The announcement of Amy Taylor, lead singer of Amyl And The Sniffers, as a keynote speaker at BIGSOUND, would have raised many eyebrows, both positive and negative, but ultimately, it was a hugely inspiring choice.
For an artist who is not particularly known for public speaking and is quite private in general, Taylor’s appearance at this keynote was an opportunity to learn more about the artist and gain insight into how the industry functions from a raw and personal level.
Before diving into the heavy stuff, Taylor recited a poem. It was a great way to break the ice and provide several laughs, including when she rhymed “filling” with “spewing”!
She went on to be exceptionally candid about her childhood and early days of life. Being born in a humble home in Mullumbimby to a truck driver father and unemployed mother certainly kyboshed any preconceptions that nepotism needs to exist in the industry to be successful, and that is not a small fact to be taken from the whole keynote.
The 28-year-old artist’s success has not only inspired a wealth of local musicians to know they can be something from nothing but also proves that there is no requirement to come from a wealthy background or to know people in the business to make it.
The 45-minute essay remained a perfect example of how whole, organic, and beautiful the music scene can be. It was delivered in exactly the fashion you would hope from the writer of songs such as Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled) and Freaks To The Front.
This is a Cinderella story of sorts. Taylor, having worked at the local IGA in Mullumbimby, would move to Melbourne, take a few shit jobs and try to be “fucking scary” before hooking up and living with fellow band-mates from Amyl And The Sniffers and in amongst “trying to intimidate people” would release their debut EP, Giddy Up in 2016. This EP raised enough interest for the band to be booked for national shows and ultimately support King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard overseas and become noticed.
A series of raucous gigs around the country would give them the opportunity and impetus they needed to keep going.
As Taylor says, “We just wanted to sound like The B-52s”. Their sound, evoking Australianisms and evocative feelings of vulnerability, would catch on locally, but it was ultimately the overseas community that would totally embrace the band.
“Being an Australian touring band is fucking hardcore”, Taylor shared. Such is the nature of being a touring musician. From the outside, it may appear that success and the money you get from that has come easily, but an extraordinary amount of work has also gone into it.
This is where the talk would garner many giggles as Taylor went on to share, “I’ve barely had time to get the puss waxed!”
Taylor’s framing of the world and, in particular, the music industry was not only insightful but accurate and succinctly put. “I don’t want to hold myself back,” she pointed out, showing her openness to trying new things and taking risks in pursuit of her dreams.
“A lot of the music industry just want to make the world funner in a capitalistic world”, she shared, and it’s a point that is often forgotten in the aforementioned capitalist environment that we all live in.
In Amy’s special way, she managed to inspire, educate, and solidify the industry’s importance with a few swear words in between. “Big ups to bogan Aussie chicks!” she would share at one point, but it felt genuine and inspirational to a base of people who may feel like they haven’t had the opportunity that many others may have.
If you took nothing else from Amy Taylor’s keynote, it was this: “Bitch, this is the entertainment industry, don’t think about it too much!”
If only we could all be a little bit more like Amy Taylor.
