Live Shows at Rooty Hill

rooty_hill_rsl

Total Country Archive

Archived Articles
Tracy Killeen takes the wheel  E-mail
''On my first album I think I got kind of bogged down and I wanted to write all of the songs myself,'' she said. ''There's so many great songwriters in Australia and overseas ... [I thought] I'm just gonna tap into that. I was writing as well and if my songs made the cut then that's good, but if not, then that was fine.''

The result, Driver's Seat, was officially be launched on Thursday night at Rooty Hill RSL Club.

It will be the first time in quite a while that Killeen, who grew up in rural east Gippsland in Victoria, has walked the Rooty Hill stage.

She says she's excited at the prospect of presenting the new material, which ranges from the inspirational and encouraging sentiment of the first single Brave to the tongue-in-cheek Metrosexual Craze.

''My first album was all about my roots any my family and my childhood and this album I think is all about me now, and the title track, Driver's Seat, is all about being back in control of your life and behind the steering wheel,'' Killeen said.

As well as five tracks either penned or co-penned by Killeen, writers on the album include Tamara Stewart [Brave], Allan Caswell ['42 (Margaret And Vera)] and Amber Lawrence [Good Lies].

Three of the songs [Something Bout A Storm, Your Love's A Rock and the title track] were written by American Steven Sheehan, who Killeen had met during a visit to Nashville in 2008 as part of the CMA Fest of which she was a performer.

''[He] was actually working with Trisha Yearwood and his wife managed Alison Krauss and he really liked my stuff,'' she said. ''We got together and had a meeting and he said when you go to do your next album I would really like to send you some demos. We stayed in contact via Facebook and Myspace and when I told him I was going to do an album he sent me over about eight songs.

''I let him know that I was doing those three and he was stoked. Now he's waiting for his copy of it.''

Killeen said she felt comfortable with all of the new material.

''I only record or perform songs that I can relate too, that I've lived and I know,'' she said. ''I certainly get songs that I like and think are great, but it's not me and I'm really particular about that - choosing the songs that suit your voice. You hear people that do covers of great songs and even though they've got a nice voice they don't do the song justice.

''It's all about finding the song that reflects who you are and then also finding the song that suits your voice. That was what it was about.''

For the launch Killeen will play all of the new songs, as well as offer highlights from her 2007 debut release, Back There, and even a couple of favourites from her time spent as part of the duo Sweeney Killeen.

It will be the start of an exciting phase in the performer's career. Late next month she will relocate from Queensland to Sydney.

''I moved to Brisbane originally for a radio show I was doing [Heatwave Country] and that's now finished,'' she said. ''I was always flying to NSW for gigs. Sydney is the hub and it's where you need to be. If you want to forge ahead I think Sydney really is the place to be.''
 

Newsletter

Subscribe now to be kept up to date with the latest news and events.

Member Login

Please login to be able to chat.