‘The Butterfly Effect’ Presents: EUCA
Joining us to headline at our very first edition of The Butterfly Effect will be Gold Coast’s magical soft-rock goddess: EUCA.
First and foremost a lyricist, her story-telling highlights her deep-rooted folk influences in an otherwise pop-rock parcel.
A force to be reckoned with EUCA is bright, dark and everything in-between.
We had a chat to Eilish about the importance of The Butterfly Effect, what it’s like to be a female in today’s music industry and why we still have so far to go…
Show some love, check it out…
Hey Eilish, how the heck are you!?
So great! New song out, shows coming up, all the good stuff! So, I can’t complain.
First things first, for anyone that isn’t familiar with ‘EUCA’ – describe your music to us in 4 words…
Bright, dark, everything in-between.
Aaand what does the name mean!
Well like you know, my first name is Eilish. So, I always expected growing up that when I eventually released music, I would just use my first name as it was pretty unique back then! But when Billie Eilish came along… I needed something new. I just found myself driving by a massive field of eucalyptus trees and thought the word could be perfect. I played around with it some and landed on Euca.
You’ve just released a brand new single titled ‘Spite’, tell us about that!
Spite is about having a ‘success is the best revenge’ attitude. It’s a love song to bitterness and all the good it’s brought me. I was really keen to release this one because it was the track I’d open shows with. It’s a personal favourite.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
I’d love people to take away a sense of strength and absolute from my songs. I personally love listening to a song and it striking an emotional twang in my gut, happy or sad – I’d love to pass that on.
What does it mean to you to be a part of Ungraineds ‘Butterfly Effect’?
To me, it means I am being noticed and welcomed by the right groups in the industry who stand for what I stand for and want to be a part of change. I am ecstatic to be the first headline of the series. It’s an honour.
The creation of the ‘Butterfly Effect’ is to celebrate and support QLD up-and-coming female and non-binary musicians – why do you think this is of importance?
Despite the increasing awareness of gendered issues, women and non-binary people alike are still in need of the support they deserve from our industry. Even with all of the sweat and tears put into gender equality over the past few years, we still operate in a severely male-dominated industry. I am excited to represent such a good cause that’s close to home and meaningful to me.
Now, tell me about your experience in the music industry– As an artist has how you identify affected aspects of your career? Have you experienced sexism/inequality firsthand?
I’d say that identifying as a woman my whole life has affected my career! The constant sense of not being taken seriously, being spoken over, being disregarded and disrespected – you carry that with you into any workplace. I can recall countless times I’ve even entered guitar stores and been ridiculed and treated as if I know nothing just because I’m a chick – and that’s only a minor encounter in comparison to that which we face. Entitled shitty people are everywhere – we’re all still navigating through that.
Do you think there’s a double standard in the industry and that it is much harder to succeed in the industry when you are from a marginalized group?
Absolutely. Marginalized groups are even still being treated like a ‘gimmick’ by some, rather than respected by worthy contenders and contributors to our industry. I still hear comments like “they only got that opportunity because they are non-binary/gay/trans” etc. It’s bullshit and they deserve better.
If you could change one thing about the Brisbane/GC music industry what would it be?
More gals, gays and theys. Diversity still has a huge way to go in our area.
What do you think needs to be done moving forward?
I think series’ such as The Butterfly Effect are a great place to start for any venue or booking agent. Focusing your funding on these marginalised groups is how the norms of the industry will change. I also think our government needs to funnel more money into women’s and non-binary people’s musical education. I’d love to see boot camps or courses for those wanting to learn an instrument and make careers out of it. I know many musicians who were embarrassed or scared to even learn an instrument in their younger years as it was such a boy’s club.
Now to support local, give a shout out to 3 other female/non-binary artists making their way through the music scene that you love.
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Imbi the girl (I think their Spotify is just imbi now)
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Flowerkid (omg those VOCALS)
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RVG (total Aussie rock hours).
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Finally, to wrap it up let’s do a few rapid-fire Q’s:
· Best song to sing in the shower to?
- Paul Kelly’s ‘How To Make Gravy’
· Favourite Brisbane venue?
- Black Bear Lodge
· Best beverage?
- Gin & Tonic with cucumber NOT LIME
· Fun fact about you:
- I worked as a camp counsellor In America when I was 18 and all the kids called me Scotty.
· If you could tour with one artist, who would it be?
- Ball Park Music if I’m going for similar energy, James Blake if I’m just picking idols!
Catch EUCA at our very first The Butterfly Effect event on May 1st at Tomcat.
Grab a ticket and come show your love and support for some stellar acts.
What is The Butterfly Effect?
Our brand new monthly event series created to celebrate and support Queensland’s up-an-coming female and non-binary artists!
