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According to the perspective of the Veronicas, there is a common factor linking all the errors they have committed throughout their lengthy 20-year career: giving up control. Throughout their time in the music industry, they claim to have been influenced by others to go in specific directions, even when it went against their own instincts. Unfortunately, this has rarely resulted in positive outcomes.
“Our only regrets are the moments when we failed to follow our intuition and instead said, ‘Okay, let’s do it’,” Jess Origliasso, one member of the successful pop duo with her twin sister, Lisa, reflects. “As with any lengthy career, we’ve experienced numerous instances like this.”
Lisa acknowledges that relying on their own instincts has not always been successful. She reflects, “We’ve had our fair share of wild experiences, but we’ve managed to avoid serious repercussions. For over two decades, we’ve managed to stay out of jail and rehab. We were simply teenage punk rockers expressing our emotions through music, and it resonated with others.”
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We convened to discuss the sixth studio album by The Veronicas, titled “Gothic Summer”, and the highs and lows that led to its creation. The highs, of course, are apparent. At the age of 20, they secured a record deal worth $2 million with Warner Records in the US, which at the time was one of the largest deals ever for an Australian artist. This jumpstarted their career and led them on international tours. Their debut album in 2005 achieved quadruple platinum status and earned them an Aria award. Their subsequent album also went platinum, with the help of their global hit “Untouched”, a song that was likely on heavy rotation on your iPod nano and solidified their status as Australian pop icons.
The downs may include some turbulent moments. The two women gained attention from tabloids early on due to their open and confident personalities in a time known for being harsh towards female celebrities. Jess, who identifies as queer, faced harsh treatment, with tabloids outing her and claiming her relationships with women were only for publicity. In more recent years, there have been other newsworthy events, such as a high-profile breakup and an accusation that a reality show edited their footage unfairly. There were also constant rumors about a year when the pair stopped communicating and a incident when they were removed from a flight by cabin crew.
The Veronicas have little incentive to rely on the media – this sheds light on the course of the interview.
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When I see them in the lobby of a hotel in Sydney, they are cheerful and friendly, welcoming me with a hug and putting a friendship bracelet from the Taylor Swift concert they attended two nights ago on my wrist.
I was taken aback to learn that their manager, a quiet American woman named Alex, will also be joining us. She is seated at a nearby table and happens to be Jess’s fiance. Alex has officially held the position for the past six months, after two years of managing herself. Jess jokingly says that part of her job is to “quiet us down and prevent us from expressing our opinions”.
Alex is not afraid to be noticed. I bring up the fact that the two sisters didn’t talk for a year, and she stops eating her breakfast to interject, “You don’t have to answer that. Those are not acceptable questions.” Although certain topics are sometimes marked as unacceptable before an interview, that was not the case here. I was informed beforehand that “some personal questions are allowed” and that the focus would be on their music.
Later, I mention their reality show from 2019 titled “The Veronicas: Blood is For Life”. The show features the pair receiving cosmetic injections, performing in concerts, and arguing with each other. “I don’t believe it’s necessary for us to discuss the reality show,” Alex responds.
The sisters are quite open about their experiences. Jess responds, “The show wasn’t really a depiction of reality. You understand what I’m saying?” She then adds, “It was more of a comedic portrayal of our lives. I even joked with Lisa about deserving a Gold Logie for our argument in the last episode.”
Lisa seemed unfazed by this, responding, “I’m not sure why we even bothered.”
The Origliassos tend to respond to difficult questions by saying more rather than less. They may even point out corrections to each other or have sisterly conflicts, such as when Lisa kindly advises Jess to be more self-aware of her actions in regards to personal matters made public.
However, they also have a great sense of humor and are not afraid to poke fun at the few instances in their professional journey where they had too much authority. Lisa jokingly shares, “There were times when we did our own styling and makeup in the past – looking back, I wish we hadn’t done that!” Although others had offered to assist, they declined and took on the task themselves.
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The Origliasso sisters developed a love for music from a young age. They were passionate about singing and dancing, and received guitars as gifts for their 16th birthday from their parents. They started performing wherever they could, and by the time they were signed, they had already played around 1,000 shows. These included performances at local Christmas events and palliative care units. During their teenage years, they signed a contract as songwriters and spent two years honing their skills in collaboration. In 2004, they went on a songwriting trip to the US where they met their manager, who later helped secure their major contract with Warner.
