FEATURED ARTIST: Mitzi

Something is happening in Brisbane. The northern city is shedding its reputation as the home of the Brisvegas strip and XXXX beer and becoming a hub for new music. And at the forefront of that movement is disco-wave band MITZI.

“Brisbane is really going quite well at the moment” explains Mitzi keyboardist Jad Lee “There are a lot of young, Brisbane bands doing really good things and getting a lot of exposure via Triple J and blogs and local radio and stuff. So it’s starting to get a bit of a buzz around it for new music.”

Lee and his bandmates are no strangers to buzz. Originally intended to be an anonymous venture for Lee and buddy Dom Bird, Mitzi took on a life of it’s own after the pair won a Bang Gang DJs remix competition and were offered the chance to play at Parklife and Stereosonic. The live incarnation of Mitzi blossomed with the addition of Cale Suesskow and Charlie Murdoch and when the four-piece decided ‘we can only go so far instrumental, let’s sing’ Bird and Suesskow became vocalists.

While Lee points out that most Brisbane bands tend to be rock or indie-based, Mitzi’s retro sound has meant that they’ve become something of a go-to for support spots; ‘It’s good to be a bit more unique because it means that if there’s ever a band in town that’s a bit like us, where they’re a bit more electro or dancey, that band will often come to us to be the support.  We always get those opportunities to play with the bands we love.’ Those bands include The Whitest Boy Alive, Little Dragon and Metronomy. Says Lee of the experience; “It was cool playing with international bands who are so successful…and just seeing how they do their live show and taking some ideas and taking notes and that sort of thing.”

Surely it gets exhausting playing warm up spots where you are constantly trying to win people over though?  Lee concedes that it can be daunting “It’s a bit of a tough task but if you do look out to the crowd and they’re starting to dance, and starting to get into your music when they probably haven’t heard you before, it’s a really good feeling.’

MITZI may not be a support act for much longer, making the transition to headliner for Major Raiser’s ‘Let’s Band Together’ show in Sydney on May 5 with the likes of Conics and Glass Towers. “We love coming down there and it’s for a good cause” says Lee of the gig, of which all profits go to The Music Outback Foundation.

Also coming up is a debut album which the band are currently working on, and more live dates: “We’ve been pretty quiet over the past 3 months but there’s a lot around the corner” Lee promises.

And what of Lee’s infamous mane of blonde curls? “We’re fortunate in that we’ve all left our jobs recently to concentrate on doing this album and we don’t have professional lives so to speak, so we don’t have to groom ourselves.  It’s been getting pretty full on but I guess after this, when it starts getting hot again, it’s going to have to have a cut or a trim so watch this space.”

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Words by Nicole Ryan.