Wendy's Backyard - A Room With A View!

Wendy Matthews has a new album which was inspired by time spent living in a teepee on her NSW coastal retreat.

How did you become an Australian citizen?

After leaving Canada to travel, busk and experience life, I met Glenn Shorrock and his wife Jo in London. They asked me to come to Australia and do some backing vocals with the Little River Band and I've been here ever since. I became and Australian citizen in 1995, but it wasn't until I came to this place where the mountain and the forests meet the sea that I felt grounded.

You've recently discovered you have a connection to an Abanaki Indian blooodline, how is this significant to you?

It's a small but significant thing to me. Perhaps that's why I feel so grounded when I come to stay on the coast in my traditional Sioux Tepee. I've always loved the outdoors and camping as a child and being in the bush with my dog Bear (a short haired Border Collie)

What things do you miss when living in your tepee?
Nothing really, tepee living is amazing, this Sioux design is complete with smoke flaps and rain flaps. I've got a chiminea inside to keep things warm and the floor is sand and river pebbles covered with carpets. I have a gas stove to cook on and I can sit and look out to the ocean or up at the moon at night. It's basic but there's something about eating food outdoors. I never feel uneasy when I'm here, it feels like I belong.

Where did you write your latest album?
I wrote most of the lyrics on the NSW north coast, which is why I've called it "Beautiful View". I wanted to link it to this special place where I can look to the islands in winter and watch the whales frolicking in the ocean.

You say that music isn't your life, what other interests do you have?
Yes, I love what I do and enjoy trying to find my own place in the music scene, but I also love getting away from it all by coming up here. I do mosaics - breaking things up and putting them back together. I like having time to think, which is what you get when you're on your own.



© Burke's Backyard magazine August 2001