Biography

A four year old Shelly Quarmby, stands quite comfortably in front of her family singing with her first bright red and yellow microphone and speaker set.  To say she never looked back is an understatement, there has never been a time where Shelly has contemplated doing anything else but singing for a living.  Working through the ABRSM syllabus from an early age, Shelly gained a distinction in Grade 8 singing and also has Grade 7 in piano.  She has a wide interest in the arts; she trained in ballet and studied Performing Arts.  Shelly continued to advance her studies and by the age of 21 years obtained a BA (Hons) in Music and Popular Music, whilst simultaneously working for four years as part of a popular music duo singing around the country at weddings and formal functions. 

She trained in both classical and contemporary music.  The 25 year old has never relied solely on her influences to create her own material but believes it slowly seeps in to her subconscious to generate material and each new song finds strength from the previous.  Shelly’s songs consist of melodic ballads with clear piano driven hooks and biographical lyrics.  Feeling the basis and very core of a song is what’s important to her; clear, precise acoustic music has always been her passion.  Any music should be able to be broken down and stand alone even with a simple piano accompaniment.  This is one of the many reasons why Shelly admires the writing of Carole King, a songwriter who has had many of her songs arranged in different ways.  Shelly believes “if you have a solid foundation, then you have the ability to do what you want with it and it’ll still be good”.

Shelly has a vast array of musicians she is influenced by and it would be hard to name them all, she knows who she aspires to and admires.  Shelly’s ultimate idol, “vocally” she says, is Linda Ronstadt.  “She has an incredibly powerful voice, with crystal-like clarity, yet such a rich tone at the same time.”  Along with Linda Ronstadt, from an early age she remembers listening to her parents’ music, anything from Aaron Neville, Fairground Attraction and Terence Trent D’Arby to Bob Seger and old country music greats like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton!  She is still a great fan of country music, nowadays it’s artists such as Trisha Yearwood, the Dixie Chicks, Rascal Flatts, Alison Moorer and Emmylou Harris.  Vocally Shelly has a captivating blend of folk, country and pop, reminiscent of her influences - Linda Ronstadt, Bette Midler, Vonda Shepard and Trisha Yearwood.  Shelly draws types of influence from different artists; through her writing she is inspired by Jimmy Webb, Beth Nielsen-Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Randy Newman.  She aspires to the great entity that is the female singer-songwriter; amongst her favourites are Chantal Kreviazuk, Paula Cole and of course the “outstanding talent” of Sarah Mclachlan.

For Shelly music is a passion, song writing is a great release of the mind and emotions.  “I'm very meditative in my thinking - insightful and reminiscent; you have to learn from all your experiences in your life, it can only make you a better person – and songwriter!”