BY CHLOE HASSON, BLUE STOCKINGS
In early 2020, I received a message request from a girl named Alison Paris.
She had a vision: she wanted to break free from the confines of classical music; she wanted to explore music in all its forms.
Coming from a background of both classical and very much folk-country music, I was all for it. I moved from Townsville in 2017, and since then hadn’t had the chance to explore my love of music as I was able to in my hometown. I thought, “Finally! Someone who understands me”. And here we are, several years later.
Breaking free of our comfort zones
I think as a musician, it is easy to get comfortable in the scene you are good at. No one really wants to be that person who asks too many questions, or doesn’t know how to do something.
I think that’s what I really appreciate about Blue Stockings. Alison and I were both willing to break the stigma – to perform our craft anywhere and everywhere, all the while exploring different genres. Sometimes, these are genres we have never laid eyes on. It’s fun! And a little goofy!
The first obstacle was finding our “band” name. After many nights of pondering with a glass of wine in hand, I started to think about the word stockings. For some reason, I chose the colour blue – and voila! Blue Stockings.
Later, after doing a little Google search to make sure we could use this name, I came across a society of the mid-18th-Century that put emphasis on education for women in England: intellectual women forming a society known as Blue Stockings. I thought, “There is no way! Two strong, creative, and intellectual women?”. I’m talking us up right now – but as if we couldn’t name ourselves Blue Stockings.
Testing our audiences (and ourselves)
As we began our musical journey together, we mostly explored classical and art music, incorporating this with other genres.
We began performing at local Brisbane markets, testing our ability to throw in a classical piece every now and then to see if anyone noticed. Most of our remarks were, “Oh, that was just beautiful!”. We knew we were onto something special.
After a year or so of working together, a friendship formed. This is when we started to get creative; we began to think outside of the box. How can we be different? How can we express our love for art music, among many other genres?
In our own backyard
In 2021, we hosted a Backyard Salon Sessions in my backyard shed. This was a way to express the love we have for music of all kinds, and show how we are different; how we are special (as corny as it sounds!). We explored folk music, celebrated women though word and song, and explored the likes of Spanish composers.
Since then, we have performed around local Brisbane settings, and are looking into recording our own original music later in the year.
We are now journeying through a very heart-warming self-composed song cycle Colourless: A Collection of Poetry, exploring my GranPa’s wit and intellect; something that is very special to me.
Making music our way
Coming from a university degree that is so rigid, it was scary at first to break away from the confines of classical music. What if people judged me? What if what I am doing isn’t good enough?
Those thoughts quickly disappeared when I realised: I am doing what I want to do with the skills and knowledge that I have.
To me, there is no point in putting in the hours – the years of dedication – to be unhappy.
Of course, I am very thankful for the opportunities I have had to get me to where I am today, and as a result of them, I have the ability to wander off into the abyss and try new and crazy things.
After each performance, it is so much more thrilling. Instead of playing a recital that was mapped out for me, I get to play and sing alongside a good friend; and most of the music, we have written. That’s what makes it worthwhile.
Reconnecting with my passion
After I finished my Bachelor of Music, it was hard for me to enjoy playing guitar. I couldn’t even get it out of its case, unless it was absolutely necessary.
I continued to participate in a few ensembles; this pushed me to continue playing. When Alison and I first started the contemporary style, it was blissful. I thought, ‘Wow! This is easy, and fun, and cool’. I hadn’t played pop music since my teenage years, when I’d work out songs on the radio with my dad and sister.
If I hadn’t said ‘Yes’ to Alison’s message request a couple years ago, I doubt I would have found my passion for music again as quickly as I have.
Performing classical music hits that everyone has heard before is an entirely different experience to hearing something new. People crave different! They want to hear things no one has heard before. That’s the biggest difference I have noticed between performing classical music, and making our own style.
