DEAD WITCH

Words: Keeley Thompson

Images: Tom Wilkinson & Yeah Rad

The sun bows below the horizon, completing its son et lumiere whilst chaperoning in the night. The air, thick with the residue of a thousand shared breaths, begins to cool. Previously bare shoulders are now covered with long sleeves and fluffy jackets as lanterns begin to twinkle and illuminate the dusty festival paths. Sweat, once a sticky embrace, turns to a salty residue - an homage to (probably) kilometres walked and hours spent dancing. 

Laughter spills from shoddy-campsites, punctuated by the sound of beer cans cracking and tents zipping and unzipping. Music hums from tired bluetooth speakers threatening to interrupt frivolous conversations by calling “critical battery, please charge”. The one phone with Telstra reception is passed around to queue songs - that’s the rules. 

Wandering back into the festival, passing pavilions where bands begin soundchecks. Heading to a particular spot by the mainstage to fill a promise made with a delirious friend to “meet at this tree in an hour”. Surprisingly, they’re there - and just in time. 

This is Dead Witch. 

Creating music that could wear platform heels as convincingly as it could a pair of leather Ariat boots, Dead Witch seamlessly blend glamour and glitter with sand and grit. Dead Witch conjures a psychedelic brew; blending the raw energy of 60s garage rock with the dreamy textures of the psychedelic era, and the swaggering riffs of the 70s revival. 

A musical homage to the designer and the dirt, Eora’s  (Sydney) Dead Witch is composed of Jaimee Taylor-Nielsen (vox), Liz Reilly (drums), Eva Balog (bass), Alex Cameron (lead guitar), and Mille Lee (rhythm guitar). Leaving a shimmering trail of rock ‘n’ roll excess, Dead Witch are both hypnotic and hefty - like condensed milk in a strong shot of espresso. 

KEELEY: How are you all? How’s the tour been treating you? 

ALEX: We’re great! Thank you for asking. The tour has been so, so much fun. I feel like I haven’t stopped laughing for four weeks. 

KEELEY: How’s the reception been with your latest single, Saturn's Return? 

ALEX: We’ve had some lovely, positive responses. Some people likened it to Led Zeppelin and The Beatles which is a huge compliment because the song is a bit of a love letter to Led Zeppelin. 

LIZZY: Reception has been huge! When we played our hometown single launch we were pretty overwhelmed with the turnout and love we got on the night.

KEELEY: How did Dead Witch form? Tell us the story! 

MILLIE: We were all best mates clearly obsessed with each other. Already wanting to have a jam together, Covid hit and when you were allowed to have four people over we would take turns jamming at each other's house. Zoe, our bassist at the time called our bluff and booked us a show so we came up with a set list of our own music within 6 weeks. And here we are!

KEELEY: Where do you get inspiration from (musically and in general) as individuals and as a group? 

ALEX: There’s a lot of bands and musical influences that we all love and have in common but then we also each bring our own musical flair to the group. 

So for example a lot of my learning was rooted in blues and country music and I think I bring that style of playing to the group but we’re definitely not a blues or country band. Though Jaimo’s voice has been likened to Dolly Parton’s on several occasions now which is one of the biggest compliments ever! 

MILLIE: We love all the same music but go hard in some corners individually, for instance Liz’s guilty pleasure is the 2000’s meet-me-in-the-bathroom era of indie rock but I live for 80’s hair metal and bands like Black Sabbath which is fun to incorporate every now and again. This genre definitely takes limelight in our DJ sets or at photo shoots pumping us all up like crazy to dance. Inspiration also changes with each song we write but a big part of our writing from the start has been a love for songs with amazing psych/rock n roll jams from the 70’s or bands and songs that embody that era. To this day Jaimee and I have sat around campfires talking about how Carry On by Crosby Stills & Nash may have one of the best psych breakdown/jams out there.

KEELEY: What’s been your experience like navigating the music industry as an all-female band?

MILLIE: To focus on the positives, more female/femme orientated bands are coming out of the woodworks everyday. Slowly, it feels like there is more out there, even though the balance is still not right - it’s getting there. Our main goal has always been to encourage people to do that on and off stage. Girls in bands taking over the stages & the industry?! Lets Go. 

LIZZY: I think one of the most rewarding things is playing a gig and having a young girl come up to you after and say they want to learn an instrument. It’s happened to all of us a few times, and it feels super special. We've even started giving out free guitar picks to girls in the crowd to encourage them to start playing music. Echoing Millie, there’s so many young female bands emerging and playing any kind of role in that is a huge win. 

KEELEY: What’s been your most memorable moments as a group? 

ALEX: Some of the most memorable moments have been when young women come up to us after a show and say that we’ve inspired them to start a girl band. That’s the stuff that makes you feel all goo-ey on the inside. 

LIZZY: Ha! Took the words right out my mouth Alex. 

I find songwriting together and having that “Ah Ha” moment when things are just working is pretty special. We all work full time, so practice and touring can be pretty exhausting at times, but writing a banging tune with your mates, those are the moments that remind you why you’re doing it. 

KEELEY: What have you all been listening to lately? 

ALEX: I’m an avid Rolling Stones fan and thought I’d heard it all but I’ve just stumbled on Jamming With Edward which is an album they wrote and recorded in one night in London with Rory Gallagher. I’ve been playing that on repeat. 

MILLIE: I’m going hard on ZZ Top this week but having gone through a bit of a Saturn’s Return recently, i’ve also been listening to a lot of 90’s/2000’s girl power ballads from Sheryl Crow, Hole, Texas and Yeah Yeah Yeahs

LIZZY: The Slingers have been on repeat for me all year, also the new Grace Cummings and Ambrose/GUM records are killer. 

KEELEY: What’s something people wouldn’t/don’t know about you or what’s each of your hidden talents?

ALEX: My hidden talent is that I can read sheet music. And I’m secretly a bit of a nerd with numbers which is funny because I failed Year 10 maths and didn’t do it in the HSC.

MILLIE: Eva is an incredible artist and punk honey, Liz has a super power to do literally anything she sets her mind to that we all admire and Jaimee is one of the world's best chef’s. 

For me, I have no idea!  I’ve been getting into a bit of stage design stuff recently on this tour which has been fun, but I wouldn't say it’s a hidden talent though.

LIZZY: Millie is an incredible Irish dancer.

KEELEY: How do you approach song writing? 

ALEX: Very collaboratively. Someone might bring the seed of an idea or some chords and lyrics to the rehearsal room and we’ll jam it out and work on the structure. I'm Melbourne based so do a lot of writing remotely, but we had a lot of practice with that during lockdown because our formative years were during the pandemic. 

KEELEY: What’s a band/song/album/musician you think is underrated or deserves more attention? 

ALEX: Grace Cummings - the voice of a generation. 

MILLIE: Could not agree more with Alex. That and maybe Battlesnake but they’re popping off.

LIZZY: I too, couldn’t agree more with the above. 

KEELEY: What’s next for Dead Witch?! What’s coming up in the future and what can the people look forward to?

ALEX: We wrap up this tour and go straight into recording so watch this space. 

KEELEY: Anything else you wanted to add? 

MILLIE: Just a big ol’ times are tough, and a lot of people seem to be feeling it at the moment, keep your head up and talk to your mates because whether it’s a Saturns Return you’re going through or just a shitty day/week/month - there will always be great ones ahead. Many kisses and hugs from all of us.

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