Microwave Jenny

Where did your love for music first come from?

Tessa I think my real appreciation started when my Dad was running a karaoke business while I was still in primary school. He’d take me along and I’d be busting out everything from Anastasia, to the Beach Boys. This was then followed by High School where I fell in love with High School musicals…and BAM! I loved music.

Brendon My love for music came very early on. When I was super young my parents used to stay up late playing their old records all night, while I’d stay in my room drawing, and then falling asleep to the music. I’d wake up in the morning singing The Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, or Marvin Gaye. I was the only kid listening to the Classic Hits on AM radio. I loved it then, and still love it now.

How would you describe your sound? What do you hope your listeners feel when they hear your music?

Brendon Our sound is a little blend of acoustic folk and groove based jazz/ pop.

Tessa We hope they feel young! We kind of want them to feel a little pain in their cheeks from smiling too much!

How did your cover of Hanson’s ‘Mmmbop’ come to life? It certainly gives it a new flavour!

Tessa We both really love Hanson! To most people they were a teeny bopper band from the 90's designed to make 14 year old girls go wild. They were actually killer songwriters with great voices, who were cursed because of their beautiful long blonde hair. We were having a conversation about them, and joked that ‘Mmmbop’ was actually Hanson scatting and it was originally meant to be a jazz song. It made us think, ‘What would that sound like?’



Do you prefer to perform at your own gigs, or at music festivals?

Tessa We get to be really creative with our own shows, and personalise the events for our fans. At our own shows our crowd will usually sing along to their favourite songs, which gives us a boost. It’s always a great feeling to see familiar faces in the crowd and Microwave Jenny written on those crisp new tickets at the door.

At festivals there’s less room to be creative because of the time restrictions. However, you get to play for a whole bunch of people who might never have heard of you before. To make them smile is one of the best feelings ever. Festival’s also make us go a little more crazy than usual because of all the adrenalin. They’re both amazing in their own ways.

Where do you hope to take Microwave Jenny? Do you prefer to plan or see where life takes you?

Brendon All over the world! We’d love to play to as many people as we can. Venue-wise, I’d really like to take MJ to the kinds of places where you wouldn’t normally expect to see live music. Laundromats, movie theatres…whatever! Part of what makes music so great is its ability to take you so many places you’d never expect to see. We have the skeletons of a plan, but like all bodies, the bones usually end up having very little to do with how it all looks in the end. We’re always open to opportunities and ready for whatever pops up.


Tessa’s Creative Inspirations

Shaun Tan He can draw with a child’s mind, so open and free to all things imaginative, which is a hard thing to do as you get older… It’s like trying to be as new and creative as a child on a piano, when you already know how to play and what keys are going to sound good together.

Colours If there was no such thing as colour I would be the most cranky, unenthused person on the planet. Colour determines my thoughts, my mood and the way in which I write.

Brendon’s Creative Inspirations

Megan Washington To me great songwriting is all about tension and release. Imagine someone pulling on a slingshot. She writes these verses that just build up all this tension and then lets it all go with really catchy, yummy hooks for choruses.

The Buried Life (Television Series) Four twenty-something guys, who remind me a lot of myself and my friends, go around with a list of 100 things to do before they die. Highly recommended.

Microwave Jenny’s website lives here. - freshmeatproject.net

About 4 years ago I used to head out on a Wednesday night to get some culture with a group of friends and friends of friends. We'd see a play, the symphony or hit a live music venue. The Basement is of course one of my favourite live spots in the city...and it was here that I discovered an absolute gem of an Aussie duo. We were there to see some big soul band rock out but I honestly can't even remember who it was. All I remember is this gorgeous pop folk duo, Microwave Jenny. From the moment Tessa Nuku's sweet sound started I was absolutely hooked. She has this incredibly light, bright but effortless voice which sometimes has a darling little crack in it. Her (now husband) Brendan is equally talented, and his sweet harmonies make the music soar.

The above song, When you don't call is a recent favourite. I love this song, because it encapsulates perfectly that feeling when you're waiting for someone to call. Slightly teen angsty of me, but I've never pretended to be above that...

What's awesome about seeing this raw youtube clip is how similar it sounds to the recorded version - no autotune here! They also kill at covers. But you'll have to see them in concert to get the best. They're playing at the Vanguard on Oct 5 - tickets here.

Some other faves you should absolutely check out: I'll Never Learn; my summer fave, Summer or this totally fun cover of MmmBop.

