After residing in the United States for 22 years, Queensland’s Lisa Richards is back on home soil, releasing her first Australian single Water Needs To Fall.

Inspired by unavoidable consequences, Water Needs To Fall speaks of the camaraderie and acceptance felt when your life is hit by a tsunami of change.

From being raised in a household where playing instruments was forbidden to hanging out with Debbie Harry at SXSW, Lisa has experienced many of the highs and lows life throws. She’s learnt a great deal along the way, much of which she’s shared in the five albums she’s released to date.

Now as she teases a sixth album, and prepares for her Australian tour, we asked Lisa to share some of the invaluable pieces of wisdom she’s learnt throughout her incredible life’s journey.

MUSICAL LIFE LESSONS BY LISA RICHARDS

  1. Making music as your life’s work is a ‘calling.’
    If there’s some other ‘work ‘activity that calls you more, go do it. What I mean is, if your whole reason for making music is to become rich and famous…you have a lot of options out there and being a musician may not be the best one, so look around.
  2. Everybody has an opinion about you.
    You have to learn to detach from other people’s opinions. Trust your heart, your gut, your instincts and just keep making art. People will write reviews and put their opinions in print. Some people will love you, some people will hate you and some people will be unmoved one way or the other. If you let other people’s opinions dictate it’s very difficult to create authentic art.
  3. Sometimes you won’t feel like making music.
    There will probably be nights when you would rather stay home, take a bath and watch a movie than get up in front of a bunch of people and share yourself. So just like you don’t always want to get up and go to work on a Monday, you won’t always feel like getting up on stage.
  4. Calling in sick is very, very difficult.
    Doing so will most likely have a more negative impact on your career than showing up and singing badly. I can’t guarantee that one, but I have had venues not book me ever again because I got sick and couldn’t perform and I have performed so sick I had to sing all the songs an octave lower and totally change the melodies to make it work.
  5. Your brain is always going to tell you shit.
    What it tells you may or may not have anything to do with reality. It’s going to have opinions and criticism and tell you what you can and can’t do, who you can and can’t be. There is a constant dialogue going on in your brain that most people aren’t even aware of. The earlier you can come to peace with this aspect of being human, the more joy you’ll have and the more stuff you will do and the bigger you’ll be as a person. You’ll be braver, more loving and more creative.

Watch Lisa’s new video for Water Needs To Fall and catch her on her upcoming tour.

WATER NEEDS TO FALL – LISA RICHARDS

UPCOMING SHOWS
4 June – Magda Community Artz, Brisbane
5 June – Currumbin RSL, Gold Coast
7 June – The BUG (Brisbane Unpluged)
17 June – Smiths Alternative, Canberra
18 June – Gasoline Pony W/ Paula Punch & Suzy Connoly, Sydney