Singer on track

By Chloe Prince
DANDENONG’s own Gwendolyne O’Dea has become a fresh face in the music industry since participating in the FReeZA central mentoring program.
The FReeZA program, which produces an annual compilation album, features music from emerging female Victorian songwriters. The 2009 edition ‘Naked in the Woods’ features Gwendolyne’s song ‘Bad’s Good’.
“Working on this album was amazing,” she said.
“It was my first time in a professional studio doing a full song. I learnt a lot and made good friends with the other girls.”
A local girl, she attended school at Dandenong High and St John’s before completing Year 12 at Box Hill TAFE.
Meeting other musicians at the TAFE, Gwendolyne began to get more serious about her music. She also became involved with a large group of musicians from the Berwick and Beaconsfield area.
“We would spend lots of time every weekend jamming, singing and playing,” Gwendolyne said.
“We are still a large group. We all support each other and go to each others shows around Melbourne, and also organise to play shows together.”
Having spent the last seven years travelling and living in Montreal, Gwendolyne has incorporated a lot of her experiences into her music.
“You meet so many people and hear a lot of stories when you travel and I think that I incorporated a lot of this into my song writing,” she said.
While in Montreal Gwendolyne met a producer who helped her go from songwriter to recording artist.
Since coming back to Dandenong she is now playing shows in Melbourne and recording her EP, which she hopes might inspire other local kids.
“Living in the suburbs the kids play not realising they can do anything,” she said.
“It’s really hard to take the first step.”