My day is beggin' to be talked about...?
- blogger.com

As a musical venture, teaming up with a spouse is risky.

For it to be a success there needs to be some seriously good musical skills to back up the short-lived appeal of the band members singing love songs about each other. But pop-folk duo Microwave Jenny nails it, privileging their audience to an impressive display of talent and the adorable interactions of two crazy-in-love kids.

It’s almost shocking when Brendon Boney starts strumming his guitar, because the banter that preludes the first song is worth listening to in itself. The couple has an unbelievable rapport that, while intimate, radiates some warmth to the already-smitten audience. But thankfully, weaved into the romance is a music set and it’s killer.

Tessa Boney’s voice is nothing short of sensational – throaty but flawless, and the “perfect combination of sexy and cute” that Steve Carrell harps on about in Crazy Stupid Love. Brendon is only slightly less impressive when he leads a tune, but the harmonies he creates is where his true vocal talent shines. He brings the RnB to Tessa’s jazzy tones and, with a few touches here and there, it evolves into their pop-folk baby.

And then there’s the subject matter! “Homemade Lemonade”, “Locked In The Closet” (a reference to spin the bottle) and “We’ll Be Fine” – a song the couple sang to guests at their own wedding. Everything about these two is just lovely but not once is their evident adoration for each other off putting.

“Valium Whispers, Red Bull Touch” is an acoustic RnB tune with a country pace and perfectly captures the sensations that special someone can give you. Even when Microwave Jenny aren’t singing their own odes to love, it’s electrifying. Their cover of “When You Walk in the Room” is just gorgeous – made even more so by the use of the audience to echo the bird-like melody.

A rendition of fun new single “You, Me, Backseat” goes down well and “I’m Gonna Get Ya” – a song about a stalker – draws lots of giggles. A sultry version of “Boom Boom” by Justice Crew is commendable but it’s the medley of pop songs that breaks up crowd-favourite “Mellow” that the duo really grab their audience.

The line-for-line exchange between the Boney couple of everything from Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” to “Gangam Style” is highly entertaining and just plain clever.

If you didn’t have a couple you secretly admired (read: envied) already, jump on the Microwave Jenny bandwagon; and enjoy their phenomenal music while you’re at it. - www.tonedeaf.com.au

Katie Noonan and the Captains were its headline act, but it was a show that also displayed the technical and varied talents of two other bands and artists: Microwave Jenny and Mama Kin. The result was a night of great diversity and an introduction to Australian artists who are sure to touch audiences with their music in some delightfully unexpected ways.

Although less well known in popular circles than Noonan, Microwave Jenny and Mama Kin have also performed to big crowds at events like the Woodford Folk Festival. Microwave Jenny (Tessa Nuku and Brendon Boney) are perhaps the new kids on the block, a folk/jazz duo who recently won the Peter Garrett Breakthrough grant, which funded the recording of their debut album.

Nuku, on lead vocal, has an angelic voice and a rather lovely tentative disposition. She is accompanied by Boney on vocals and guitar and between the two come some wonderful harmonies and lyrics.

Whilst the duo put their own spin on some popular songs, making many of them more interesting than their originals, their songs Lyin and Locked in the Closet are especially catchy. Homemade Lemonade has particularly sweet lyrics, capturing childlike innocence and young love. - Australian Stage

REVIEW
By EMILY WATKINS

A DELIGHTFUL brand of original pop with an essence of jazzy, folksy style, Microwave Jenny would be welcome at any house party.
Tessa Nuku and Brendon Boney make up the duo and delighted audiences at the Darwin Festival’s Lighthouse on Thursday night with their silky tunes.
Their original songs boasted pretty, insightful lyrics, about lemonade and party drinking games, but really all about love.
Their melodies and harmonies showed off angelic voices. Nuku particularly shone, with a voice you can imagine listening to in a smoky jazz club.
She apologised for the lack of their usual accompanying band, but Boney’s guitar, his whistling and each of their strong voices easily filled the outdoor theatre.
Covers of Missy Higgins’ Scar and Hanson’s Mmm- Bop were still original in their familiarity.
The duo, from the NSW Central Coast, are yet to release their first album, but already had some devotees in the crowd.
As performers, Microwave Jenny engaged the audience, and proved to be endearing characters, giving little insights into their personalities.
Boney’s guitar-playing fingernail broke — he bit it off and spat it on to the stage —and Nuku giggled every time they conversed to decide which song to play next.
Boney opened the show by saying the theatre was what he had pictured when writing one of their songs, and exactly how he would love a house party to look if he were to invite his girl crush.
They would be welcome at any house party of mine. - NT NEWS (Sat, Aug 21, 2010)

Microwave Jenny’s music will make you feel warm inside
From performing on the back of a ute at Kempsey to being heard around the world, Microwave Jenny are on a fast track to success.

