Formally the lead singer of pop-punk outfit Creature Fear, Jacqui has recently struck it out on her own to create “really honest and authentic pop music” in the style of Carly Rae Jepsen and Marina and the Diamonds.
With a live show that is colourful and theatrical all at once, Jacqui is a new force on the Melbourne live scene that should be enjoyed. I sat down with Jacqui to chat about her career and creative drive.
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What are your most unlikely inspirations?
“If you look at my Spotify now it is very female dominated,” says Jacqui. “My upbringing was very old-man, white artist. Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin. You see, I started as a real folk head at school and I thought pop music is for schmucks. I was always like, ‘That isn’t real music, have you heard of ‘The Sound of Silence’?’ I was a real piece of shit. Now I think completely otherwise. You can love everything.”
The name of your future autobiography?
Jacqui very much went delved into the future for this answer, theorising that “maybe something horrible happens to me and it’s called Jacqui: The Rise and Fall of a Pop Sensation. It’s all about how I was once the best and then everyone started hated me and I was soon brought down. But once that has been released I then have an incredible comeback.”
The saga continued. After going into hiding, “I reemerge and take the world by storm once again. Then I’ll have the follow up book about that chapter of my life. They don’t know it’s going to be a two-part biography yet, but that first one starts a bit of buzz and will have people asking, ‘What did happen to her?’. Then I use that momentum to climb my way back to the top of the charts. Maybe by remixing some Elton John song.”
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What is one band who you would be the support act for?
This was an easy answer for Jacqui, as she chose the artist that she is most in debt to creatively. “I think I would be the perfect support act for Ms. Carly Rae Jepsen. She hasn’t announced who her support acts are for her Melbourne show and I think it should be me I’d love to open for her, because then I would get to watch her show as well. So not only would I get the honour of performing, but I would get to see my favourite artist all the time.”
What albums have to be in your record collection?
“Everyone should have Tapestry by Carole King,” says Jacqui. “It is songwriting perfection, ebbs and flows, its the perfect album and I think everyone should have it. I love her whole story – how she never intended to sing any of these songs that she wrote. Someone said ‘Just do it!’ and she made this incredible album.”
Which of your songs has a strange origin story?
“System Overload came about because I was on Logic and trying to work on a different song. Logic just kept freezing and the notification that would come up said System Overload – your computer can’t handle this shit! Maybe I’m just not good at Logic, but it was driving me crazy. I felt so oppressed by everything and the one thing I’m trying to do is to make music and my computer just says ‘No!’. It’s still annoying when that happens, but the we got a song out of it.”
Lastly, why should people who don’t know you come and see your gig?
“I’m really proud of our live show,” says Jacqui. “It has a lot of energy. A lot of emotion. In a fun way, not a depressing way. The songs really stand out from each other – not in a way where its doesn’t feel cohesive – they’re memorable and they stand on their own. I think people will get a really exciting experience when they come to a show. I think there’s something in the show for everybody. I’ve had metalheads say they like certain songs they connect to. The pop girlies love the songs that they connect to. And my band are so good. If you hate me and all the songs, you can’t deny that the musicianship is such a top tier level, which I’m just so proud of.”
You can also follow Jacqui on Facebook for upcoming gig announcements here.
