By Bob Gordon
Rob Grant from Poons Head Studio in Fremantle has played host to rockers such as Lenny Kravitz, Tame Impala, Jeff Martin, Death Cab For Cutie, Jebediah, The Panics, Eskimo Joe and many more, but when international pop diva Miley Cyrus – who plays tonight at Perth Arena – popped in to record some songs on Tuesday, it was something of a first.
“We got a call from someone called from the States who wanted some recording time for a touring female artist,” Grant explains. “We had a quick look at the Gig Guide, so we thought it could be her.”
After some Googling – Grant’s more a rock’n’roll aficionado, you see – he was later to recognise Ms. Cyrus at the studio entrance, but not before some formalities were taken care of.
“They came in and did a security sweep,” he says. “It was funny, our little Bichon Frise dog went out and was barking madly at them. Barney, this one-foot-high little poodle thing. I said, ‘security, meet security!’”
Cyrus stayed most of the day, working on sketches of songs for her next album, which she is producing.
“We were doing three to four songs, with vocals. She got sent stuff over from LA. They’re songwriting, so they were works in progress. I think they’re going to be using those vocals though, there were some great takes.
“Immediately, as soon as she opened her mouth, you could tell what a huge talent she was. Her vocal sound was just fantastic straight away. It was a surprise… and I’m a bit of a veteran at that. I’ve heard a million voices and she’s got something, definitely.”
Cyrus also recorded a cover of an old ballad, following on from a Tweet earlier in the week where she stated, ‘I don’t know how I lived without Skeeter Davis for so long’, referring to the ’60s pop/country singer. Ever-present on social media, she posted a photo taken in front of the microphone on her Facebook page, which Grant says attracted some 90,000 likes within 15 minutes.
Aside from her security, Cyrus was joined by her personal assistant and a friend who is along for the Bangerz tour. Grant was offered some tickets for the show, which he will be attending tonight.
“She was a really nice person,” he says. “Polite, nice, humble, friendly… a lot of energy. She liked Poons; she liked the vibe of it, the quirkiness of it and stuff. It’s was almost as if that’s what they were looking for in terms of the music.
“She was happy with the sound. She was really stoked.”
