Kevin Bloody Wilson's daughter

`chip off the old block'

By SHIRLEY BROUN

LOOK out Australia … Kevin Bloody Wilson’s daughter Jenny Talia is heading to town and it is fair to warn you she is every bit a `chip off the old block’.

Jenny Talia is taking after her dad Kevin Bloody Wilson in the comedy stakes.

OK Kev’s not so old. He’s just 67 and Jenny … well, she’s not letting anything out of the bag. “You’re as old as you feel and I’m still feeling pretty darn good,” she enthused on a phone interview from her home base in Chicago, USA.

Described in her press release as a blonde haired, blue-eyed, fast talking ball-busting `sheila’ I must admit I approached the interview with a little trepidation at first but half an hour later and I came away feeling like her best mate! Such is the charisma and invigorating personality of this highly successful performer and it is something audiences around Australia will soon be able to experience first-hand when she tours in June.

Made in Australia

“I am so looking forward to the trip Down under. I was made in Australia (born in Kalgoorlie) and find it the best place to road test my material. Australian audiences are just so honest. They won’t pretend to like it, there’s no bullshit … if it works for them then you know you can take it anywhere,” said Jenny whose tour will feature tracks from her latest album F.O.C.U.S.

An acronym for `F**k Off ‘Cause You’re Stupid’ the tracks are said to be an apt representation of the way Jenny approaches life, and the inspiration behind her songs which mirror the ridiculous realities of life. Quirky themes and tongue in cheek situations combined with a down-to-earth approach put her signature on a wealth of material that her huge fan base regard as uniquely Jenny.

The live performances will include Fifty shades of Parasites which has proven to be one of her most successful tracks off the album, the fifth release in her growing collection.

Unexpected reaction to funny lyrics

Recording FOCUS turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of Jenny’s career. “We knocked it out in Nashville using musicians who have played with some of the world’s most famous artists including Robert Plant’s drummer,” she said.

“The entire album was recorded and mastered in under a week with the exception of `50 Shades’ which effectively kept cracking up the musos so we had to keep starting over.”

But the fact that professional musicians reacted so well to her songs was seen by the talented songwriter as a huge complement. “These guys have seen and heard everything and yet here they are laughing at my material. Wow … I was thrilled.”

While the pint-sized comedian has been touring the world making people laugh it wasn’t always the path she had mapped out for herself. As the daughter of iconic Aussie larrikin Kevin Bloody Wilson, Jenny had always grown up with music in the house and like her dad her first performances were as a country singer.

From country to comedy

In fact, when her songwriting first took her to Nashville that’s what she thought she would be doing until she realised that growing up with a comic genius in the house would be contagious. “People would ask me to play an Australian song and the first thing that popped into my head was one of Dad’s distinctly original numbers. I’d change the words to make them from a girl’s point of view and it ignited a whole new direction for me. Within months I had written and recorded a comedy album which went on to outsell my three previous country albums in a matter of months.”

Jenny still tours with her father, an event which kicked off with a 72-date tour of Europe for which she was the opener. Her cutting edge humour, raunchy songwriting and forthright approach to almost any issue, including equal rights, have put smiles on faces around the world.

Jenny admits there are two sides to her. “I ramp it up on stage. There’s a bit of swearing and outgoing behaviour. At home I am a strict mum to two beautiful 8 and 10 year olds. I was never allowed to go to my dad’s shows when I was a kid and it’s the same for my children. There is a time and a place for the sort of language I use in the show.”

Standing ovation

There is no denying Jenny always knew she would end up in music and entertaining but she never expected she would be devoting so much time to writing and comedy and receiving standing ovations such as she enjoyed after a performance in Chicago recently.

“It’s hard work and a lot of travel but I get how lucky I am right now,” she said. “My husband comes when he can and we make my career work in our lives. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

Looking for an experience to remember? Then book now to see Jenny Talia on her Australian tour which kicks off in NSW at St Mary’s Band Club, Oxley Park on June 13 and Davistown RSL Club, June 14.

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