THIS week we chat with singer\/songwriter Mariah McCarthy<\/p>\n
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What initially motivated you to become a musician? <\/strong><\/p>\n When I was nine I decided I wanted to learn guitar because lessons were offered at my school, so my parents bought me a second hand nylon string for my birthday! One of my close friends Cassie (who I still sing with) was already learning guitar and I loved singing and all things performing so it seemed like a fun thing to do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can you describe your musical style? <\/strong><\/p>\n I often find it difficult to describe my music style but perhaps gentle, thoughtful, contemporary folk. It has come from a combination of older singer\/songwriter influences such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, crossed with more contemporary artists like Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly, with a dash of friends who I\u2019ve played and written with for many years – in particular my guitar teacher Bianca Maes who helped me develop my guitar style and song writing. I never set out to have a particular sound, it’s just what came out when I started writing songs!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which artists inspire you and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n Singer\/songwriters inspire me the most because I\u2019m always captivated by their ability to weave lyric and melody together while telling beautiful, often personal stories. Someone like Paul Kelly who has had such a long and prevalent career and is still relevant today, whose songs have stood the test of time, is a big inspiration to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What are some highlights or fond memories you have from your career so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of my favourite things to do is play folk and grass roots festivals – being able to share the weekend with a group of people and also being a part of the audience wandering around watching other acts is always a wonderful experience.<\/p>\n My EP release at Wesley Anne is a particularly fond memory – playing with friends and finally getting my music out into the world was a lot of fun and began the start of my trio with Cassie Ward and Ben Langdon as well. It\u2019s always super fun whenever I get to perform as a trio with the help of their beautiful voices and Ben\u2019s guitar work making mine sound better!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n