I could get up and play a Bach lute suite, and there would be particular expectations to uphold: Did I play it the way Bach intended? Rather, did I play it the way society intended? But that whole stigma disappeared. A lot of my friends started attending my performances with Blue Stockings, something I had never before seen with my solo classical guitar performances.
I believe people are generally more interested to hear versatility. Blue Stockings can play a few classical pieces in our repertoire – but also accompany them with the beautiful tones of Joni Mitchell.
As I consider myself quite new to Brisbane, I’m still getting to know people and build connections. However, I think what Blue Stockings has achieved is being able to build connections and a network within, as well as outside of, the classical realm.
Music and words
I have always had a love for writing and reading. English was my favourite subject throughout my schooling years – to the point where I even considered a university degree in the field. But alas! Here I am playing guitar.
When I was quite young, around 10, my GranPa gave each family member a printed collection of his poetry favourites – poems he had written himself. I have fond memories of him writing poems for certain occasions, while also writing poems to express random thoughts he pondered. From that day, my tiny self would write poems to give to my GranPa, almost as a way of saying, “Hey! I appreciate your wisdom. I want to be like you; I want to write”.
My GranPa has lived a rather interesting life, and it has been a really lovely opportunity to get to know him on a more personal level; to get to know the person he was before my existence.
I had a random thought one Blue Stockings rehearsal, and posed the idea to Alison that we should put song to word. We thought, ‘Why not? What do we have to lose?’.
Poems from my grandfather
My GranPa served in the Royal Australian Air Force for many, many years before settling in Townsville. Many of my family served in World War II, with even a street in Townsville named after us.
GranPa honours our ancestors so deeply: he’s the first one to put his hand up for Anzac Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies at his retirement village. The poem titled Remembrance Day is particularly special. It was published in the local paper, and is a poem that our family holds in our hearts. We’ll play it in our concert; it was also published in an issue of the Townsville Bulletin a few years ago.
I love listening to a song and feeling something. I love reading words and feeling something. Combine poetry and music, and it becomes a magical, magical thing.
Most of my close friends don’t particularly like my music taste. This can be difficult in some social settings when I never get handed the aux cord in the car. No one wants to listen to music with too many words to digest; music that is too raw. Yet I grew up with family who could tell a story. We listened to so much beautiful music, and we love words.
To know that the words come from my GranPa – and I can appreciate them, and use my knowledge and Alison’s knowledge to create song – is just amazing.
We have composed seven songs – some we wrote together, others were written solo. Mostly, we had ideas, we shared them, and we built the songs from a base the other person came up with.
I think this is a great way of writing. It’s difficult to show someone your creation, but what is truly cool is when they listen and they hear potential. We helped each other with every song, to make it better.
At home in our music
People love plants. People love things that are niche. I think we have definitely built something that, performed in the right setting, makes people feel warm and cosy. Surrounded by nature, and listening to the story of someone else’s GranPa. These are things that people will be able to relate to.
We were originally looking at staging Colourless: A Collection of Poems surrounded by books and literature. However, when we thought of the idea to perform at Mappins Nursery and Aquarium, alongside All the Green Things, I think we realised that the venue would make people feel more at home.
I am beyond thrilled that we are making this event into a reality. My little family from Townsville is able to shine. I think it’s important to recognise and celebrate the everyday person. Not everyone gets to be well-known, even after achieving some pretty tremendous things. My family is special to me, as probably everyone else’s family is special to them. We all carry stories that have been told throughout generations, we all have people within our families we admire. I think for me, performing Colourless: A Collection of Poetry is a way to thank my family. I care for them deeply, and appreciate their love and support for me.
If you too love a good story – if you love music that tells a tale – come along and see us play.
Blue Stockings will perform Colourless: A Collection of Poems at 6.30pm May 7, Mappin’s Nursery and Aquarium. A second intimate performance will take place at 5.30pm May 14, All the Green Things in West End. Keep up to date with Blue Stockings on Facebook.
Images supplied.
