In the sleepy town of Darraweit Guim in the Macedon Ranges, four sisters woke up Christmas morning about eight years ago to a gift from their parents. The gift was a drum kit, and it would change their lives in ways they could never imagine.
Fast track to 2013 and Amy, Hannah, Sarah and Holly Findlay, also known as psychedelic rock group Stonefield, are about to begin a 22-show tour featuring their debut self-titled album.
“I’m just really excited now because we’ve done everything we can. Now we’re just hoping everyone else enjoys it and we’re just letting it take its course,” says 20-year-old guitarist Hannah.
Back to Christmas morning … eldest sister Amy (then 15, now 23) called first dibs on the drum kit and went on to get lessons.
Not wanting to copy their elder sister, the other girls chose to learn different instruments.
Sarah, 19, found her way around a keyboard and Holly, 15, can rock a bass with the best of them.
You wouldn’t guess it listening to her powerful and raw vocals, but Amy is quite softly spoken as she talks about how living in a small, rural town led the girls to their passion.
“It wasn’t like you could go and hang out at a shopping centre with your friends, and you can’t really just walk next door to see a friend,” Amy says.
“We spent a lot of time just at home. Mum and Dad always had music on and we were inspired by that. Where we grew up there’s not a lot of people that we feel we can relate to. Not a lot of people are into our kind of scene; they’re not into bands. So we’ve always kind of stuck together.”
The foursome could have been inspired by the music their parents listened to – ’70s rock gods such as Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Led Zeppelin – but Amy and Hannah maintain their musical talent doesn’t come from their mum or dad.
“They know it didn’t come from them,” Hannah says with a laugh. “They’re not musical at all. I think it’s from our uncles because they play in bands.”
Amy adds: “Our mum and dad met through their brothers who played in a band together.”
But it’s safe to say their parents are their biggest fans.
“They’re really proud, they absolutely love it,” Amy says, “and they always want to be a part of it. They feel like they’re missing out if they’re not at a show.”
Hannah adds: “Mum and Dad used to say, ‘If you keep on going you could probably make a career out of it’.”
One of their first gigs was an open mic night, where a mix of chaos and nerves hit the girls before the show. But Hannah recalls that once the music started, everything went smoothly.
In 2010, they entered Triple J’s Unearthed High competition, an avenue for young Australian artists to get airplay for their original songs.
“When we entered Unearthed High we didn’t think we’d win because there were heaps of other good bands,” Hannah says. “And then we won it and everything just started happening and it all happened so fast. It was pretty crazy.”
Crazy is an understatement. The girls went from playing their first interstate show at the One Movement festival in Perth to being asked to play at the iconic Glastonbury Festival in the UK.
“One of the bookers from Glastonbury was there [in Perth], he listened to us, he liked our band and said ‘I want you to play in Glastonbury’,” Amy recalls. Hannah adds: “I don’t think any of us believed we were doing it until we were on the plane going there. Even then it was just crazy.”
The sisters had to learn to multitask: juggle their music with their schooling. While recording their latest album, Sarah and Holly were in high school. “They started doing distance education this year,” says Hannah. “Holly had fallen really far behind before we went into the studio so she was madly trying to catch up, which was hard when we were recording our debut album and she’s trying to do school work as well. Sarah is doing year 12 over two years.”
The close-knit sisters debunk any perceptions about spats being rife on tour buses and planes. Hannah says it’s not as challenging as you might assume.
“We do have our little tiffs, but we normally get over it pretty quickly. And I think it works well compared to if you were in a band with your friends or something. I feel like, then, there would be a bit of tension after a fight, but with us we say what we want to say, get over it and move on. And then we’re best friends again.”
Other challenges while touring include getting enough sleep, not partying too hard and, for Amy, not losing her powerful voice. “I’m always singing at the top of my range, so as you know when you get sick or tired you get a croaky voice and you lose your top register.
“I’m constantly just trying to sleep as much as I can and just really take care of my voice. That’s probably the hardest bit, and I don’t party with everyone afterwards – obviously that’s better for your vocal cords.”
The girls don’t plan to go their separate ways any time soon. Stonefield remains their focus.
“The plan for the next year is this album, touring, hopefully going overseas and more writing,” Amy says.
“We will probably always play together even if we go back to playing open mics. I think we’ll always stick together. One day we might try to do our own thing, as well as being in the band, but you never know.”
Stonefield’s debut album is out now.
