21 Questions with Kate Miller-Heidke

Please explain what just happened.

I opened the kitchen window to let a bumblebee out, then I went to the toilet.

What is your earliest memory?

A bird snatched my egg-and-lettuce sandwich from my hands while we were having a picnic.  It really pissed me off.

If you weren’t a musician, what other profession would you choose?

Librarian.

Please describe the current contents of your refrigerator.

I just got home from tour and went crazy at the grocery shop yesterday.  Having my own groceries in my own fridge is such a luxury after a long tour.  I have raspberries, avocados, cheese, Dijon mustard, beer, artichokes and pizza.

Is there a time you wish you’d lied?

Question number one.  I should have omitted the toilet thing.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself at age thirteen?

“Kate, don’t let your friends pluck your eyebrows. Also, are you sure you like Korn?”

If you could have only one album to get you through a breakup, what would it be?

Wires by Art of Fighting.  One is not enough.

What are three websites—other than your email—that you check on a daily basis?

Twitter and Facebook.  I’m trying to quit.

From what or whom do you derive your greatest inspiration?

My collaborator and partner Keir Nuttall.

Name a book that changed your life.

That is too hard to answer.  Every book changes my life, because books are my temporary best friends.  Some novels I love are Prodigal Summer, A Confederacy of Dunces, Cloud Atlas, and anything by Mark Twain.  The Artist’s Way changed the way I think about creating art.

If you could relive one moment over and over again, what would it be?

That sounds awful.  I prefer variation.

How are you six degrees from Kevin Bacon?

I used to eat bacon, and my friend has a cat called Kevin.

What makes you feel most guilty?

Doing unhealthy things to my body, not staying in touch enough with friends and family, and googling myself.

What would you most like to have invented?

Laptops, because everyone’s getting them now.  I’d be really fucking rich.

What is the worst piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?

“In summer, you can cool down by freezing your tampons before insertion.”

What is the best advice you’ve ever given to someone else?

When flying Qantas, you can push the headrests tight against your head.  This prevents your head from moving, and is very conducive to sleep.  Unfortunately most other airlines don’t have this feature.

What do you consider the harshest kind of betrayal?

Two-facedness.

Of all the game shows that have graced our TV screens throughout history, which one would you want to be a contestant on and why?

Wheel of Fortune.  I like the way the wheel clicks as it spins, and I like letters.

What do you want to know?

I want to learn to rise above my thoughts, and to feel more connected to people and the world.

What would you like your last words to be?

‘I think I’ll go to bed now, as I’m feeling very sleepy.  Goodnight, sweet husband.  See you tomorrow.’

Please explain what will happen.

I am a musician.  I don’t know the answer to that.  Instead, here’s a Bill Hicks quote:

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.”