Interview Transcript from Illawarra Stories Wollongong City Libraries Oral History Project – Melinda Wishart

 

Interviewer: Jo Oliver

 

Interview date: 2020

 

Jo:  I’m talking now with Mel, who goes by a variety of names I hear, and you’ve not long come off stage. So, can you tell us what you were doing on stage Mel?

Melinda: Oh, well I just ran a, I think 18 to 20 piece all female troupe. And I say troupe because not all of us were musicians, uh, we had some tap dancers and, uh, interpretive castanet players as well [laughs]. And, yeah, we just did a 45-minute set that we normally do on the streets, but today we got to do it at the Illawarra Folk Festival on stage. So, it was, it went really well.

Jo:  And what’s that group called?

Melinda: Le Femme Fatale.

Jo:  Ooh.

Melinda:  Mmm.

Jo:  And all women I presume?

Melinda:  All women, and because I saw a need for women to have a inclusive little girly space.

Jo:  Mhm

Melinda: To um, to foster our talents.

Jo: Okay.

Melinda:  Yeah

Jo:  So, you brought that group together? What’s, what’s the background of that group?

Melinda:  Ah, the background is, um, I think it’s my whole history [laughter] as a, as a musician, as a female musician. But, um, a number of years ago I’ve been at, at many parties and, um, a few, you know, bells have rung for me throughout those years. But I remember being at a specific party and I was playing music and I was playing with all the men. And then I just started to observe that we were just playing all male songs. And I was.

with my beautiful male friends – I’ve got nothing against them, I love them. But, um, I just went, hang on, hang on hang on. And also, at that party I went to, ah, the back veranda and on the back veranda was this circle of women, and they were passing around a trumpet. And I didn’t know them and they were telling stories of how they used to play and how they just don’t get an opportunity to play and, um, and yeah, that was a one, that was one party. But I was all-, I always go to parties and play music, I’m surrounded by musicians and, you know, but at those parties and jams I noticed that the women are, they don’t get up and join in. And, ah, so I thought we just need to go over, over here, let’s have a little female space over there and get them going. And so, I’ve tried to encourage women that it’s not that hard to play a little musical instrument, yeah.

Jo:  And what instrument to you play?

Melinda:  I play clarinets and saxophones.

Jo:  And then, so how did you take that from an idea to a reality?

Melinda: That’s a good question [laughs]. Well, there was the HONK! festival started to happen in Wollongong. So, um, I was involved with the Con Artists and, um, and they, the leader of that troupe and his partner, David Rooney and Lotte Latukefu introduced the HONK! festival to Wollongong. And when that happened I, I accidentally billeted all these musicians and some musicians came from America and they were from the Environmental Encroachment band. And they were crazy, it was great. And they [laughs] and their approach to playing music was, “Quick, just do it! Come on! Yeah. You do it, yeah, right!” Then stealthily, and it’s not about being perfect it’s about being on the streets and just sort of mishmashing it together and, um, yeah that’s one of my influences. And, and in the HONK! festival, the history of it is that you’re supposed to be, it’s a taking messages to the street. So, it started in Boston and I, I fell in love with the HONK! festival and I quickly got some money together for the first time in my life I travelled overseas and I went to HONK! Boston for the 10th anniversary. And I travelled with the EE band, with Mike Smith and Tony Randazzo and all the crazy people that are involved in that and they go marching. It’s all about getting on the streets and marching for our rights. So, it’s a lot of protest.

Jo:  Okay, it’s a political…

Melinda: It’s a political edge to it, although in, in Wollongong it’s more of an educational music educational, um, tilt to it which is awesome, because I am a music educator.

Jo:  Are you? Okay, right.

Melinda:  As well, yeah. And I work at the Conservatorium for 20 years teaching music to 5, 6 and 7 year olds, amongst all the other stuff that I do. And forgive me if I’m rambling.

Jo:  No, it’s fine. It’s all fascinating.

Melinda:  But I, I got really turned on by the HONK! And previously in my life I’ve always been taking bands to the street, whether it’s in a community environment with the, um, with schools and, um, you know having, ah, winter solstice parties and carrying lanterns and lantern parades but when, I around about that time, I think it was George Brandis was cutting the arts funding and I went to a couple of Sydney rallies and got involved with protesting musically and so, I thought, right. So, I just married the two ideas and so women, protesting and the HONK! festival and Arts funding and everything and I just went, all right, let’s just do this and I just sort of offered up my services and, and just gathered some women friends, handed out a trombone to that person and said, “Come on!” [laughs]

Jo: ???

Melinda:  You know you can play those drums! You know you can do this; you know you can do that. Are you with me? Yes, you’re with me. And so, our first, and I picked the theme because that, the death scene [laughs] the funeral and, and it all ties in with all of the all of what goes on in my world I guess and my community. And, um, my friend Jenny Briscoe, was starting up Tender Funerals so there was this sort of a mention of a Funeral Band and then I went right. And, and the HONK! festival is kind of New Orleansy and horney and drums based, so that you can be on the streets. So, I just I just married it all together and went right, we’re going to have a funeral for Arts funding and we’re going to do it at HONK! and, ah, and that’s where we started.

Jo:  Amazing.

Melinda: [laughs] And then I opened a can of worms and, um, it’s just gone gangbusters from there.

