If you’ve followed Tonight Alive over their nine years in the limelight, you’d know Jenna McDougall. Not only has the singer established herself as one of Australia’s most powerful rock vocalists, but also as a feminist, an activist and a role model.
But behind the scenes things were different. McDougall, whose lyrics had so often helped fans suffering through mental illness, was falling victim to very similar illnesses.
“I can see why it’s hard to connect the dots because I am quite extroverted and empowered when it comes to music, but when I’m off stage I’m a very sensitive person. I’m currently in the midst of a lot of healing and self-discovery,” she gently reflects.
A process which involved the singer relocating to Melbourne in an attempt to revitalise her life.
“I started spending time in Melbourne a few years ago,” she says. “After we made Underworld [fourth studio album, 2018], I came down to see a photographer friend Neal Walters. We were planning on making a film/zine that we did shoot but never made, but I just loved spending time down here.
“It may sound unusual for someone my age but it made me feel young again. I went from high school into touring and I never really got the chance to experience a young adult lifestyle, so coming here, I socialised more and had more extroverted energy to offer the world. With touring, I feel as if I’d become a very private person and I didn’t like going out, I didn’t like socialising, I had no interest in nightlife and never went to gigs.
“I’m just much more excitable now and Melbourne helps with that a lot. There’s so much to do and see and play with that I feel I’ve had a much more playful life since coming down here. For the first time, I have a lifestyle that I really enjoy and resonate with and I find that really enriching. It’s been a big year for personal development.”
While discussing the in’s and out’s of self-healing, I decided to take the opportunity to ask Jenna if recollecting on previous lyrics she’s penned can be either a cathartic or surprising process.
“I haven’t had enough time for Underworld to shock me yet but I’m sure in a couple of years I’ll be surprised by some of the stories I was telling, but it’s funny you ask that.
“Because we are playing Unify, we have been going back through our songs trying to decide what will be in the set. In terms of what you just said, relistening to our first and second records again, I was quite alarmed by some of the lyrics.
“I remember reading them and thinking ‘this is alarming, this is literally textbook depression.’ I guess I was a lot younger at the time, it’s not as if I didn’t have access to therapy, it just wasn’t present in my life and I didn’t really know how to improve myself at the time so it is funny you say that because I guess it’s only now I’m learning how revealing music can be.”
Playing their first show in over a year, Tonight Alive will be hitting up the stage at Unify next year and this time around they are bringing some friends along to join the set.
“It will be really exciting, this will be the first time we’ve done on stage collaborations like this,” she smiles. “I think it’ll be really fun, I feel like collaboration is such a big essence of this arrangement and it’s exciting to share voices and instruments with friends.”
UNIFY Gathering takes over Tarwin Lower between Thursday, January 9 and Sunday, January 12. You can purchase tickets www.unifygathering.com/tickets/
Written by Alex Callan
