I was born in a remote mountainous part of Australia and spent my young life on large cattle stations. I reached the dizzying heights of childhood fame at age 10, playing Maria in our school production of The Sound of Music. My teenage years were spent at the misleadingly named ‘Dingo Creek’ (I have only seen dingoes at the zoo). I studied singing and performed at weddings and parties. I left for the big smoke (Sydney) thinking that music was not really a serious career option.
Fast forward a few years and I have married artist Mark Sutherland, made a couple of albums writing and singing with him in a surf band/film company The Val Dusty Experiment, and moved up the coast to bring up our young family.
Now the songs come easily and performing with my band Rosie and The Thorns is a blast. None of that teenage do-my-feet-look-big-in-these-boots angst! Everything is real in the writing and the songs often arrive fully formed.
To maintain that authenticity, we recorded our debut album in three days. Mick Wordley (Jeff Lang, Delightful Rain…) set up his mobile recording studio in a mud-brick home and we put down 16 songs live. The resultant album — 11 of my original songs and one Beach Boys cover — is Crazy Talk. It is available now on the independent Mixmasters label, with album tour dates planned for Summer 09/10.
- Rosie