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Interviews > Blanche DuBois

In recent months, the music of Perth-based group Blanche Dubois has featured regularly in Neighbours and here, Adriana Begovich takes some time out to chat about them, their music and how they feel about the way its used on our favourite soap.

Firstly, can you give us some background about yourselves and the band?
We're an independent band based in Perth, Western Australia. Essentially Blanche DuBois is a song-writing duo consisting of myself, Adriana Begovich, and my sister Nadija. We invite good friends to perform on our records, tour and play live with us from time to time. We've been chugging along for almost 5 years now and although we have our ups and downs music keeps us sane so I'm sure we'll be at it for some time yet.

Blanche DuBois is the central character in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, with a literal translation meaning White Woods. How did the name of the band come about?
We fought over names for a while - we're sisters, what do you expect? I had just finished studying A Streetcar Named Desire at school, and I had this sick fascination with the character Blanche Dubois. I liked everything she represented - femininity, confusion, lust, beauty, torture, fragility, drama, expectation, worry, pity - it's sort of everything you draw from when you create a song really. I guess when that name was thrown into the hat and I argued my case my sister just accepted that she was going to lose this argument if she wanted anything different, so it stuck! We found out later that in some French dialects it also translates to "white trash" and that adds another dimension also!

As a self-managed, independent group, how do you cope with the pressure of promotion and production whilst writing, recording, gigging and touring? It must be incredibly challenging.
It can be rather tiring but being in charge of the administrative side of things as well as the artistic side of things is also very rewarding. Over the years we've developed a thick skin and learned not to cry when someone says we're crap! We've also created a few pseudonyms for our "fake" managers/booking agents/PR representatives along the way! It's always easier when people feel they're dealing with someone else and not the artist direct. I guess one day we'll look into having someone to handle that side of things, before we do go insane, but until then you gotta do what you gotta do...

Who are your main influences?
Musically I'd have to say The Cowboy Junkies, Mazzy Star, Grant Lee Buffalo, The Sundays, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, The Frames, Iron and Wine and David Gray. There's many others, but I simply don't have the room!

In 2007, Neighbours returned to sourcing tracks from Mushroom Music Publishing, who you have a deal with, after a 7 year break. Were you contacted regarding the use of your music and how did you feel about it being used on the show?
We love the fact that our music is featured on Neighbours - it's a hugely popular show both in Australia and abroad so it's opened a few doors for us and has meant that we've made many new fans all over the world. It's always nice to hear your tracks on TV when you're cooking dinner!

Have you seen any of the scenes it has featured in what did you think of the use?
As I said, I'm usually preparing my dinner when Neighbours airs so it's usually on in the background! In all honesty, our mum keeps track of things! She's our biggest fan. It makes us laugh as we're usually played when someone dies, when someone is leaving or during a pash! Some bands sticker their CD's with "4-stars in XXX Magazine", we have thought about stickering our CD's with "As featured on Neighbours during pashes and pensive scenes" but we probably won't go that far! We do think that the use of the music is always very suited to the scene. The producers tend to focus on the lyrics and the story behind our tracks and sometimes they just fit perfectly, which is really great.

Are you fans of the show? What do you think of the changes that are happening?
I think the changes are good - it's good to have a refresh every once in a while especially with a show that's been running as long as Neighbours has. I can't say I'm a serial Neighbours watcher, and I don't know the characters names off by heart, but I know the main ones - Izzy, Carmella, Paul Robinson - plus, I did go to Ramsay Street once!