Killing Heidi (Australian rock band)

Killing Heidi are an Australian rock band, formed in Violet Town, Victoria, in 1996, initially as a folk-pop duo by siblings Ella and Jesse Hooper. The band has released three studio albums: Reflector (March 2000), which reached No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, Present (October 2002) and Killing Heidi (August 2004). Their top 20 singles are "Weir" (October 1999), "Mascara" (November, No. 1 on ARIA Singles Chart), "Live Without It" (April 2000), "Outside of Me" (September 2002) and "I Am" (July 2004). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 they were nominated in seven categories and won four trophies: Album of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist – Album and Best Rock Album for Reflector. At the APRA Music Awards of 2001 Ella and Jesse Hooper won Songwriter of the Year. The group disbanded in 2006, with Ella and Jesse taking a lower profile with an acoustic folk duo, The Verses. In 2016, it was announced that the band would be reforming to celebrate its 20th anniversary, and the band have continued to tour since. Outside of the band, Ella also has a career as a solo performer, radio presenter and TV personality. Jesse, meanwhile, has a career as a music teacher, producer and community arts developer. Killing Heidi were formed in Violet Town in 1996 as an acoustic folk duo by siblings, Ella Hooper on lead vocals and her older brother, Jesse Hooper, on lead guitar. Violet Town is a small Victorian country town, about 175 km northeast of Melbourne with a population of 1084 (in 2011), where their parents were music, English and drama teachers. In 1996 Ella and Jesse played an early gig at the Violet Town Arts Festival, when Ella was 13 years old and Jess was 15. This gig was supported by the future recipient of the 2001 C.A.S Hawker Scholarship and attorney Stephen Michelson. Ella later described their group as an "acoustic, folky duo with an edge." The name, Killing Heidi, came from using two lists, before their first gig: one filled with "soft" words (Heidi was selected), one with "harsh" words (Killing).[citation needed] Ella recalled in January 2015 that the name was "a play on the end of innocence and embracing imperfection": it was chosen to have something to fill in on the Unearthed entry form. Jamie Durrant of Benalla's Bent Records caught the festival gig and offered them time in his recording studio. With two schoolmates as the rhythm section: Aaron Hart on drums and Rowen Murphy on bass guitar; Killing Heidi recorded "Morning" and "Kettle". These were included on a Bent Records sampler album, Two Bent, with additional tracks by the label's other artists Spudgun, Stealth and Michael Meeking. Killing Heidi also submitted their recordings to the national radio station, Triple J's Unearthed competition in 1996: "Kettle" won the competition for the Goulburn Valley region, in a live broadcast with Jane Gazzo, alongside a track by Stealth. "Kettle" was written by Ella, Jesse and Brian Walton. The group re-recorded the track at ABC's Southbank studios for inclusion on another various artists' album, Triple J Unearthed 4. After winning their section of the Unearthed competition, "Kettle" was placed on high rotation by Triple J. The group had a gig at the Melbourne Push Over concert in 1996. Paul Kosky, a Melbourne-based engineer-producer, who had worked with Crowded House, Rage Against the Machine, Kate Ceberano, and The Clouds, was looking for a new band to manage and record. Kosky had heard "Kettle" on the radio and decided to check them out at Push Over. In March 2000 Kosky recalled that their rhythm section were musically weak, although the siblings showed "a raw talent I knew could be turned into a global appeal." The group signed to his management company in 1997 and his new recording label, Wah Wah Music (established with US-based investor, Chris Robinson) in the following year. Kosky helped develop the band for two years and, as their manager, arranged a distribution deal with Roadshow Music (which also had a contract with Savage Garden) for his own label. By the end of 1997 Killing Heidi had acquired a new rhythm section with Warren Jenkin on bass guitar (Rick Price, Merril Bainbridge, Deborah Conway) and Adam Pedretti on drums (ex-Non-Intentional Lifeform aka NIL). Pendretti described his recruitment, "[Kosky] had worked with NIL as producer, so he knew I could play a little bit off the wall... [he] dropped off a Killing Heidi demo and I started learning the songs. It just took off from there." Killing Heidi recorded the rest of their first studio album, Reflector, throughout 1998 and into 1999. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, Kosky was "meticulously shaping the band's début album"; he worked as their engineer, producer, talent manager and record label co-owner. In July 1999 Killing Heidi performed at the Grounded Festival and then launched their first national tour. To coincide with the festival gig they issued their début single, "Weir", which eventually reached No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart. McFarlane described it as a "winning mix of quiet/loud acoustic/churning electric guitars, adolescent angst and sing-along pop with a funky mid-section." Music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, felt it was "a tale of life after high school." It was certified platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 70,000 copies by the end of that year. The second single "Mascara", about self-image and individuality, was released in November 1999. A five-track maxi-single version, "Mascara"/"Leave Me Alone", followed in January 2000. This version reached the top of the national charts, on 30 January, which was Ella's 17th birthday. It stayed at No. 1 for three weeks, and was certified platinum at the end of that year. "Mascara" was accompanied by a music video, which was directed by Kosky. He recalled, "There was some very straight commercial radio that said, 'We will never play this song,'... I hear that station play it [now] and... We've made a difference, and we've educated them." Billboard's Christie Eliezer reported that Killing Heidi were one of three "major domestic breakouts" in 1999 in Australia, "all released on independent labels". The other two musical acts were Vanessa Amorosi and Sister2Sister – all three "were still in high school when their records first entered the charts." Eliezer noticed that Killing Heidi had a "flamboyant, outspoken appeal [that] gained pop, rock, and fashion media coverage." Reflector was released in March 2000 and had a début at No. 1; it spent seven weeks at the top of the ARIA charts. McFarlane opined that it was "one of the most highly anticipated Australian releases in recent years, it was a remarkably assured début, a mix of spirited pop, big rock riffs and adolescent energy." Jon Azpri of AllMusic rated it as two out of five stars, he felt their first two singles were "catchy pop hits with just enough of a grrl-rock edge to mollify young audiences. The rest of the album is all over the map." By the end of 2001, Reflector had shipped over 280,000 copies in Australia, being certified 4× platinum. It provided two further singles: "Live Without It" (April 2000) and "Superman Supergirl" (September). The album also charted on the New Zealand Albums Chart at No. 19 with three of its tracks reaching the related singles chart's top 50. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 held in October, Killing Heidi received seven nominations and won four categories: Album of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist – Album and Best Rock Album for Reflector. The three other nominees were: Single of the Year for "Mascara", Best Cover Art for Kosky's effort on Reflector and Highest Selling Album for the latter. At the APRA Music Awards of 2001 Ella and Jesse Hooper won Songwriter of the Year. The group "played a handful of club showcases" in the United States by May 2001, with Reflector, appearing in the North American market in March that year. Pendretti opined "It'd be great to break anywhere, but