Liz Stringer

Fresh from a tour of Germany, Liz Stringer is back in the country and instantly playing keys for friend and fellow musician Mia Dyson on her national tour, before playing her own solo tour around the country to promote her new live CD and DVD. Meet a very busy woman.
“It’s good to have work and I work full-time as a musician, so it’s important for me to always be doing stuff financially but also creatively,” explains Stringer. “I’m on the road with Mia for a month, which is really good because it kind of re-energises me creatively.”
Later this month Liz will be releasing her first live album and DVD, the perfect way to segue from one period of her career to the next.
“We filmed a solo gig at the Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford back in May, so it’s a full DVD production and a live album, which is very exciting,” says Stringer. “It’s all songs from my back catalogue. There are no new songs on there and they are all just stripped-back to their original form. It’s great and it’s a nice way to wrap this chapter.”
Despite releasing a number of albums before this, the live album has been a brand new experience for Liz, who found it had its confronting moments.
“It feels really strange,” says Stringer. “The post-production stage was still pretty tricky, we spend a lot of time in the studio getting the mixes right, because even though it was only a voice and a guitar it’s more complicated than any of us had anticipated. Also, it was quiet confronting having to go in and work on songs that are completely live and solo because there is nowhere to hide.”
The addition of the DVD was an idea that grew over time, allowing both fans and those new to Liz’s music alike the opportunity to see what she is all about.
“I thought it would be great to have some content of my playing live, because that’s what I do, my main thing is playing live,” says Stringer. “I guess it’s a real instant introduction into what I’m about as a musician and it grew from doing one or two clips to deciding to film the whole gig.”
Along with her first live CD and DVD Liz will soon be embarking on her first fully solo tour, beginning at the end of this month in Melbourne.
“It’s going to be total solo, except for maybe a couple of guests at a couple of shows,” says Stringer. “But the plan is to do it completely solo and basically play some of those songs from the album and play some new material … I’ve got a lot of new songs I want to give a run.”
Liz won’t be alone for the whole tour however, taking a few breaks along the way to play some festivals with good friends Mia Dyson and Jen Cloher.
“It’s such a jam-packed end of the year and we get to play Kennedys Creek Music Festival and Queenscliff with the girls, which is awesome,” says Stringer. “That’s a really fun band because there is so much going into it. There are three song writers and everyone are really amazing instrumentalists. It’s a real buzz playing with those girls.”
When&Where: The Bridge, Castlemaine – October 31
By Zach Broadhurst