of my mentors were professional musicians and they encouraged me to keep studying past high school. I enrolled in a TAFE course and studied for a further three years, which is where I met Libby O’Donovan, who became a mentor of mine and taught me just about everything I know about performing professionally. Years later she invited me to come and work with her and her wife Beccy Cole and I’ve been touring with them since. It’s been a very cool apprenticeship! 

What music did you listen to growing up?

As a young kid I used to sit up every morning watching Rage, writing down the countdown with my best mate. I was seven when I discovered The Spice Girls and I was OBSESSED with sugar pop. S Club 7, Backstreet Boys – all the late ‘90s glitter had to offer. In the early 2000s, I discovered my all-time favourites like The Waifs, Missy Higgins, John Butler, Clare Bowditch, etc. It was a great era for acoustic singer-songwriter type music. 

What do you enjoy more: gigging or recording?

I’d normally say gigging, but lately that’s been kind of stressful. I’m making my next record with Julz Parker from Hussy Hicks, and recording this album basically means spending a whole bunch of time with really excellent humans in a magical forest cabin and enjoying campfires in the evening. After a couple of years’ isolation, recording right now is pretty excellent! But I do enjoy most being out on the road, in Pamela Vanderson (my 1992 Toyota Hiace). Over the last four years or so I’ve spent a lot of time with Beccy Cole on her Aussie Road Crew tours throughout outback Australia, and those campfire concerts with my mates are definitely my favourite way to make music. 

How has COVID changed your life?

Oh man, COVID has been brutal. I was living in a van touring when COVID hit so I was forced to find a rental I could afford and spent a whole bunch of time alone, which really wasn’t great mentally or creatively. But I was pretty lucky; I’ve been dodging border closures and lockdowns since August 2020 and while nothing has gone to plan and I’ve not lived anywhere permanently for more than six weeks, the touring I have managed to do has been really special. Mostly I’ve found myself doing triple the admin of pulling tours together, only to have them torn down and start again with new dates – but still, I’d rather be doing this job with whatever curve balls it throws than working checkout at Target. 

What have you got for audiences at your local gig?

I think now more than ever it’s really important that we bring people back together. I think people have mentally struggled more than we all realise, more than the financial or medical implications have cost us. I know people are still getting sick and dying and that’s awful, but I also think the isolation and instability of the economic climate for small businesses has really brought people undone. I think community is so so important to help us all get through this next hurdle with our mental health still intact. So for anyone who feels safe enough to leave the house, and I completely understand anyone’s reasons for not coming out, I’ll be showing up and inviting anyone who needs to be with people to get that need met. I’ll bring my friends along and we’ll sing songs and we’ll laugh together and cry together, and maybe at the end of the night we’ll all feel 10 per cent better about the state of the world.

How does performing make you feel?

I always feel really grounded when I perform. For me it’s like a meditation. All my thoughts slow down and it’s really the best kind of mindfulness and the most fun meditation I’ve found. I think it’s the thing that’s kept me steady since I was a kid. Music really is the best kind of healing. 

What is the key message you want people to get from a show?

That feeling feelings is a really good thing.

What are your near and distant future plans?

Step 1: Book the gigs.

Step 2: Try to stay sane while COVID messes with the gigs.

Step 3: If all else fails, find friends with campfires.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

I’d love to buy a tiny house and find a little pocket of land in the Northern Rivers that doesn’t flood to put it on. As much as I love touring and living in the van, I’d love a place to come home to and recoup between projects – you know with maybe some luxuries like a flushing toilet and an oven. 

Kelly Brouhaha plays the Old Milk Factory,
6 Taylor Street South Lismore, this Friday at 7pm.

Check out www.kellybrouhaha.com.au for ticket info.