TALENT show winner and “queen of soul” Karise Eden believes many would be surprised to learn that heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath are among her favourite bands.
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She attributes this to her “old rocker” mother.
“I love their song Black Sabbath; it’s my favourite cover to play live, even though I can’t do it with the trio,” she said.
Eden, winner of The Voice television program in 2012, broke ARIA chart records and delivered the highest-selling Australian artist album of 2012.
After winning the first season of the Nine Network program, Eden was dubbed Australia’s new “queen of soul”.
The now 23-year-old from the Central Coast had reportedly never had a singing lesson before appearing on the show.
The self-professed “country girl” said the manner by which she was depicted on television led to misconceptions about her.
She admits the “sooky and emotional” soul artist portrayed on the show was “right at the time”.
“It was me for a moment in life,” she said.
“Lived on the streets, tough as nails, and did the interview for The Voice.
“I’d never seen a television camera before, got emotional and vulnerable, and that’s how I came across on TV.
“It created who people perceive me as now… But I’m a lot more than that.”
She is currently aiming to showcase a more well-rounded musical palette to audiences during her ‘Summer Soul Tour’.
Eden has stripped her live show back to acoustic trio format, featuring songs from her Voice stint, as well as other assorted covers and original material.
She said she was enjoying the relative intimacy of performing “with a couple of mates” in smaller venues and being able to converse with audience members between songs.
“I don’t get to the merch table (to talk to fans) as much now, having a 13-month-old son,” she said.
“He’d been to every state in Australia by six months old.
“Backstage isn’t the best environment (for him) at this stage though; he wants to destroy everything and eat everything.”
The singer/songwriter said she also preferred the face-to-face interaction with fans at gigs, as opposed to her “hot and cold” relationship with social media.
She said if detractors saw the profanity-spouting “pocket rocket”, with tattoos and a bourbon in her hand in person, they’d be far less likely to approach her with negative feedback.
“You get a lot of constructive criticism, more than the keyboard warriors,” she said of chatting with fans on the road.
“If you meet them face-to-face and they give you constructive criticism, I can cop that on the chin.
“On the ‘net, people can get very nasty… They feel they can say whatever they want when behind a keyboard.”
Karise Eden
Central Hotel, Shellharbour
Saturday, February 20
