Music
Interview
Jenny Talia has the interior design tastes of a Floridian retiree
Get to know the Australian comedy singer-songwriter ahead of her UK tour, Without Adult Supervision
It’s hard to imagine how many times Jenny Talia must have heard the phrases “chip off the old block” or “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. But it’s easy to see why. Now more than 20 years into a comedy career of her own, she’s continuing the legacy of her father, (in)famous Australian comedian Kevin Bloody Wilson, with the same brand of brash humour, bawdy songs, and ‘DILIGAF’ attitude.
Despite having been based in the US for a long time now, there’s no mistaking that she is a dyed-in-the-wool Aussie. You can take the girl out of Kalgoorlie…
“I already brought home an American husband, that was bad enough. If I came home with an American accent I reckon I’d get disowned”.
She’s currently back in the UK touring with her dad, before heading out on her own for a run of solo shows in November – aptly titled ‘Without Adult Supervision’. The pair have toured together for years, and Talia says there’s something reassuring about falling back into the familiar rhythm of life on the road. “It’s just like muscle memory,” she says. With mum in tow, they are the self-professed “most functional dysfunctional family in the world”.
But while Jenny is perfectly happy sharing a stage with her dad, being trapped in a lift with him is another matter entirely. We got to know her a little better by asking the questions that count…
Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?
Not my dad, that’s for sure. He loves to fart in lifts. He can do it on cue. Every time the door shuts I have to look at him and say “Don’t”.
You know what, if I’m going to be stuck in a lift, I want to be on my own so I can just have a little panic attack without having to make conversation.
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Is it your dad?
Yeah Captain Farts-a-lot. I wouldn’t have a panic attack if I was there with him, I’d just be reaching for some kind of oxygen mask. I’d probably find some way to escape to survive being gassed out.
What’s the weirdest interaction you’ve ever had with a famous person?
I don’t know if any of them have been weird. When I was a kid I met Cyndi Lauper and, believe or not, I was speechless. She’s an absolute hero.
I met Neil from The Young Ones, Nigel Planer. He was playing the same theatre as us, and his dressing room was next door. He wandered in, eating an apple, and Dad didn’t know who he was. He goes, “Who’s this fucking guy?” [laughs]
He was so cool, we got a photo and I sent it to my brother because we were huge Young Ones fans growing up. He was lovely. Such a nice man.
What’s the last live show that you went to?
I went to see Theo Von. I normally stay away from seeing comedians because you don’t know where your inspiration comes from, and I just don’t want to unintentionally rip off someone’s stuff.
But he’s so unique and out there. Anyone else could say a sentence that he says and it’s just a regular sentence, and he says it and he’s so off-the-wall and brilliant in this wacky way.
I really enjoyed it. People around me were getting so offended because he really touched on some stuff, but I just thought it was great. That’s the joy of comedy; there’s enough for everybody.
What did 12-year-old you imagine you’d be doing right now?
I think I was always going to be a singer.
It was my first job out of high school, in a duo with my brother. Then I was a country singer for a few years in Australia. I ended up with some throat issues, so I went to Nashville just to focus on writing, and then just playing the bars and clubs over there.
The comedy was accidental. They said, “Play some Australian music,” and I thought, “I don’t know any… except my dad’s”.
All of a sudden it was [in a Tennessee accent] “We’ve gotta get that girl in here who sings those rude songs. We gotta get some more of her!”
That’s where Jenny Talia was born.
What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
For like five minutes when I first left high school, I sold gym equipment at a shopping centre, which was hysterical because I was a little fatty. Who’s going to buy it off me? “If you get this, you could look like me.” [laughs] I didn’t last very long at that.
I sang on wine cruises for a while, which was actually a lot of fun. But you were crew, so you had to clean up the boat after people had been drinking red wine for eight hours.
So I would just give my money from every shift to somebody else, to get out of cleaning the toilets.
If you had to have a song playing every time you walked into a room, what would it be?
‘MMMbop’ by Hanson.
I wasn’t expecting that.
With some stuff I like you’ve got to be in the right mood. My brother is always trying to send me cool new stuff, like the new Sam Fender album, which I love.
But ‘MMbop’ is just a no skip. I’m not necessarily proud of it. But it comes on, and I’m up.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I don’t really have any pleasures that I’m ‘guilty’ of.
My favourite wine is a merlot by Yellow Tail, and my wine drinking friends are mortified because it’s like four quid a bottle. They keep trying to give me the fancy stuff, and I generally pass it on to someone else.
I also drink my wine with ice in it. I call it ‘mer-lot on the rocks’. But I don’t feel guilty about that.
I generally refuse to feel guilty about anything that makes me happy. I think that’s the way to go.
What’s your controversial food opinion?
Coriander tastes like shit. People always say it tastes like soap. No, it just tastes like shit. It gives me an instant headache.
I don’t know how controversial that is. I’m sure a lot of people agree with me on that.
Do you have any superstitions?
I lift my feet up when I go over train tracks. I don’t even know what that is, I’ve just done it since I was a little kid. I couldn’t tell you why. Even my kids think it’s weird.
What’s the skill that no one else knows that you’re great at?
Not letting lack of talent interfere with a career, haha! My brother is an exceptional guitar player, like world-class, and Dad’s a pretty good guitar player too. Any guitar player would tell you that I am three chords and a capo.
As far as actual skills, I consider myself pretty good at interior design (my kids would disagree). I call my aesthetic “colour-blind Floridian retiree with a drinking problem.” Pelicans, pineapple wallpaper, that’s my vibe.
What’s the film that you could rewatch the most?
I’m a bit of a weirdo. I don’t do that. I know my mum’s got these couple of rom-coms that are like her comfort food. My kids are the same. But I don’t read a book twice. I don’t watch a movie twice.
I am crazy about Christmas though. So it would probably be a Christmas movie. Not the old black-and-white, fall-asleep-with-your-head-in-the-oven kind. I love stuff like Elf and Home Alone.
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
I can only think of the good ones. When I was a country singer, I had a friend who’s kind of a big-time manager in Nashville. She said, “Listen, you’re cute, and you write good songs. But there’s heaps cuter out there, and they write better songs. And you’re a great singer, but there are better singers”.
She said, “But I don’t know anyone funnier than you. That’s what you do.”
At the time I thought it was shit advice. I was determined that I wasn’t going to do what dad does. But she was right. It turned out to be very good advice.
