Liz Priest article in Dorrie Paradise

from Dorrie Paradise, 10 October 1996

Local Lowdown
Liz Priest can’t get away from Paradise

Paradisian favourite looking for grittier rep
Just because you’re born and raised in the most exotic locale on earth doesn’t mean you’re always satisfied with it. So thinks Liz Priest, Derby Township's singer/songwriter/guitar thrasher who, whilst she’s happy with an upcoming record contract and extraterritorial promotion.

‘I’ll always be a Paradisian bird,’ Priest told P2 DJ Gail Lowry, allaying local fears that she’d duck and run, leaving her home territory for good. ‘But it’s about the music, getting heard, finding places to play. I can’t expect my neighbours and friends to sell out every place in the territory just to keep me happy.’

Peter Dove, Priest’s longtime bass player and close friend, clarifies. ‘There’s a perception in some places that Paradise doesn’t have an edge-- that we can’t have an edge because we’re so comfortable in the nice weather. Liz is hoping to change that.’ But Dove admits to adopting a role as her professional guardian and is keen on looking out for her interests. ‘She may be all about change, musically, but, if it’s one thing I know about Liz, it’s that she cherishes everything about the islands. She’ll go off and do her bit for fame and fortune; but I can’t ever see her staying too long away. At the very least she’ll make Hope her retirement home!’

It’s been a long road for Priest, who started at 12 or 13 singing her songs before then-sceptical Paradisian audiences. Perhaps that scratchy voice, those cynical lyrics and her idiosyncratic guitar pounding are ripe for a global market by now. We’ll wish her well-- and always welcome her home!

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