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| Photo credit: Ester Segarra |
The Corner Hotel
always provides lifelong memories. Firewind, Sabaton and Accept all standout
but It’s not always the music. Sometimes it’s simply meeting people, like the
time I met Emily Thehead.
We met after
witnessing a stack of older metal bands from Melbourne. I was on my way out towards
the bar when I hear Emily yell “I’ll race ya” as she took off towards the door.
To make it even more interesting I catch up with her and we immediately talk
about Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Comparing the two is one of my favourite
discussions to have so I was definitely enjoying myself. Unfortunately the
conversation didn’t last long but thanks to Facebook we have been able to stay
in contact.
Just as well to
because Emily actually lives in Sweden so she as you will see below gets to
work at Sweden Rock. Seeing as how it’s one of my dreams to get there I am
slightly envious of this.
Anyway I have been
keen to get back into writing and I noticed that Emily is about to embark on a
extraordinary journey. She
is about to start the LEGACY OF THE BREAST tour, which goes from July 17 to
September 15, 2019. Given this I decided to interview her to get her thoughts
on the tour, her movie and of course Iron Maiden. Enjoy and most importantly up
the irons!
What got you into
heavy metal?
Woah, believe it or
not, for me this is a super complex and deeply philosophical question. But, for
simplicities sake, I’ll break it down to the basics: the music (obviously), the
aesthetics, and the deeper, intangible connection I feel to it. Though if I had
to put it down to a memory, two spring to mind. When I heard Queen for the
first time at around 3 or 4 years of age (the epic rock n’ roll breakout in
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in particular), and then a few years later when I watched
the ‘November Rain’ video clip by Guns N’ Roses. I became utterly obsessed with
that video clip because it made complete and total sense to me – everything
from their clothes, the imagery, the story…I was captivated from the moment I
first watched it and have never looked back since.
What is it about
Iron Maiden that makes them your favourite band?
Again, a paradoxically
simple yet difficult question – especially since there are many answers, but
again I’ll keep it simple. I think there’s something monumental and magnificent
about their musicianship – they go deeper than just being a band writing “great
songs”. There’s some sort of transcendental quality about the music that
manages to penetrate my essence and move me in ways no other thing, let alone
music, can. Having said that, another reason why I love them so much is for
their humour, intelligence, and humility – in that they would probably read my
former paragraph and think I was exaggerating. Rest assured, I’m not.
Do you have a
favourite era of the band?
Pretty much the entire
1980s era because I think their clothes were majestic and have influenced how I
dress in every way! Whilst I of course think all of their albums are excellent
in their own unique way, the first seven really maintain the band’s foundation.
The bottom of the pyramid, so to speak.
You have quite the
Iron Maiden collection what are some of your favourites from it and what would
you like to have that you haven’t got yet?
Don’t be fooled! If
you’re referring to the location where I filmed the promo video for my
fundraiser – as much as I’d love for it to be my place, it’s unfortunately not.
It’s actually my friend Rasmus Stavnsborg’s house; he’s a Guinness World Record
holder for biggest Iron Maiden collection in the world. When I visited his
place, I could barely contain myself – his collection is absolutely, positively
insane! It was an honour and privilege to be amongst such artefacts and I yearn
to return!
What other bands
do you like?
A lot. At the risk of
sounding boring, I mainly love the classics of select musical genres –
everything from Deep Purple to Depeche Mode, both of whom I listen to a lot.
There’s also a lot of underground bands I get into, ranging from obscure black
metal to industrial – but I have to be pretty selective and careful about listening
to certain bands and certain music due to being very sensitive to it. I take
music and the influence it has over my life extremely seriously.
You get to work at
Sweden Rock, how did this come about?
One of my regular jobs
is at Sweden’s most iconic and internationally renowned jazz and blues bar. I
guess the manager for the Sweden Rock bar saw me working one day and was
impressed enough to ask me to work at one of the busiest bars at Sweden Rock
festival – which was a plus for me since it’s set perfectly between the two
main stages.
What have been
some of your favourite concerts?
