What do you do? I'm the Publicity Coordinator at Overdrive PR. I'm also a musician, vocalist & co-songwriter of an alt-rock outfit called Torizon.
Why do you do it? Music is my passion and I just cannot imagine my life without it. I've always been a creative person and have dipped my toes in painting, sketching, costume making, creative writing, but music seems to be the key part of my core identity.
I love expressing myself creatively and turning an idea into a tangible song that didn't exist before. I also really enjoy the camaraderie that comes with being in a band and pushing each other out of our comfort zones to help us grow as musicians and as people.
As far as music publicity goes, I love developing bands and working on the best way to represent their new music. It's always great to see the excitement on our artists faces when they learn they will be working with a team of active musicians who understand the creative process intimately.
What do you love about the city you live in?
Brisbane has a great metal community, amazing weather and a great mix of inner-city and suburban lifestyles. Also Brisbane has some really cool bars and great coffee.
Where did you go for your last holiday?
Airlie Beach. I was meant to be touring Japan, recording in the States and seeing my sister in Manchester by now, but COVID had different plans I suppose.
What's your favourite item of clothing? Yoga pants because they are basically socially acceptable PJs! You can go from lounging to deadlifting in the same outfit, haha!
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid? 'Wacky Races', 'Tom & Jerry' and 'The Little Mermaid'. . . I can't pick just one ha.
If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go? I'd go back to 1985 to watch Queen perform at Live Aid.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? I'm not the greatest cook, but I can make you one hell of a cocktail – so I'd probably serve up some margaritas with some take-out tacos (maybe some sneaky tequila shots later).
What's the best lesson you've ever learned? Treating myself with the same kindness and compassion that I treat my friends with.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows... I'm going to give you a few. I represented my school in breakdancing competitions. I play piano. I have the worst stage fright and I can sleep anywhere, anytime. . . it's like a super power.
Are you happy with your work/ life balance? There is always room for improvement because I'm terrible at maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The tricky thing about working in a field that you are passionate about is, it doesn't feel like work at all. I can do music PR consultations, pitch bands to their dream publications, etc all day/ night without a break because it is so fulfilling to watch artists grow and succeed.
I'm very lucky to work with an incredibly hard-working team who are just as passionate as I am and we keep each other accountable for setting boundaries, taking breaks, and indulging in self-care.
My band operates the same way; we all work incredibly hard and rely on each other heavily for navigating and juggling so many things at once. I love hitting the gym and lifting weights followed by a sauna, that's my idea of 'me time' and recalibrating myself along with meditation.
I work with a wonderful psychologist who also helps me keep my workaholic tendencies at bay. So the answer is that I wish there was a 25th hour in the day to do everything I need to, but I'm living a very happy and fulfilled life to make up for it.
How do you define success?
To me, success looks like doing what you love for a living – you don't have to make a tonne of money but as long as you can earn enough to live comfortably and sustain it that's a pretty successful life to me.
What's your spirit animal? I'd say it's definitely a hamster running in a wheel juggling 500 flaming swords at once. At least that's what the inside of my brain feels like.
Misha Sharma - scenestr of the day
