The force of nature that is Amy Taylor swept into BIGSOUND this week for a knockout keynote, an all-Australian origin story that strolled through her journey from a “little terror” to bonafide rock star fronting Amyl and the Sniffers.
Taylor is no stranger to the mic, and performing to attentive crowds. Addressing a daytime industry audience in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, however, wasn’t on her bingo card for this or any year.
“This is super different for me,” she admitted. “I don’t even think I’ve ever written an essay.”
Taylor nailed the moment, inviting guests for a ride that was at times hilarious, and heavy, but as honest as any presentation at the annual conference.
Opening with a poem, Taylor, 28, urged women and artists to “turn the volume down on the bad stuff, turn the volume up on the good stuff,” dream big, enjoy success, and celebrate with those grabbing a chance to shine.
“If there’s one thing about my parents that I’ve learnt, it’s that working hard and resourcefulness is a really big skill to have,” she explained. Her folks are “super innovative and creative and very, very hard working.”
That apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
As a youngster, “all I wanted to do was be a little terror and just rip around the town and explore the world, I guess,” she recounted. “I kind of just wanted to intimidate people (but) still a legend.” With the benefit of hindsight, “I actually wanted to dominate. And I just wanted to get in trouble.”
Taylor channeled that energy into rock ‘n’ roll, forming the band eight years ago and embarking on a journey that has seen Taylor and co. collect awards, sell out tours around the world, and, sadly, be branded sell-outs for hitting those high marks.
“Tall poppy culture in Australia is fucking real,” she admitted. “I always have felt ashamed of things that are doing well. So, what I tried to do is just overcompensate by being as proud as I can. But I did feel a lot of rejection and a lot of judgment from people as we got better, which is super confusing. It’s like an inverted hell. It does really confuse you; you don’t want your peers to disregard you because you’re an ambitious person, especially as an ambitious woman. I’m super proud to be ambitious.
“I have a lot of big dreams. I wanna experience all that life can give me, I don’t wanna hold myself back just because other people don’t want me to do something. I do wanna play these bigger shows. I love small shows. I do wanna push through and play overseas.”
Her advice? “Don’t feel ashamed of it if you have bigger dreams than what your peers like. Because if you push through, it might help change the culture.
“Why should you limit yourself and not try and get money and enjoy being creative? And you deserve to get paid for being creative as well.”
Taylor’s address covered more terrain than a rally car with a full tank, hitting on politics, music and capitalism, and exposure to sexual abuse.
“I’ve experienced crap from all different things before music, after music. I’ve honestly had people try and get me in their cars. I’ve had people throw rocks at me and tell me I’m a goddamn slut. I’ve had people grope me.
“I’ve seen it all,” she said. “I’ve been sexually assaulted at my own shows many times and I’ve got in lots of fights about it.”
It’s “tough out there for women,” she warned, “but I’m not a pussy and I’ll fight everybody and anybody about it.”
Taylor is punching on and won’t give up the good fight. “Big ups to bogan Aussie chicks and big up to anyone giving it a crack. You can endure way more than you think you can,” she insisted. “Life is a meaningless playground and you just should enjoy it.”
For Amyl and the Sniffers, that playground swings into action once again with the October 25th release of Cartoon Darkness, the punk rockers’ third studio album, which will be supported by a major international tour and a “cheeky last-minute” show in Melbourne on September 14th.
