Genevieve Donaldson

Sounds Like: a melodramatic poet who listens to too much pop-punk, electronica, hip-hop, bluegrass, and stand-up comedy

I started off as a Trip-Pop singer back in 2001. Fresh out of the Elite section of a Pop/R&B Singing School, I didn’t have much of a clue about the music industry, except I knew that I could sing, write, and that it was important to dress like a pop starlet.

As I went along, I started learning more about what it really means to be a muso, that sometimes image and talent do not go hand-in-hand, and that music was a tough place to want to make a profession out of. But I was hooked, and the feeling that it was ‘right’ was too strong to counteract. Not that I’d want to. In 2002, I started discovering a side of me that loved dark humor with a passion, and being a fairly strong-willed, melodramatic person, I left the singing school to develop some dark-sounding Jazz/Cabaret material that I’d been working on. I entered one of the songs I’d written, called Privy, into the Great American Song Contest in 2002, and it received 10 out of 10 for originality. It’s been my ‘baby’ ever since, and in 2005 it sparked my idea for spin-offs, including a novel and manga. I have a very vivid imagination, and often get visual ideas which then turn into written songs.

I did a few Jazz walkup nights, but still didn’t feel like I’d found my feet in the industry. So I packed up my life in Melbourne, and moved back home with my parents for 6 months. In that time, I discovered Bluegrass via an Alison Krauss & Union Station concert on Music Max. Something in the genre resonated with me strongly, and I went out and tracked down the CD of the concert. To this day it’s still one of my favorite CDs. Anyway, I’d gotten into Bluegrass, and on the side was listening to Pop-Punk and Hip-Hop. But then I started watching CMT, and got hooked on Country. I bugged my folks about it, they said just listen and you’ll find favorites.

I started listening to The Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, and Garth Brooks, and then got into Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, and Brad Paisely. I really liked the structures and vocals of Country, and began writing some new material in the genre for myself. Eventually I recorded a 3-track Pop-Country EP called The Red Letter Project, two songs from which won Honors Awards in The Great American Song Contest in 2003 & 2004. In 2003, I was going around with my speakers, mixer, and CD backings, and performing Country anywhere I was allowed to. I was completely in love with the genre, and for a while wouldn’t listen to anything else. But time changes people, and eventually my old influences started creeping back in. But this time, in a new way. In 2005 I moved back to Melbourne to keep honing my sound and pursuing new musical interests.

I got into the Bluegrass scene in Melbourne in 2006, and have been performing Bluegrass in various capacities as a singer in that scene since. Over the last few months, I fell ill and went on hiatus from life, discovering new & old music that I really love, and writing & recording a lot of new material. My sound has moved away from its Pop-Country beginnings, into a version of Alt-Country that is also influenced by Mod-Punk, Pop-Punk, and Bluegrass. I’ve also matured as a songwriter, and become more gutsy and emotional with my wordplay, finally finding a way to weave my dark sense of humor into the songs I’m writing. I’m excited about where I’m heading as an artist, and will never retire.