Aussie Indie-Pop Band Sheppard: Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival Interview No. 1

News · September 8, 2018

Coming home

_{by Neelu Mohaghegh (All photos taken are original work by Neelu; Saturday, August 18th, 2018)}

Sheppard is an Australian indie pop band from Brisbane, Australia that has been winning the pop hearts of thousands since 2009. The band is made up of 6 members, including George Sheppard (vocals and keys), Amy Sheppard (vocals, keys), Emma Sheppard (bass), Jason Bovino (guitar), Dean Gordon (drums), and Michael Butler (guitar). At the 2013 Aria Music Awards, Sheppard was nominated for Best Independent Release for “Let Me Down Easy”. Their debut studio album, Bombs Away, was released back in the summer of 2014 and made its way to the No. 2 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart. It then went on to being certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Their second single, “Geronimo”, was No. 1 for three weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified 5× platinum. In addition, in 2014, the pop group was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Independent Release, Best Pop Release, Song of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Best Video.

Their music is the kind that lifts your spirits and has you practically jumping up and down and singing along. The best part about it, they are TRULY a talented group of people! It’s the type of music you want in your life because it encompasses the roller coaster of human emotions. With stunning melodies, angelic harmonies, and epic rhythms that make you move no matter what you do, there’s no denying the fact that Sheppard is on to something! Hard to come by these days, Sheppard manages to have the live instrumentation down, the vocals just right, and a fun, eye-catching stage presence–true artists by trade.

Check out their music below!

So, how did this epic and extraordinary band get started? I had a chance to sit with this Aussie collective to ask them all of them all of my questions during their appearance at the 2018 Billboard Hot 100 Festival (Jones Beach, Long Island, NY). Amy explained to me the beginning of their story. “It was quite a natural progression, it started way back when we were kids, we were playing together, we all had music lessons, and I really wanted to do this for a living, so I went to school to study music”. She furthers elaborates on a project that one of her classes required which was to create a full EP, and like any student would, she was freaking out because she had procrastinated for it until the last minute. She then reached out to her brother George to ask him to help her add harmonies and more compositional pieces to her project and she was happy and impressed with what she was hearing. “And from that moment on we kept building and building it together and here we are today…” Amy says through a smile.

As I sit across from 3 out of the 6 artists in the band, George, Amy, and Emma, I am happy to see how energized they are after a performance in the boiling heat (90 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny), while still being jet lagged for the past few days from their travels across the ocean, and knowing that they have the same flight back to Australia catch tomorrow after just getting over that jet lag. The ladies were practically glowing, Emma with her shiny dress and her glitter eye shadow and Amy with her incredible blue hair and matching blue lens sunglasses. George in a simple white T-shirt and pants was smiling cheek-to-cheek. “We’re pretty excited to be here”, George admits. “It’s an unbelievable festival and to be included in that line up is just amazing.”

I proceeded to ask them how their music has evolved since they first started as an official band, and if the process for their new album Watching the Sky. “Actually ya, a lot different”, admits George. “Well we wanted to build it from the ground up to be played on a live scenario. So, for the first album it was just sort of writing songs for fun and really didn’t have any sense of what venues we would be playing, what our demographic was, who are fans were, versus this time around we definitely had a good idea of who we were as a band, and what kind of shows we were doing, so we were able to hone in and focus in on the vibe. So, we made sure all of the songs were tailored for big venues and epic sounds and stuff that brings people together and brings the good vibes.”

Amy continues to explain the progression of their success and the hardships that came with it. “It’s been a lot of work, it has been challenging, but it has definitely been rewarding, We can definitely see ourselves growing as artists and that fanbase has grown…”

Emma jumps in exclaiming “we’re really lucky for the opportunities we have gotten.”

George follows up, “I think it’s like you struggle struggle struggle struggle, and then something clicks and then you struggle on that level, and struggle on that level, and then something happens and the planets align, and it just keeps on leveling up like a video game… and you keep moving up hopefully!” He chuckles at his analogy.

In terms of their sound, I was curious how much of it was inspired by their roots in Australia. “We get a lot of our music from America and from the UK, we’re sort of like a hybrid baby of those two sort of industries”, George tells me. He does mention though how fortunate they are to have amazing musicians back home who are strong and talented.

I asked the trio what the best part of being a band was in comparison to being a solo act, to which Amy replies immediately, “You’re not alone. You always have us, you always have someone to fall back on and be there for you”. Emma chimes in, “and even during the shittiest, excuse my language, even during the worst times, you have all these people to cheer you up, laugh about it, talk about it…”

George furthers their comments by noting, “shows where there’s not as many people, it’s greater to have each other to just bounce off each other on stage and just sort of tune into what’s going on and bounce off each other’s energy”.

So when I asked this energetic band’s one word to describe themselves, George immediately responded, “Euphoria!” Amy elaborates, “we want our music to bring people together and tell a story.”

I then asked what Sheppard couldn’t live without. Emma responds, “a phone?”, Amy fittingly says, “hair dye” as she laughs and flips her vibrant aqua hair, and George says, “headphones…to listen to music, especially for traveling.” And, if these guys had to pick a spirit animal for their band? “A chicken!!!” George shouts, everyone laughs, and then he rescinds his answer to change it to “a blue whale.” Ha! What’s their ideal summer day? George goes on, setting the scene: “The beach, some good friends, a barbecue, water is definitely involved”, the girls agree and then George summarizes the story with “good food, good tunes, good friends.”

Sheppard

What is Sheppard most excited about that is to come very soon? “Our Australian tour!” All three of them say in agreement. In line with that, their favorite memory performing live is “whenever the audience sings a song back to you, that’s an incredible feeling, it shows that they’re into it, and that they know the songs, and you put so much time writing and crafting your music, so that’s the biggest compliment”, Emma articulates.

So, on Saturday, August 18th, Sheppard is #OnTheVerge of…. “#Sleep” George says. Then he changes his answer to “#JumpingintheWater”. Emma says “#DancingintheMosh” and Amy replies “#DancingintheRain”. (It was hot, I mean it, and it was supposed to rain…)

Meeting with this incredible multi-faceted band was probably the highlight of my day as they shared just as much energy, charisma, and kindness in our interview as they did during their performance on the main stage!

Be sure to Sheppard on social media to find out more about what they’re up to!

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