“ I am an only child from Perth. I came here to study music. I had originally studied music in Perth but it wasn’t the right fit. I looked at other options around Australia and having a bit of wanderlust I thought, maybe I could actually sit still for three years and do a music degree in a new environment. I came here in 2013 and it was really true to what I was looking for. I also came here because I wanted to confront my biggest fear which was making, performing and playing music and I found this area really lovely and supportive. I’m also obsessed with letters and typography. I’m a sign writer, visual artist and anything aesthetic to me is massive. I also consider myself to be an atmosphere maker. I’ve fallen into this role of hosting party’s and gigs. I think half the reason they are successful is because of the atmosphere and I get such joy from being in the room with people that I love and creating that vibe. I have a rooftop apartment in town and we have very naughtily thrown house gigs there and it wasn’t intended to turn out as it has but it has evolved and become way too big. I’m touching on getting kicked out (laughs) so that has led to this new phase in life.
I finished Uni, went home to Perth to make sure I really wanted to stay here and I do. I don’t think I honestly understood what community was until I moved to Lismore. Coming from a big city you just don’t get it and I love being amongst people that care.
I think with people here, I feel more aligned with their values and things that are important in their life. Anything is possible here and I feel totally supported.
The natural progression from everything I do in my life that I love was to take it to the next level and that is to create the live music venue in Lismore that I would like to go to. I’m so lucky to have three others involved in this project, David Andreas, Emily Read and Phil Reed and it all happened organically over coffee. We are fortunate to have a very skilled team that is relevant to what we’re doing and we are creating a space that we don’t think exists in Lismore. I really miss being in a venue and the point of being in that venue is to see the music, having been a performer and becoming the secondary thing to say, poker machines, gambling and even alcohol consumption. We all love a drink but I want this place to be the type of place you go to and that’s a complimentary extra. The music and the sharing of art and community is the thing I can’t wait for, to be in a room full of all these people that I love with that feeling returned and the people I haven’t met that are going to be friends. I want to create a safe environment where everyone feels included.
So here we are in this old warehouse which was obviously a workshop. There’s a very unassuming shopfront then you walk through these mirrored doors and it opens up to this wonderland. It has mixed level mezzanines, timber and cement. We’re definitely working to the space because it’s visually rustic, natural materials, lots of plant life and beautiful low level mixed lighting. We will have a bar and some high tables and lounges and we’ve started collecting vintage bits and pieces as we see them.
We plan to have smaller acts out the front and a vinyl playhouse with records playing at all times. We want to utilise the space at all times so Pilates and Yoga in the mornings to start the day and cafe with a Brew Bar. In the day we will offer the space to hire. We are looking forward to live gigs out the back from Thursday to Sunday.
We are calling it Dusty Attic. The way the name came about was we took a bottle of wine out the back, sat with a notepad and jotted names that came up. They were all terrible and Emily slammed down the pad in frustration and this big dust cloud emerged and that was it, ‘Dusty Attic’. We want to encourage people to be a part of our journey.
This part of life has been really pivotal because it’s a part of my life where I’ve listened to what I want. I’ve tried to be fearless in doing what I want to do and to find a community that is so embracing, encouraging and to want this too is overwhelming. I have that fear sometimes that, is this it for me? You know Lismore without this stuff sometimes can feel a bit crappy as can everywhere but I’ve found the gems. It’s such an inspired area and it’s a space where I feel that if I were to go to any other city and open a music bar people would go…Yeah alright! but people here are like YESSSS!. There’s no tall poppy syndrome. Everyone wants the best for everyone. It’s so special.”