The future of rock music looks to be in good hands, with Melbourne’s Cassidy Paris releasing her latest single ‘Like I Never Loved You’ back in September. The seventeen-year old singer songwriter already has an impressive five singles to her credit and her latest song is another string to her ever-strengthening bow, with its catchy radio friendly rock vibe ever apparent.
Cassidy has music running deep in her veins with her Dad, Steve Janevski (The Radio Sun, Wicked Smile) supporting & helping her and with further unrivaled talent in her corner from the likes of Paul Laine (Danger Danger) & Danny Cecati (Wicked Smile), things look incredibly positive for a young lady with such mature & focused attitude to her music, as well as the realistic demands of the industry she loves so much.
The Rockpit caught up with Cassidy as she took a well-deserved break from her Year 12 exams to discuss her influences, her highlights so far and just what the future may hold for someone so focused on her passion & dreams.
Sean: Hi Cassidy, how are you doing?
CP: I’m good thank you. How are you?
Sean: Great thanks. Thank you for arranging to chat during the weekend.
CP: No, thank you so much for having me and for changing the date because I had a Year 12 exam yesterday.
Sean: Did it go well?
CP: Yeah, it went alright. I was pretty happy with it. At least that’s out of my hair now.
Sean: Well, let’s talk more about the fun things in life and one of those is music. Congratulations on the new single & video for ‘Like I Never Loved You’. How happy are you with this?
CP: I’m really, really excited to release ‘Like I Never Loved You’ and the video, I think it’s probably my favorite video and I had a really fun time shooting it, so it’s all exciting and I’m happy to finally have it out there.
Sean: It’s an incredible career for someone so young. Six singles already and every single just gets better & better.
CP: Thank you. I try to take little bits and pieces from artists I like, and I just hope that people are liking them and enjoying them. That’s why I do this.
Sean: Growing up, what were those inspirations? Were you hearing all those tunes all the time and probably with dad around, even earlier inspirations as well?
CP: Absolutely. Dad always exposed me to a wide variety of artists as I was really lucky to listen to things from Pink to Def Leppard to Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, a whole bunch of different artists so I was really able to have a good scope of different sounds and to be inspired by a wide variety of artists, so like I said I’ve loved Joan Jett, I’ve loved Taylor Swift, Serayah, Ratt, a whole bunch of people and I just try to take little elements from each person and incorporate that into my style which is really fun.
Sean: Fantastic. So obviously things have not been the best over on the Eastern side of the country with lock down. Have you been using it wisely with writing new material?
CP: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve been writing and recording little bits & pieces and Dad & I have been having a bit of a jam every so often so that’s been really fun, and I think that’s what’s kept everything going for me. Again, the music industry has taken it really hard with artists not being allowed to play live so I’m really excited for the future and to be able to play live really soon.
Sean: And it will be very soon. I can report from what we’ve got here that since our restrictions have lifted a bit, we still have capacity limits here, but original bands are selling out everywhere.
CP: That’s so good to hear. Look, I’ve played things like Webfest and I’ve done online streams and stuff and that has been really, really fun to interact with people over seas and online while all of this is going on. Its all about baby steps and I’m really looking forward to developing further and I’m always learning so it’s all experience.
Sean: You have a wonderful team around you supporting you. With the likes of Paul Laine, we’ve already mentioned your Dad and now with Scott Smith as well, looking after the other side of things it’s a fantastic team around you to help you build on this, isn’t it?
CP: Yeah exactly and I’m so fortunate to have those people the guide me in this industry and again having people like Paul Laine and Scott Smith and even Danny Cecati from Wicked Smile has been really, really cool and I’ve been able to develop myself as an artist and take little bits & pieces from their experiences so I am really fortunate to have that behind me.
Sean: So, two singles this year when a lot of artists have been sat on their hands with not being able to do that. What have we got to look forward for the rest of the year? Anything else planned?
CP: Well, I’m writing & recording a lot and trying to develop my album and school is a really big thing for me at the moment being in Year 12 so I have exams coming up and I’ll be using music as an outlet and I always have been during school to kind of take a break, step back and do something I really love. So, there’s more coming in 2021 so I’m really excited about the future.
Sean: Music has an amazing ability to help & to heal, especially with mental health issues and with highlighting the damage that bullying can cause too which is something you have been very active in supporting.
CP: Yes, I’m part of Metalheads Against Bullying and that’s been by sharing my experiences via my platform. It’s been something that I’ve really wanted to be involved in for some time and I was really excited to share my experiences and hopefully helping just one person through their experience would just be the best thing ever for me so I’m really happy & honored to be affiliated with them.
Sean: Some people feel they have to lock themselves away from the sort of treatment they receive and at times music is one of the only things they can focus on to help get them through it.
CP: I completely found that as an artist. As I said, music has always been my way of sharing my experiences with the fans and a way that I can express myself.
Sean: With so much music already in the bag at such a young age, what would you say have been the highlights for you so far?
CP: I have had a couple already. I’ve played in Japan & also in Chicago a couple of years ago. It was really, really cool to perform somewhere else other than Australia and I was just blown away by the amount of support that I was getting. I was so excited to get so many people enjoying my music. I just love meeting people. Releasing the EP has also been a massive thing for me. That was really, really exciting to have my first physical copy of my music out there. And recording with Paul Laine, who I call “The Rock n’ Roll Mozart” because he is just absolutely amazing and having him & Danny Cecati guiding me has just been really incredible.
Sean: I look forward to 2021 to see & hear what else we have coming from you. I normally like to wrap things up with a few generic questions and the first is my restaurant question. If you could have three guests from the music world, dead or alive, come join you for a few hours at a restaurant for dinner, who would you invite?
CP: Joan Jett, Pat Benatar and Jon Bon Jovi.
Sean: I think that’s the first time I’ve had Jon Bon Jovi as an answer for that one.
CP: Really? That’s surprising actually [laughs].
Sean: What was the last album you listened to?
CP: The last album? I think it was Skid Row’s self-titled album from memory. I absolutely love Skid Row. Sebastian Bach is just incredible.
Sean: Maybe a support slot on his next tour would go down an absolute treat? [laughs]
CP: [laughs] Wouldn’t that be amazing!
Sean: So, the final question, if you could be credited with writing any song ever written, what song would you choose?
CP: Aw, that one is a tough one but I’m going to say ‘Stop Dragging My Heart Around’ by Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty.
Sean: Nice. A new one to add to my playlist! I have a playlist with everyone’s answer for that one and that’s another one to add, so thank you.
CP: Ah, that’s killer.
Sean: Cassidy, we wish you all the best with the new single and look forward to seeing what 2021 brings. Thank you so much for everything and also your time today.
CP: Awesome, thank you for your support and thank you for having me. It’s been so nice to talk to you.
