Amanda Goodwin Newsletter Interview

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

My recent album release party which was held at Ra Bar, Dunedin. It was so good to play in front of a full house of friends and supporters, and to have an album to show for all my hard work was great. And my band were awesome.

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

Aaradhna, and Ardijah – who I havent heard much from lately, but are great. I love strong soulful female vocalists.

What inspires you when writing your lyrics?

Life and relationships… nothing too depressing. I am a firm believer in music making you feel good so majority of my songs are about love and relationships. Also anything I feel passionate about at the time.

How do you describe your music?

The music I love is soul music, so I kind of sing like that. When I write songs they tend to come out like soulful pop songs. But then when I take the songs to my band however – they turn them into funk songs, which is great. I have some very talented musicians playing with me – Joe Setefano, James Davey, Simon Barr and Scott Brown is amazing on the bass.

What can we expect to see from you over the next year?

Performing as much as we can. Now we have the album finished I want to get it out there. We are based in Dunedin, so plenty of gigs here. Probably venture to Invercargill and Queenstown this year also.

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Stick at it no matter what, and make sure it always stays enjoyable. Practise heaps.