After that came a period of nonstop performing and making music – as exciting as it was tiring in the end. However, instead of quickly releasing a third album after their first two successful ones, it took the Veronicas four years to even put out a new single, and another three before they released another album. As Lisa puts it, it was like they vanished.
They attribute their label’s unstable state and lack of a consistent A&R manager to the changing music industry during the late 2000s. According to them, getting their music approved for release became nearly impossible, and in industry terms, they were “shelved”. Jess states that their career suffered an “irreconcilable hit” due to this. Having no control over releasing music to their fans, despite having worked hard to achieve success, was devastating to them. (Warner Music chose not to respond.)
The pair wrote a heartfelt plea for release from their contract to the new CEO of Warner, and signed to Sony Music instead; after their first single on the new label went to #1, Jess celebrated by tweeting “surprise, bitch” at Warner. “I don’t know why people didn’t take Twitter away from me at that time,” she groans now – but the full album went platinum too.
Michael Paynter, who served as the Veronicas’ musical director for seven years, expresses that the twins have consistently held a clear vision for all aspects of their career, from merchandise design to the desired sound of a drum snare.
The Veronicas are known for being precise and calculated in everything they do. According to Paynter, any information or instances involving the Veronicas are deliberate actions on their part. This is the key to their longevity – they take full control of their careers and do not rely on others.
They were unable to control certain circumstances. Their next album was not released until seven years later due to personal reasons. In 2017, they spent a year apart which they choose not to talk about. In 2018, their mother became ill with a degenerative disease, leading them to move back to Australia and care for her until she passed away in 2021. This experience brought them closer as a pair.
“When you must gather together each day in an attempt to ease an uncontrollable suffering, I believe there is no greater admiration for someone who is willing to be present and support you,” Jess states. “As many individuals may not be.”
Although their career was not their top priority, songwriting served as their way of dealing with challenges. In 2021, they released two albums under Sony, fulfilling their contract and allowing them time to consider their next move as free agents.
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For their sixth album, they chose to take a different approach. They released Gothic Summer through an independent music publisher in the US, Big Noise, which was founded by their friend John Feldmann. According to Jess, The Veronicas are now essentially independent artists.
The duo is now in charge of every aspect of their album launch, including producing their own music videos and designing their own photo shoots. This has been made possible with the guidance of photographer Tyler Shields and the help of Lisa’s husband, Logan Huffman, who serves as the photographer. Although the sisters did their own photo shoot for this article, it was not submitted to the Guardian by the assigned deadline. Being involved in the business aspect of their work has made their album, Gothic Summer, a fulfilling project for the pair.
The album is also a wildly fun romp: bouncy, carefree pop songs that feature drum from Blink 182’s Travis Barker, a guest appearance from Australian rapper Kerser and the occasional twangy strum of surf guitars. “It was a very hard few years for us,” Jess says. “It just felt really nice and fun to arrive at that place – like we were feeling joyful again.”
The clever lyrics of the album contain genuine emotion. The first track, Perfect, challenges the false standard of beauty portrayed on social media, which the twins have grown tired of since their mother’s passing. Lisa reflects on how experiencing loss can completely transform one’s perspective. She questions the significance of getting wrapped up in superficial things.
The latest record showcases the band’s contentment with their current state, with both members in committed relationships and juggling residences in Queensland and the United States. They have also reduced their online presence, specifically on social media, due to the past seven years, according to Jess.
I became fatigued from always being expressive and creating drama. We are naturally drawn to drama as humans, but I no longer wanted to be the instigator. I disliked how I behaved when I caused drama, it did not bring me happiness.
They have gained this knowledge through difficult experiences.
Lisa remarks that it’s quite unbelievable to consider that we spent our most crucial years in the spotlight, with people knowing even more about us than we would have preferred.
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The friendly tone of the interview takes a turn and after 20 minutes, I receive a call from one publicist and an email from another informing me that the Veronicas want the profile to be removed. They have also stated that if it does get published, it should focus on their new album and future plans rather than being a 20th anniversary piece.
However, after spending a significant amount of time in the limelight, the Origliasso sisters understand better than most that this is not how things work; granting access also means sacrificing some level of control.
In our interview, Lisa expressed that as strong, opinionated women, we have always taken pride in our values and beliefs, which stem from a good heart.
The way people perceive, write, and discuss this is beyond our control. However, we can maintain our integrity and have confidence that we have always given our best effort.
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The latest music release from The Veronicas, titled Gothic Summer, is now available.
Source: theguardian.com