After seeing Microwave Jenny perform on the back of a ute at a Vibe 3on3 festival, Vibe’s Managing Director Gavin Jones promptly booked them to appear at the 2008 Deadly Awards in Sydney. Their performance, which was broadcast live on national television, national community radio and streamed live online all over the world, proved to be the catalyst for the duo’s quick rise to fame.

Microwave Jenny pair Brendon Boney and Tessa Nuku, both 21, often finish each other’s sentences and are pretty happy with the way things have turned out. “It was insane,” Brendon says. “We got a lot of hits on our MySpace page.” Tessa adds: “Yeah! We were like woo hoo!”

Tessa grew up on NSW’s Central Coast and Brendon grew up in Wagga Wagga. When they met three years ago at rehearsals for the Schools Spectacular in Sydney’s Redfern, the musical chemistry was undeniable. Tessa says she was backstage playing the piano when Brendon approached her: “I thought, ‘That dude thinks he’s so hot. Who is he?’”

“We jammed together for a long time before we even said anything,” Brendon says. “I knew I’d see a lot more of Tessa, and that she had no idea we were gonna hang around each other at all.”

The pair then met up once a month to play for the Talent Development Project (TDP), eventually forming a duet and touring.

In the past year, they’ve performed with big-name artists like Diesel, Michael Bublé, James Blunt, Margaret Urlich and Paul Kelly and at community events like Sydney’s New Year’s Day celebrations. They also play regularly at the Art After Hours program at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and at Lizotte’s restaurant performance venue in Kincumber, NSW. Earlier this month, they performed at Perth’s Nannup Music Festival, and in June you can see them in Queensland at the Woodford Folk Festival’s ‘The Dreaming’.

The sweet melodies and lyrics of their jazz/folk sound have strong old school musical influences, from the Little River Band, James Morrison, Bill Withers, Van Morrison, Janis Ian and Joni Mitchell.

Brendon says their music is so broad that it’s really hard to describe but explains it as “positive and spirited with honest, sincere lyrics and contagious melodies”.

Regardless of how they’re described, the pair’s musical talents, song-writing ability and unique chemistry make Microwave Jenny stand out. It’s a winning combination of Tessa’s sweet and often quirky voice, music that makes you want to get up and dance, and conversational lyrics that are easy to relate to.

“We write a lot of the lyrics together,” says Tessa. “It’s a pretty tough process but we usually try to be conversational rather than poetic,” says Brendon. “Yeah,” says Tessa, “we try to keep it simple.”

And the name, Microwave Jenny? Brendon and Tessa were watching the Australian film The Castle on television one day, when the name came up.

“It was pretty spontaneous wasn’t it?” Brendon says to Tessa, as they both start acting out the scene in the film, where Trace is brushing her mum Sal’s hair :

Brendon (Trace): “Do you know Jenny?”
Tessa (Sal): “Jenny, Jenny?”
Brendon (Trace): “No, Microwave Jenny.”

Microwave Jenny has just released their first EP, featuring five tracks that you can download from their MySpace page. “Trying to get this EP happening has taken more than a year, Mr Man in the Moon was recorded years ago,” says Brendon. “But we’re pretty happy with how it sounds and looks as a package. It’s something I’m pretty proud of.”
“It’s like our little baby,” says Tessa.

They may be aligned musically, but Brendon and Tessa spend their days off in different ways. “I dig a movie,” Brendon says. “It sounds geeky, and everybody should be getting out and getting active, but I love a good flick. I love a good choc-top, Maltesers… and I love me some Johnny Depp. Not in a gay way but in a, hey, I wanna be you kind of way.”

“I love a day at the beach,” Tessa says, and you can hear her influence coming through in the lyrics of their song ‘Summer’.

It may seem like Microwave Jenny are having dream run but the pair are realistic about the music industry and their place in it.

“It’s a really hard industry to get into,” Brendon says. “All of the challenges and criticism are pretty daunting, but if you love it you shouldn’t have any trouble sticking to it.”

Tessa has the final word, summing up their innate optimism: “Never give up. You’ve just gotta keep going.”
- Vibe Magazine