Hot on the heels of their stellar Slam Dunk Festival shows in the UK, Sydney’s Tonight Alive are heading back to Australia to celebrate where it all started.
As the band polishes off their latest album amid twittering birds in sunny Thailand, we chat with lead vocalist Jenna McDougall.
For this upcoming tour you’re hosting a competition to find supporting bands with female leads. How has your experience as a female lead shaped your perspective?
[Jenna] I came from a scene where I wouldn’t even say girls were a minority, they just didn’t exist in the scene at that time. Plus I was the floater at school. I didn’t belong to one group of people and I think that that’s part of my constitution in a way. That’s what influences a lot of our lyrics. That’s why I talk about self empowerment, liberation and tapping into higher consciousness. Happy sometimes has really shallow energy to it; it’s kind of like joy or hope, these things they don’t have any roots. So what I am trying to do is bring the things that go from the top of your being to the bottom of your being.
Do you listen to any music you’d consider a guilty pleasure?
I listen to more unusual music than what people would consider embarrassing. I definitely am disassociating with embarrassment as I get older and I’m less apologetic for the things that I like and do. I’ve been listening to a lot of mantra music, instrumental music, devotional music… you know I came up as a Christian, but the more I questioned my religion the less I understood it. I’ve been as an adult trying to learn about Eastern philosophy and Eastern religion and I’ve found my place a little bit more with those things.
How does it feel when you hear one of your tracks come on at a party or venue?
At the moment, Illy’s song that I sing on ‘Oh My’ has been on the radio a lot and I have friends that are sending videos of them in the car listening and that’s way cool. It really makes my day.
When people first started recognising you was it difficult to match your persona with real life?
I do feel like two different people. I do feel like I have a personality that is associated with the band and a side of me that is off-stage and not on the camera.
When we were in England we played this same venue twice called KOKO and I just remember how I was actually quite depressed at the time and how many people were outside our bus waiting for the show and it did feel quite stifling. I felt like I couldn’t get off the bus without having makeup on and without being ready to talk to people.
You have to set some kind of boundaries but I do love our fans and I love how emotionally connected they are to our music and that’s something I’ll always be grateful for.
How do you prepare your voice for a show?
I don’t smoke or drink so that’s kind of a head start. I don’t eat dairy and I think that really preserves my voice. Also, the night before a day off I’ll let myself sing harder and get a little bit of yelling into it.
Which three Tonight Alive songs would you recommend to someone who has never listened to you before?
‘World Away’ is our most recent track which I think is a good indication of where our sonic direction is heading. Prior to that listen to ‘The Edge’ and ‘Oxygen’ from ‘Limitless’. I really think that song’s beautiful lyrically.
What was the last band that you saw that you just really loved?
Ocean Grove. They have the most eclectic collection of genres inside their sound and they make it totally their own. I really admire their musicality.
Fan question: Are you ever going to play Bathurst?
We’d love to do a full-length regional tour in Australia. It’s something I’ve always really admired about bands like Parkway Drive, they don’t skip anybody and they don’t expect people to drive to the major cities all the time.
written by Vivienne Mitchell
Tonight Alive Tour Dates
Tue 31 Oct - The Basement (Canberra)Wed 1 Nov - UoW UniBar (Wollongong)
Thu 2 Nov - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Fri 3 Nov - The Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Sat 4 Nov - The Zoo (Brisbane)
Thu 9 Nov - Fowlers Live (Adelaide)
