Shea Fisher

Australia’s Everyday Girl

WORDS MARGRET MEAGHER

Whoa!Riding a bull is probably a piece of cake compared to competing in the international country music circuit, but Shea Fisher, at just 19 years old, has had the grit and determination to do both. A rodeo champion since the age of nine, Fisher signed a recording deal with ABC Country Music/Warner Music Australia in April this year, and her debut album, Everyday Girl, is out on July 7.

Sitting pretty as
Australia’s Everyday Girl Fisher is a natural on horseback – her father is Australian bull-riding and bareback-riding champion Eddie Fisher; her mother is barrel-racing champion and horse trainer Joanne Fisher. Born in the Victorian town of Portland, Fisher entered her very first barrel race when she was just three. For the next few years, the family travelled Australia competing in rodeo competitions, and she won her first barrel race at age seven – against competitors up to nine years older. Two years later, in 1997, she won her first National Rodeo Association junior barrel racing title, which is no small feat. A professional women’s rodeo event, barrel racing is a test of speed and horsemanship. Riders race in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels set in a triangle, and the fastest rider wins.

A little later the family moved to the US, so that Fisher’s father – then ranked in the top 45 bull riders in the world – could compete on the world circuit. The family lived on a ranch in New Mexico and Fisher led the true cowgirl life, driving trucks and mustering and branding cattle, before they moved to Texas. Fisher competed in Texas Youth Rodeo Association events, winning the junior barrel-racing championship, goat-tying championship and All Round championship. While she had always loved singing, it was in the US that she developed an interest in country music.

In 1999, however, following an injury to her father’s arm, the family returned to Australia, settling on the Sunshine Coast, and Fisher began competing on the Australian rodeo circuits again, making it to the National Finals Rodeo in 2001 for junior barrel racing and junior breakaway roping.

Shea is comfortable
competing in barrel races
as she is holding a
mircophone Her rodeo career, Fisher comments, meant that she “got used to being in the public eye and became fluent in front of the camera.” She adds, “I’ve learnt that in life it’s often being in the right place at the right time. Being on the rodeo circuit opened doors [in country music].” “But it’s also about being persistent, not giving up,” she says. “If someone says I can’t do it, then it makes me more determined to do it!” She began singing the national anthem at professional rodeos (including the National Finals Rodeo), as well as competing in the events.

After winning her first major talent quest at the 2003 Mud Bulls & Music Festival, she was lucky enough to be awarded a place at Camerata, the country music college in Tamworth. For the first time, she picked up a guitar. “I thought to myself, ‘Man, I’ll have to get a guitar,’ so I visited the local music shop, asked if they would lend me a guitar, learnt some basic chords and taught myself to play.”

Her big break came, though, while she was competing at rodeos at Longreach and Mt Isa in 2004. “I noticed Steve Forde setting up for the evening’s entertainment. I asked him if I could sing for him and he just said ‘Go for it’”, Fisher remembers. “A short while later, [he] was performing at Mt Isa and I fronted up to him again, and this time he invited me to sing at each of his five shows that week.”

It was a big year for her in rodeo as well as music. She was a grand finalist in the Gympie Muster Talent Search later that year, made it to the National Finals Rodeo in the junior breakaway and barrel race, and became the first girl in history to make it to the Australian Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) National Finals in the steer ride. In 2005, at just 17, she was successfully juggling her final year of high school with the rodeo, becoming the APRA Junior Barrel Racing Champion, All Round Junior Champion and a national finalist in the ladies’ open breakaway.

In 2006 the whirlwind just got bigger. Fisher and her band performed at the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA) National Finals Rodeo, supported Steve Forde & The Flange on their national Rowdy & Loud Tour, and performed at the Deni Ute Muster in the New South Wales town of Deniliquin. In breaks, she was also flying to Nashville, Tennessee to record Everyday Girl – many of its 11 tracks co-written with Steve Forde. Her debut single, Just the Excuse, is “a song with a positive message for people of all ages about tackling disappointment and moving on”.

Somehow, she also finds the time to spend over an hour each day responding to people who visit her MySpace site, and loves interacting with her fans. “Country music in Australia is not like country music in the US, where it’s a mainstream style of music and has a large audience from young to old,” Fisher explains. “In Australia, there’s this myth. Some people think country music is all about the bush, hay bales and Akubra hats. But country music is young and cool, with songs about universal themes. Look at artists like Kasey Chambers and the Dixie Chicks – they’re awesome.”

Like many rising artists, Fisher spends a lot of her time on the road touring, but hasn’t tired of it yet. “There are 12 guys and me and we travel in a 42-foot bus with the staging, lighting and sound gear. There are DVD players in every bunk, plus an Xbox 360, two giant plasma screens, leather lounges and toilet and kitchen facilities.” But she also loves living at home with her parents, sister Taemi and older brother Daniel, who designs her performing outfits. Taemi, 14, has a rare genetic disorder and is a staunch critic. “If I play the guitar too loud, she gets cranky,” Fisher confides. “Our parents have let us choose our own paths in life. Taemi’s disability never stopped us travelling the world and reaching our dreams.”

Asked about the future, Fisher is determined and single-minded. “Singing is my priority. Rodeo is becoming more of a hobby. I have big dreams and won’t be happy unless I keep achieving.”

Shea Fisher on travel

“Everyday” is a word that describes me in a nutshell, other than I ride some bulls! I love to go to the beach, I love shopping, relaxing at home, going to the movies, having a good time with my mates.

There’s no better place to be than home. I love living on the Sunshine Coast – it’s just 10 minutes to Mooloolabah Beach and Sunshine Plaza. Further afield, Rockhampton is my favourite dinki-di country town, and for a sunfilled break, I’d fly to Hamilton Island.

Our family likes to holiday in Tangalooma on Moreton Island. It’s a 75-minute boat trip from Brisbane – pristine waters, untouched national parks with wild dolphins and whale watching as the star attractions. It’s magic.

JETSTAR magazine and Warner Music Australia are giving 10 readers the chance to win a copy of Shea Fisher’s debut album Everyday Girl. For your chance to win, name the Victorian town where Shea was born. Email your answer, full name, address and phone number to competitions@ jetstar.com or write your details on the back of an envelope addressed to 97B Amoy Street, Singapore 069917.

Terms & Conditions: Contest ends 31 July 2007. Employees of Jetstar Airways and Ink Publishing are not eligible to enter. For Australian residents only. Winners will be notified by telephone or mail.