Julia Deans channels Joni Mitchell in Both Sides Now

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Singer Julia Deans' appreciation for Joni Mitchell came later in life, she is now performing Mitchell's most loved hits in Both Sides Now.

Julia Deans is one of New Zealand's favourite rock musicians.

As well as having fronted iconic Kiwi band Fur Patrol, Deans is known for her dynamic voice, penning hits like Lydia, as well as her signature copper locks.

Julia Deans performs with Shayne Carter and Jon Toogood as part of The Adults at the Classic Hits Winery Tour at Mystery Creek, 2013.

So it seemed fitting to speak with Deans while she sat at the Stephen Marr hair salon in Takapuna, waiting for her colour to process.

However, in her latest show, Both Sides Now, Deans channels a famous blonde, Joni Mitchell.

Deans with long-time-pal and fellow Kiwi singer Anika Moa, at NZ on Airs' 21st Birthday in 2011.

“I fell in love with the music, and it was a really nice experience to have a discovery like that, they're so rare once you get a bit older I think” Deans says of Joni Mitchell's music.

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The show, which premiered in 2014 as part of the Auckland International Cabaret Season, features on the New Zealand Festival bill in Wellington this weekend.

To appreciate the music, you do not have to be a lifelong, devout fan of Mitchell, after all, Deans wasn't.

Producer Shane Bosher approached Deans with the idea of Both Sides Now after having worked with her and Shihad's John Toogood on The Words and Music of Jacques Brel.

Deans was keen to be on board, only, there was one small detail – she had never been a big fan of Joni Mitchell.

It was not that she disliked the music or went out of her way to avoid it, it had just never been on her radar.

'Somehow I'd managed to get through 40 years of life without having spent any real time delving into Joni's songbook, ' Deans says.

'I only knew a handful of her more well-known songs like Big Yellow Taxi, of course, and Blue. So when Shane asked me, I had to admit I didn't really know her work, rather embarrassingly.'

What followed was a journey in discovering Mitchell's music, and making up for lost time.

Deans asked her friends and followers on social media what their favourite Joni Mitchell songs were.

She received hundreds of replies, jotted down the most popular suggestions, and got YouTubing.

'I went away and listened to a whole bunch of songs and felt a little bit dumb having missed out on that for so long.

'Once I started delving into her songbook, it was like somebody lifted the lid on a box and a glowing light came shining out of it.

'I fell in love with the music, and it was a really nice experience to have a discovery like that, they're so rare once you get a bit older I think.'

The song that really sold her was Mitchell's live performance of Amelia at Wembley Arena in 1983.

'It's mesmerising. Every time. And when she sings the line 'I dreamed of 747s over geometric farms', I just implode.'

It is one of Deans' favourite songs to sing in the show, which she says is not a tribute act.

'I'm not going to wear a blonde wig and smoke endless cigarettes on stage, and I'm not going to tell stories about Joni, because we want the music to speak for itself. We aren't trying to reinvent her wheel, just play beautiful music.'

One of the biggest challenges that comes with singing Joni Mitchell songs, Deans says, is remembering all the lyrics.

'Because, let's face it, she's not light on words, but they're amazing words, so you don't want to get them wrong. Also, because there are such staunch Joni fans out there, they will know if you get them wrong, and they will let you know.'

Apart from a love of music, Deans feels a sense of commonality with Mitchell in terms making music in what was sometimes a male-dominated era and genre.

'When I was younger, in particular, there weren't a lot of other female artists on the road, and she does actually talk about that in her songs quite a bit, I definitely relate to that.'

Originally from Christchurch, Deans has a very musically diverse background.

She has a soft spot for 1950s-1960s pop music, since her mother used to listen to it a lot when Deans was young.

She adores traditional Irish folk music (also her mother's influence), and moved to Wellington in the early 1990s, after high school, to study jazz, but left after three months.

'I realised I'd been studying classical music all through school and I didn't really want to spend any more time analysing music.

'So after a couple of months in Wellington, I joined the Irishy punk band Banshee Reel, and realised that was a way more fun tertiary education.'

With Deans on lead vocals and guitar, Banshee Reel went on to release two albums and tour New Zealand and Canada.

It catapulted an 18-year-old Deans into the life of a touring rock musician and taught her more than a course ever could.

It was a few years later that Fur Patrol formed, which went on to win multiple NZ Music Awards, including four for Lydia in 2001.

The song, which Deans wrote in her Mount Victoria flat, hit #1 on the New Zealand charts and was voted one of the Top 20 New Zealand songs of all time by APRA in 2001.

Deans does not mind when she gets asked to play Lydia, she still loves the song.

'I think, as a band, we went through a phase of not wanting to play it because we got over it.

'But I'm really glad I wrote it and very grateful that it resonated with people and it kind of led to a whole lot of opportunities that I may not have had otherwise.'

As well as being a member of rock supergroup The Adults (alongside the likes of Toogood, Tiki Taane and Ladi6), Deans is currently working on her second solo album, We Light Fire, which she will play live at Womad later this month.

By the time we stopped chatting, Deans' hair was done. She goes for a darker tone these days.

'I've always been envious of people with naturally copper hair. It's such an intriguing colour.

'Eventually, I'll just embrace my actual hair colour, and rock the silver, but i've got to reach that tipping point … so for now I'll hold onto just a little bit of fire.'

Julia Deans - Both Sides Now. March 11 to 13, Shed 6.

'Being Joni Mitchell' – a free artist talk featuring Julia Deans and Shane Bosher. March 13, Upstairs at St James Theatre.

For more information, see Festival.co.nz

Julia Deans on five of her favourite Joni Mitchell songs:

Amelia (Live at Wembley Arena, 1983).

'This is the song – the performance – that made me really fall in love with Joni's music. Her guitar playing, her singing, her words… everything about this is just so cool. It's mesmerising. Every time. And when she sings the line 'I dreamed of 747s over geometric farms', I just implode.'

Rainy Night House (Ladies of the Canyon, 1970).

'This is one of those songs that becomes more and more intriguing as the story unfolds. I recently found out it was written about Leonard Cohen, and suddenly everything just made perfect sense.'

Troubled Child (Court & Spark, 1974).

'Never one to mince words, she cuts straight to the point in Troubled Child. The band and I give it bonus points for the music sounding reminiscent of a 1970s cop show theme.'

The Last Time I Saw Richard (Miles of Aisles, 1974).

'If I'm honest, I prefer the version on Blue, but there is so much beauty in this live performance – from the richness and fluidity of her singing, to the band's sympathetic arrangement. I also love the goofy way she drops in the barmaid's voice, proving she definitely doesn't take herself too seriously.'

Woodstock (Live in the BBC Studios, 1970).

'This song has a magic, almost mystical quality, and is one of my favourites to sing – all those soaring highs and sweeping lows. And as someone who suffers from the constant fear of missing out, I find Joni's explanation at the beginning of this clip of how the song came about heartbreaking!'