May 2026

GET TO KNOW… NICOLA SCHULTZ

Nic: What was the home stereo like in your house when you were a kid?

A big radiogram with record player and radio. It looked like this link and I’m pretty sure it had the three standard speeds 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM. As a combined Christmas/birthday gift when I was about 8 years old, I got a small record player with a clear plastic top and small speaker for my bedroom. I was told I could pick one vinyl record to go with it and I chose ABBA Arrival.

Nic: What was your parents’ taste in music like? Did they play records?

Mum had vinyl records by Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell and Nana Mouskouri that she occasionally played but was more into having the radio on every morning. She also introduced me to Bob Dylan’s thick yellow book Writings and Drawings which I’d love to get a copy of again. I do recall a very melancholic version of the Irving Berlin song “What’ll I Do” being sung behind the bathroom door when my mum was in the shower and thought no one was listening. It was in the Julie London ballpark and always brought me back to the moment.

Mum and Dad split up when I was young, but Dad told me his favourite songwriter was Tom Waits. He loved both the melodies and his vocal delivery.

Nic: Did your siblings play any part in your musical knowledge?

Yes. My eldest brother with his aptitude for electronics built large cabinets for speakers that he wired up. I listened to his selection of albums on a good quality stereo system when I’d visit our garage which he converted into his bedroom in his teens. This included Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel’s 1980 self-titled album, ELO‘s A New World Record, Split Enz (he painted their True Colours album cover on one of the garage walls), Wings, the Cure and Midnight Oil.

My other brother was into Kiss and Skyhooks. The Ripper ’76 compilation was always there too. Cassettes were lying around and I remember being mesmerised by how good the Beatles were when in an empty room I really listened to them. The same goes for Supertramp’s Breakfast in America album which left an impression too.

Nic: What was the first record (or cd) you bought? And do you remember where from? 

I’m not sure that it was the first record, but I do still have the Divinyls 1985 What a Life! album with a Grace Bros sticker on it and must have been discounted because there’s a line through the price ($12.95).

Nic: Did you have much of a record collection when you were a teenager?

I built up a record collection which began with ABBA Arrival, and then my eldest brother used to buy me 7-inch singles and albums for birthdays. I still have the single for the Police’s “Message in a Bottle” and the Complete Madness album from him.

Mum bought me The Very Best of Peggy Lee when I was about 10 years old to make me feel better after being teased. She had a scar on her face too. I loved her vocal delivery.

My own purchases included a bulk buy of David Bowie vinyl for $15 from a second-hand record store on a side street in Dee Why (David Bowie Stage, David Live, Man Who Sold the World, Chameleon, Scary Monsters, and Aladdin Sane). My collection also included the Cure, the Jam (The Gift and Sound Affects), Cyndi Lauper (She’s So Unusual), Sting (The Dream of the Blue Turtles on blue vinyl), Roxy Music (Avalon). The collection expanded with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Your Funeral My Trial), Bauhaus, Psychedelic Furs, The Jesus & Mary Chain, the Railway Children, the Hummingbirds, Hüsker Dü, Japan, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Lene Lovich, Pixies, and most of the Cocteau Twins releases, which I bought from Phantom Records.

Nic: Who were your favourite bands/singers when you were in primary school?

ABBA, the Beatles, Olivia Newton-John, Kate Bush, Bee Gees, Suzi Quatro, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Presley and Don McLean.

Nic: In the States, a lot of budding musicians had their ‘wake up moment’ when the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. Mine was a puppet show at the Canberra Show when the puppets sang “Puppet On A String”. What was yours?

I listened to a cassette from the back seat of a car heading out to a Bob Dylan weekend in Singleton with Mum’s friends. The haunting intimacy of the lyrics and vocal delivery along with the guitar playing by Joan Baez on the song “Diamonds and Rust” entranced while speeding through the trees along a back road.

Also, The Beatles “Norwegian Wood” gave me a moment where I felt transported to the place as John Lennon sang ‘she showed me her room’.

Nic: Now some radio questions. What radio station(s) did you listen to?

2SM was the AM station and on FM it was 2JJ which then became Triple J. I loved Arnold Frolows’ Sunday night program Ambience which I taped on cassette. I learnt of new international music including Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Robin Guthrie, Robert Fripp, Daniel Lanois and the Cocteau Twins.

I also have earlier memories of the record store at Brookvale called Mall Music where lyrics for the latest singles playing on 2MMM were available on collectable coloured paper for free at the counter.

Nic: Were you dedicated to watching Countdown?

Yes, it was on in our house every Sunday night. Molly Meldrum provided a knowledgeable service like no other with his unforgettable interviews and advocacy for new music. I loved seeing the live shows and the young crowd in the room. Skyhooks were always a highlight.

I also really liked Donny Sutherland’s TV show called Sounds.

Nic: Were you a music magazine buyer?

I bought UK’s NME, Melody Maker and Uncut and the occasional Rolling Stone. I’ve liked MOJO for a while and recently bought a MOJO ‘60s edition which included yellow vinyl of “Cabin Essence” the single by the Beach Boys.

Nic: Were there any local bands you liked when you were in high school? Or bands from your area who became famous?

 INXS and Midnight Oil came from the Northern Beaches, and I liked seeing some live local music including the Divinyls, the Celibate Rifles and the Johnnys when I could get into hotels. The ska scene was also happening and although they were from the city, the Allniters playing at Brookvale Oval with other Aussie bands led me to Club Ska which was a great band that gave me an appreciation for reggae and soul music too.

Nic: Did you play an instrument when you were younger?

Yes. I had an acoustic guitar in late primary school and learnt basic chords and some strumming techniques in an after-school class. In early high school I had classical guitar lessons with an older student which finished when she left the school. Her name was Jacinta Crimmins. I looked her name up recently and it was great to read that she is a singer and guitarist in Melbourne.

We also had an organ at home, and I’d play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony introduction loud. I also did some blues style ad-libbing on it and a piano in the school hall at lunchtimes.

Nic: Do you remember the first song you wrote?

Yes. I was looking out at the Pittwater from a little beach with many moored sailing boats. I was feeling displaced and the scene calmed me.

Rocking back and forth/I never thought/I’d notice something so sweet
Held in time I’m captured/By a line/No place to go, no place to go.

Nic: What was your first live show you played? Was it at high school?

I was on stage in year 7 after those early classical guitar lessons playing in a recital alongside other guitar students, but in a band situation it was playing bass guitar at the Dee Why Hotel. Swirl entered a Battle of the Bands competition where we didn’t fit in and didn’t win, but it broke the ice. The next gig was open mic night at the Lansdowne where we met you! : )

Nic: And the question I ask to finish this off: tea bag or loose leaf?

Loose leaf. I love a good brew first thing in the morning. A tea bag any other time is fine. 😊

*****

Nicola was the bassplayer and vocalist in Swirl and has released eight solo albums. Her most recent is Ripples in the Pond, released in May 2026.