caroline j dale

ABOUT CAROLINE

“IT WAS THE RAW AND NATURAL FORCE OF CAROLINE J. DALE’S FLOORING VOICE THAT STOLE THE SET”

Kristy Symonds, Drum Media Perth (Issue 199 05/08/10)

I am sorry to say that I was born in Bunbury, Western Australia.

I started out as a classically-trained flutist (you have to find something to do when you’re from Bunbury) and moved to Perth when I was seventeen to study music at the University of Western Australia.

Unfortunately it made me wild with rage, so I switched my degree to a BA in English/History and “borrowed” a guitar my uncle picked up at a garage sale for $5.

I wrote a bunch of songs but I was too scared to sing any of them. Instead I finished my Bachelor of Arts and worked a terrible job, saving money to travel to South America.

In a tiny village called Lago Puelo in Argentina, a beautiful woman called Ghila saw me playing guitar in the back paddock of her hostel. She called me up at the asado that night and told everyone I was going to sing a song.

I didn’t know what else to do, so I sang “Can’t Let Go” by Lucinda Williams while a roasting sheep spit fat into the pristine night sky. I thought it went quite well.

When I came back to Australia five months later I decided that I would be quite unhappy unless I sang more songs, more often.

So singing more songs was what I did.

Since then I have performed at Perth venues including the Bird, the Hyde Park Hotel, the Velvet Lounge, the Swan Basement, the Rosemount, the Moon and Mojo’s Bar. I have played at the Beaufort Street Festival and dressed up as a cat for An Evening of Showtunes.

I’ve been commissioned to write songs for several short films and in 2012 created a one-woman act which made its public debut the Perth Fringe Festival, performing as intergalactic cowgirl Baby Blue.

It has been very enjoyable. Thanks for listening.

DID YOU KNOW? Caroline loves Leonard Cohen, road trips, Born to Run, human pyramids, Owen Wilson, walking around Northbridge for hours, cephalopods and deserts.