ELLA Hooper has urged Killing Heidi fans to turn out in force for what is expected to be their last show in a long time.
The pop-rock band is headlining the City of Gosnells’ Illuminate Night Party at Gosnells Oval on Saturday February 17, the beginning of the City’s month-long Homegrown Festival.
The show will be just their second in WA since they officially returned from a lengthy hiatus last year.
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READ NOWHooper, whose effervescent vocals were at the heart of the band’s hit singles Weir, Mascara and Live Without It, promised a hit-laden set, but admitted the show would likely be the last Killing Heidi set for some time.
“This is actually going to be our last gig for quite some time, the Killing Heidi reunion has been going strong for the last year or so, but we never intended it to go on forever and ever and ever,” she said.
“We don’t have anything booked after that for quite a while, so Gosnells is going to get one hell of an emotional, energetic show.
“Killing Heidi feels like the right act for those kind of stages and those kind of events, we bring a big energy and a big show, sometimes it’s nice for us to go to events where that’s already the vibe.”
The singer said she was overwhelmed by the positive response to the band’s 2016 reunion following their aforementioned hiatus.
“I really didn’t know what it was going to be, it was really scary for me; I had been quite resistant to the idea for years,” she said.
“I was like ‘no, it doesn’t need to happen, only us, me, our mum and dad and our dog would care about it, Killing Heidi was a million years ago, who even cares about it?’
“I was quite taken aback by the warmth, energy and the new fans and old fans. There were 20 year olds at our show and I was like ‘how do you even know who we are?’
“Their reaction was amazing and it’s made me feel really, really lucky.”
When Killing Heidi broke out with their 2000 album Reflector, the music scene was a vastly different environment and Hooper said while the internet had hurt the music industry in some ways, it had encouraged more people to pick up an instrument.
“As far as musicians being empowered to send their stuff all around the world and be heard by an audience all around the world, I think it’s been incredibly beneficial,” she said.
“When I was coming up as a musician, it wasn’t that common to be in a band and do rock and roll, but now I feel every second person I meet, they’re all in a band.
“I feel like the internet means a lot of different people will give it a go, you don’t have to get spotted by an A&R guy first, you don’t even have to be signed to a record label now; people are choosing to not be signed because most of their primary functions have been overtaken.”
The City of Gosnells’ Illuminate Night Party is a free, ticketed event. More information can be found at www.gosnells.wa.gov.au/homegrown.
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