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| ARCHIVE : Capital News October 2002 Vol.27 No.10 |
NATTASHA CRESTANI – Born to sing
"I know without a doubt I was born to sing and create music that emotionally connects. I was meant to explain the way I see the world and the experiences I’ve had in it through singing and song writing. I want to show people that change is possible. That it’s possible to make a difference in their little corner of the universe. Wherever that may be," says Nattasha.
Not that much of this would have been evident when Nattasha first started in music. "I wrote my first song when I was 10. It was called Little Froggie," Nattasha shudders. "Hopefully I’ve improved since then!" she laughs. "I used to put on little concerts for the kids in a classroom during lunch time when it was raining outside. I wrote a song called Slick Chick and when I performed it, I had about 6 girls who would be my backing singers and sing the ‘ooohs and ahhhs’. Nattasha explains. "We used to charge a door fee of one lolly from the canteen. Ah those were the days!"
Nattasha’s love of country music began with some old Olivia Newton-John albums her mother owned from the 70’s. "I used to love her version of Jolene. It’s still the best version I’ve heard since Dolly", Nattasha says. "I especially loved all the country ballads when I was young. When Patsy Cline or Dolly sung I always felt every emotion in the words."
"The real turning point for country music came for me when I heard a song by Trisha Yearwood called Walkaway Joe. That song just touched me so much and I realised that was what made country music so special to me. That you can get into your car and hear a country song on the radio and feel as though that song was written just for you. The stories are so honest yet told in a clever way that can put in a new twist on the way we perceive the mysteries going on in our lives. I remember someone once saying that country music is always honest – when it’s sad, it says it’s sad. And I love that," Nattasha says.
"I went to Nashville and performed in some of the clubs there and just immersed myself in country music and its whole culture. I remember a girl performing with a country band at the Legends Bar and she asked me during one of her breaks if there was any special song she could sing for me. I remember just asking for anything by Trisha Yearwood. And she got up and said to the audience that she had a special song for the young singer from Australia who loves the stories that country music tells. And before I knew it, she was singing Walkaway Joe. Of course I started crying, and of course my husband thought I was nuts. But I couldn’t believe I was in Nashville, much less reaching my turning point in life. It was a moment in time where I knew without a doubt the path I was meant to be traveling on. And that’s a wonderful feeling."
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