I saw Richie
Blackmore’s Rainbow recently and it was absolutely amazing. They played all of
the classics and their vocalist totally nailed the Dio songs. Def Leppard at
the same festival also blew me away – I lost my voice from screaming along with
all the lyrics. Other than that, I saw Root, Tormentor, and Grim Reaper play a
few months ago and they made such an impression on me that I couldn’t stop
talking about them for days afterwards. And, of course, Iron Maiden’s Legacy of
the Beast show last year -– I’d seen Maiden play before, but this show in
particular was what catapulted me from being a mega-fan to a total die-hard!
You’re making a
film called Keeping Abreast, what will this be about?
Fingers crossed we make
it! Funding is our biggest issue at the moment, but we’ve recently made some
applications so here’s to hoping. I’ve lost my mother, grandmother, and aunt to
breast cancer and have myself tested positive to having the BRCA-1 genetic
mutation. Basically, the film will be about my journey in trying to understand
how female breasts are perceived across cultures, since I’ll be removing my own
in a preventative double mastectomy. I’ve kind of tried to steer away from the
film being about “me” per se, but it seems I am the “product” and there’s always
a need to follow a protagonist in a story.
Your life has been
deeply impacted by breast cancer, how much does the world still need to learn
about the disease?
That’s difficult to
say, you know? On the one hand, I feel like EVERYONE basically knows what it is
and how devastating of an illness it is – since the likelihood of someone
knowing someone who knows someone with it is extremely high. But then the
conspiracy theorist in me sometimes thinks that since it’s a women’s issue, a
lot of males are uncomfortable talking about it beyond the basics. Even from
personal experience, the most awkward and weird responses I’ve had when I’ve
told someone about my breasts and having them removed have always come from
men, never women.
In July you embark
on the LEGACY OF THE BREAST tour what made you decide to do this?
After seeing Maiden six
times last year, I fell into a mild state of mania and decided it was the
greatest show of all time and that I needed to see it again. Parallel to this,
I also knew my impending operation is coming up and I kind of wanted to do as
many shows as possible while I was still “whole”, if that makes sense? That,
plus I’ll use any excuse to travel since I love exploring this planet!
You will see Iron
Maiden 24 times whilst on tour are you hoping they’ll mix up their set list
just for you?
Well, I know for a fact
they won’t. And that’s okay! I knew that when I booked all of the tickets and,
to be honest, I think that’s great anyway. I even have a few regrets that I’m
not going to enough shows. A lot of people think I’m crazy for seeing the same
show over and over again but, as I say to them, “It’s better than a heroin
addiction.”
You have created a
fundraiser to coincide with the tour where the proceeds go to Club de la Mama INEN
Neoplásicas in Peru., what is it about Peru that made you do this?
I’ve been to Peru four
times, and that place has truly had a spiritually beneficial impact on me.
Without getting too personal, I can say that my experiences there have
definitely saved my life and helped me become the person I am today. Sadly,
it’s not exactly the richest country in the world and I feel like I really
wanted to give something back to it, if even on a small scale. I’m just really
lucky that in the country I live in (and the country where I was born), I have
access to excellent medical treatment and the preventative double mastectomy is
basically free of charge – including reconstruction, should I choose to get it.
Every now and then I remember there are women in Peru in the same predicament,
or worse, as me, who don’t have access to the same medical treatment. It’s
awful.
For those that
will follow your journey on Instagram what can they expect?
Well, I’ll be posting
every single day about all of the adventures and fun stuff that happens along
the way. I’m going to 24 shows; 22 cities; 15 states; 3 provinces and 2
countries – all within an 8-week period, mind you. That’s pretty insane! I will
be documenting as much as possible – I’m a very curious spirit so, besides all things
Maiden, people can expect to see me wandering through graveyards, obscure
historic landmarks, and no doubt getting up to all sorts of mischief!
You’ll also be
covering the tour for a German magazine, how did this come about?
My friend owns and runs
the best German magazine for heavy and extreme metal; Deaf Forever. We’d been
exchanging emails about Iron Maiden (of course) and after I told him what I was
doing, he asked me to write a tour report.
What are you
planning to do after the tour finishes?
You mean after the
torrential waves of crippling depression? Haha! Why saving up for the next
tour, of course!
To support Emily’s LEGACY OF THE BREAST tour go to:
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