Inarrabri

Feature

10 | iNarrabri Magazine

Interview by Chris Jollow

What is the Georgia Berry life

story in three sentences?

I grew up in Gloucester with my

amazing and very supportive

parents Renee and Graham. I

completed all my schooling at

Gloucester and moved to New-

castle at the age of 18 where I

then began working with children

and joined the band. I am an

obsessive traveller and have seen

over 30 countries with family,

my best friend Phoebe and my

partner of 3 years, Rod - who is a

very talented musician and will be

playing at Tatts with us!

How did Misbehave get

together?

Misbehave has been around a

long time before me. It is a local

Newcastle band that I joined four

and a half years ago.

What is the story behind the

band’s name?

My manager Mark is very cheeky

so I wouldn’t be surprised if he

came up with the name. He is

hilarious, a real joker, he is great.

How would you describe a

“Misbehave” performance?

Misbehave performances vary to

suit what the event is. We are all

very relaxed and do it because

we love it. We keep ourselves

grounded and fresh by perform-

ing the newer songs by Sia, Pink,

Katy Perry, The Preature’s, Vance

Joy, Adele and Ed Sheeran but

keeping the golden oldies in mind

like The Eagles, Choirboys, Roll-

ing Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Neil

Young and Travelling Wilbury’s.

There really is something for

everyone.

Whereabouts have you played?

We play at any Newcastle estab-

lishment you can think of that

caters for live music. We are very

lucky to have such an enthusiastic

manager who goes through ven-

ues independently - allowing us

to be free from contracts. This al-

lows us to play anywhere without

causing a conflict of interest. We

are just in it for the music.

Your most memorable

performance?

We often do private functions and

weddings and one of my most

memorable moments during my

time with Misbehave was a Hunter

Valley wedding where we played

the father daughter dance. The

bride and her father where both

in tears and in that moment I

realised that we had made that

unforgettable moment for them

so special. The bride looked at

me with tears in her eyes and

mouthed the words “thank you”.

I’ll never forget that.

Funniest moment on stage?

Which one to pick! (laughing) We

are the most relaxed people. We

do it for fun and without a doubt

there is always something that

cracks us up - whether it be a

wrong verse, wardrobe malfunc-

tion, wrong chord... We are all so

supportive of each other and I

know that being the singer, I just

keep going and no matter what

the band will always have my back

and never let me be in the left

field for too long, they somehow

come together and we end up

back at the right spot without

anyone even knowing.

What can a Narrabri audience

expect?

A party! Misbehave will bring

Narrabri a fantastic weekend,

I’m positive my Dad (Graham)

has been telling everyone about

it! I’m really looking forward to

coming and visiting the town that

Dad has been raving about, he

really loves it, so does Mum. It will

be nice to finally see the town and

meet the lovely people I’ve been

hearing so much about.

What’s the element that you

most enjoy about performing?

I love being appreciated for

singing and playing. My favourite

gigs are the ones where people

actually pay attention and absorb

my vocal performance and the

playing of the incredible musicians

beside me. I also love playing with

my other half Rod. It’s nice when

we can do a gig together as he

is a full time musician playing as

Jon English’s lead guitarist and

playing George Harrison in the

Beatle Boys. Rod has just released

his own album on iTunes “Rodney

Auld – Four Walls and a View” so

he is busy touring nationally and

internationally, so when we are

able to play together it’s really

nice.

How do you prepare for a gig?

Every gig is different but the

one thing that remains the same

is that I am always rushing. But

once I am at the gig, a glass of

good merlot usually sorts me out

(laughing).

Who are your influences?

I try to just be myself and concen-

trate on my own sound and tone.

I find myself aspiring to artists

that interest me such as London

Grammar, Meg Mac, The Prea-

tures, Sia and Lana Del Ray. I love

their form of writing and the way

they are able to tell stories with

their music. I love a good hook.

Who are you listening to at the

moment?

I love artists such as Meg Mac,

London Grammar, The Preatures,

Sia, Lana Del Ray, Vance Joy, Tom

Petty, Ryan Adams. I listen to

Triple J every day.

When you’re not gigging, what

are you doing?

I am a qualified Early Childhood

teacher and work at an incredible

service in Gloucester. Gloucester

Preschool really is something

special and it is a pleasure to

work there, hence why I travel

two hours to get there from the

Hunter Valley where Rod, myself

and Rod's son, 12 year old Har-

rison, live. We recently bought

our dream home in the Valley and

have been renovating with the

help of mum and dad since April.

We have been working hard and

it has been a real focus for us to

complete the house, so we have

been doing that in any spare time

possible. Harrison is aspiring to be

just like his dad and is currently

recording his own album in our

studio at our home (as Rod is a

recording producer.) It’s his dad's

and his "special time" and it is so

lovely to see to end product that

they have worked so hard on.

Rod, Harrison and I make film

clips for his songs in the back-

yard and the house, which then

furthers into editing and making

album covers, so we are pretty

busy all the time, but love every

minute!

Apart from music, what other

interests do you have?

I am interested in anything

creative and design based. I love

cooking which I learnt from my

Nanna (my mum’s mother, Dor-

othy) at a young age which has

followed me into adult life, gar-

dening and growing vegetables

and fresh produce for my family.

But it really comes back to music,

with such a strong influence from

the Berry side of the family. Poppa

Mick would always bring out the

guitar at any family event and

still does to this day! It is such a

beautiful way of life. I really have

been so blessed to have such an

incredible, supportive family on

both mum and dad’s side.

And finally, the big question -

baked beans or spaghetti?

Definitely sushi!

Performing in Narrabri for the first time, Georgia Berry is excited to

be bringing "Misbehave" to a town she has heard so much about!

georgia berry - "misbehave"

photo: supplied