Jo:  So, then you continued to get together, regularly, yeah?

Melinda:  Yeah, yeah. But that’s a couple of years ago, so my memory is hazy. I need other people to remember some of that stuff for me. But, yeah, we definitely got going and went yeah, next HONK! do another HONK! I think we had a funeral for Patriarchy at one point and, ah, [laughs] you know right now we’re having a funeral for Mother Earth and, ah, yeah, it’s, it’s been a powerful theme. And it’s been empowering being in costume and I’ve always known that costume transforms people and gives them more strength, especially on the streets, you’re not an ordinary person anymore and you can, you can become a bit bigger, yeah.

Jo:  So how do the costumes work, people just get their own stuff?

Melinda:  Yeah.

Jo:  And it’s around this theme of…?

Melinda:  Yeah. And I came up with La Femme Fatale, which was just fitted and, um, so, yeah, people just took their own idea about that. And yeah, all, the only stipulation is that it’s black with maybe a tinge of purple for women’s, um, colours.

Jo:  Suffragette colours.

Melinda:  The suffragette colour, yeah, so…

Jo:  And how many, roughly how many people are involved?

Melinda:  There’s 20

Jo:  Okay.

Melinda:  approximately [laughs]. And there, there were, there’s a lot of women on the list that have sort of come and gone and are still there, um, but it’s just sort of sitting around 20 at the moment. And, um, and I did a big performance the other day where I wanted all women to join in and so we did “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar” because I still think we need to, you know, kind of do a rah-rah for women.

Jo:  It’s a timeless song.

Melinda: It’s a timeless song. It was really cute; I got my Mum up to sing. She’s 86, Sylvia, and she was my first feminist, you know. I remember her saying that she was a feminist and she’d been brought up, you know, she was born in 1933. Her grand-, her father didn’t believe in women’s education. So, when I was being brought up, she made sure I was fully supported and, yeah, I remember her being a feminist and I went, right, yeah. Always a bit of an edge. Jo:  And whereabouts did you do that performance, that “I am Woman”?

Melinda:  We did that at the HONK! Festival last week. And so, I knew that there would be a lot of musicians in the crowd that could easily read some charts so, and who could sing as well. So, I printed up some giant [laughs] Easy charts and we, I placed them on our backs of our band so that other musicians could read the music. I sent it out via, you know, the Web earlier and invited women and men and anybody to sing with us and then if they wanted to play with us, just come and join us. It was an open and then, um, and then I wanted to do a roar, because, yeah, I am annoyed, I am angry, you know. And, so part of this, [laughs] “I Am Woman Hear Me ROARRRR!” So, I got us to roar, which was great. And then we got on our horns and drums and roared. And then it was very street, so I hand-, held up ribbons, you know, Equal Pay, you know, The System Is Broken. Abort, abort, abort. I got political and just put stuff up. And so, we sang it, we played it and then we roared it. It was hilarious, it was great, yeah.

Jo:  And was that, and what did you do here today, was that…?

Melinda: Yeah, that was kind of wonderful to be invited into the Folk Festival, because I’ve been coming for, I don’t know, 25 years or so since, I don’t, I can’t remember but I used to go to Jamberoo, so, yeah it was awesome. We got to have a show in the pavilion and so we walked in with our funeral procession and we did what we do on the streets. And it was quite funny because the power was broken apparently, but we didn’t care because we were all, you know, my, my bass guitarist has an amp on her back, we’re all acoustic and, yeah.

Jo:  And mobile.

Melinda:  And mobile. So, we just did our street show, but here, yeah.

Jo:  And what was the reception?

Melinda:  It was fantastic. It was really cool and, um, yeah, my, ah, accordion player’s husband said that he was moved to tears. So that, that’s it, yeah, I’ve had a lot of people come up and give me an amazing rap. And to the point it’s like okay, thank you, thank you, okay, I’ve got to go.

Jo:  Yeah, Oh, you must be still digesting all of that.  I am digesting it all. It’s exhausting though.

Jo:  I bet it is.

Melinda:  Exhausting.

Jo:  Yeah.

Melinda:  Yeah.

Jo: And this is in addition to your day job.

Melinda:  Yeah [laughs] I know. I now need to just stop and become an Intensive English Centre teacher and a teacher at the Con and a teacher over here, yeah.

Jo:  That’s wonderful. What’s the future for Femme Fatale, are you going to continue? Melinda:  Well, the way the world is going, you know, we are protest band and we’re street, and I think, you know, that’s what, we’ll be on the streets and you’ll see us again definitely. Jo:  Yeah.

Melinda: Yeah. I don’t know what to do with them next. Um, yeah, I need, I need help now, I

need other people to step up to manage, manage it, yeah. Festivals I guess, maybe.

Jo:  Yeah, and hopefully within your group, um, will come…

Melinda:  Yeah, I feel really well supported, everyone’s amazing. Yeah, it’s amazing, it is amazing.

Jo:  Well, it sounds like it’s been a great addition to the Festival here today, something quite different or different to what there is usually involved.

Melinda: Yeah.

Jo: Yeah, fantastic Well thank you so much for talking.

Melinda:  Thank you! [laughs]

Jo:  And I’ll let you have a little rest now, you sound like you really need one, but it’s been really interesting, so thank you.