For our next Reverbnation spotlight, we chat to Shirlee Temper.
S] What have been your career highlights?
ST] “I would have to say that winning Best New Artist of the Year and Best Female Rock Artist at the Indie Music Channel Awards was definitely at the top of the list. It was truly an honour just to be nominated and recognised! I got to rock the stage at the world famous and epic “Whisky A Go Go, where some of the most talented and trail-blazing legends have played. It was thrilling to think I got to sweat on the same stage that other artists like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Motley Crue, Blondie, and Van Halen have played, just to name a few. Hooking up with Monster headphones and cable products, who have been fantastic by the way, has also been great. I got to jam on their stage at the NAMM, which was fun, though the decibel police actually ticked us for being too loud! What can I say, this woman does not go gentle into the good night, but I rage into the light…even if it’s a million little ones, blinking and flashing, hooked to cables, and hanging on the scaffolds!”
S] What sort of stuff are you inspired by outside of music – think films, games, locations or people…?
ST] “Oh, where to start? I know, we can do this like a dating profile! Hi, my name is Shirlee and I get my inspirations from my life! My life consists of camping, jet-skiing – my ski is named Tantrum, of course! Spooky movies, and superhero flicks, Mexican food, classic rock, lots and lots of messy art with my two beautiful little girls! Who with their love and silliness and way they see the world definitely inspire me, and who in turn, inspire me to vacation at the nut house sometimes! My family and friends and their funny, wild and sometimes even weird conversations and actions. The daily grind of cooking and cleaning and dealing with all the normal crazy we all deal with! Just watching and listening and jumping into the mix, moves me into the mood of words and music!”
[like_to_read][/like_to_read]
S] What experiences inspired the new track, ‘I am’?
ST] “If any of my songs were my baby, it would be ‘I am’ literally and figuratively. I wrote this song as a sort of chronology of myself. Each verse is a colour and each color represents a different phase of my life while I was growing and grinding into the woman that I am. White, represents my youth. The bare slate of my innocence, when I was wide-eyed and trusting. Red, on the other hand, is the extreme flip side to White. She is what White becomes after life’s simplicity becomes harsh, and is revealed and exacted upon her. So then White has to become Red to save herself. Red is the fire. Blue is the balance I achieved between both of them. Blue became my balance of knowing when to be tender and when to tear it up. Blue is lightning.”
S] What are your plans for the rest of this year?
ST] “I plan to keep working and honing my craft, living and learning, turning what I can into food for my music. My team has a lot of things in the mix right now, working on touring plans, new songs and new ventures and collaborations. I’m excited for this year.”
S] Are you inspired by any UK acts?
ST] “Well, say ‘You are what you eat’, and musically speaking I can tell you what I eat from the UK, Led Zeppelin, Adele, the Rolling Stones, The Police, David Bowie and definitely Queen just to name a few.”
S] Have you any plans to tour the UK one day?
ST] “I definitely plan to, but whether on not my passport clears is a different issue! I love Europe. Being half German, I have had the luxury of traveling a bit there. I haven’t made it to London yet, but I’m working on spreading myself around that continent for sure. Maybe tour in one of those fabulous double-decker buses and bring back one of those guards that never smile for my fire place.”
