Taylor

Hey, how are you?

Cassidy Paris

I’m great, how are you?

Taylor

I’m good, thanks! The new album is grittier, raw and authentic, feeling more mature in the best ways. How do you feel you’ve grown as a musician and songwriter since your debut release?

Cassidy Paris

Thank you for saying that. The new album, I would call it like a natural progression from the last one. It’s been really fun to kind of see the way people have reacted to the new singles.The response has been really good. The new album’s a bit more edgy, a bit more heavy, and I think people are liking it, so I’m really excited about that.

Taylor

 I’ve listened to it already and I think it’s awesome.

Cassidy Paris

 Oh, thank you. I really appreciate that. It’s great hearing it from young people as well because obviously it’s very much still got the eighties edge to it, but I try to add a little bit of a modern injection as well.

Taylor

After going through a really tough situation earlier this year, you’ve come back stronger and better than ever. What part of this new era are you most excited about?

Cassidy Paris

 Definitely a tough situation. It’s something that affected me both personally, professionally, and financially, which was really difficult. I however, feel like it’s revived me in a lot of ways, and motivated me as an artist and I kind of understand myself more as an artist than I ever have. So I guess things can be complicated and turn out to be okay. Everything happens for a reason and I’ve tried to look at it from that perspective. But it definitely wasn’t easy at all to put it lightly.

Taylor

I’m so glad that things worked out for you and that you came back even stronger.

Cassidy Paris

You had the opportunity to work with Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem, Steve Brown of Trixter, and Paul Laine on this album. What was it like getting to work with these incredible, but underrated musicians/songwriters?

Taylor

You’re definitely right. These guys should be as big as Bon Jovi. They’re such great musicians. It was awesome. I reached out to Pete after the Harem Scarem tour because we all became really close on that tour, and he was totally on board. He said that he’d play on whatever I wanted and he was so cool about it. I love the solo on Stronger, it’s so cool. Then my relationship with Paul has been fostered over quite a few years and he’s very much a father figure to me as well. I feel really lucky that I’ve got him to guide me as a musician and just as a person in general. It’s been great.

Cassidy Paris

I’m a huge Harem Scarem fan as well, so it was really cool that Pete was able to play on a track! They’re such great guys.

Taylor

Bittersweet is the perfect blend of 80s and modern hard rock, showcasing catchy hooks, melodic guitar solos and strong vocals. Were there any particular bands/artists that you were listening to at the time of recording that had an influence on you and helped shape the album?

Cassidy Paris

There were a couple for sure. Paramore was a huge one for me. I’m a huge Haley Williams fan. She is a big influence on me. Another one was Vixen. There’s a bunch of people I guess. But with this album, like I said before, I felt like I definitely came into myself as an artist and like I kind of understand where I wanna go with things from this point onwards more than I ever have. I think that with this record, people will be able to understand what I’m trying to go for. I’ve always kind of described myself as a bridging artist, but I think it’s very obvious with this record as well.

Taylor

You can definitely hear the progression from the first album to this one.

Cassidy Paris

Thank you. I’m really glad that you like it because it’s obviously always a tough thing putting out a second record when the first one was very, very well received, which I was so happy with. But I’m so glad that Bittersweets had the response so far that it has.

Taylor

I love the first album, but I think I prefer this one.

Cassidy Paris

Oh, that makes me really happy. That makes me really, really happy. That’s awesome.

Taylor

Although the entire album is fantastic from start to finish, Give Me Your Love, Can’t Let Go and Sucker For Your Love are my current favourites off the album. Are there any currently unreleased tracks off the album that you’re most excited for fans to hear?

Cassidy Paris

 Yes. There is a little bit more coming on that, but people can also hear the Influence Me series as well when you purchase one of the kit albums off of Frontiers, which is. Then they can listen to all the exclusive Influence me covers that I’ve been doing. There is more coming on that too. There’s also something I can’t really speak about yet. I can’t wait for people to hear what’s next after Bittersweet as well. Very linked to bittersweet. It doesn’t really make much sense yet, but it will.

Taylor

That’s super exciting!

Cassidy Paris

You’ve been focusing a lot on the visual side of this album, creating fun looks and videos to help support the album. Although there’s always going to be people who disagree, I think it’s really empowering when women dress how they want and express themselves! What has been your favourite part of this?

Taylor

 I definitely agree and obviously being a woman in the industry as well, you understand what I mean when I say for me that fashion in general has been such a big staple in who I am as an artist. People have recently kind of been digging into me with comments about what I wear and stuff, and I’m just like, it’s 2025, people need to grow up a little bit. Yeah. Another artist that does that is my friend Chez Kane, and she’s real, I love her.

Cassidy Paris

She’s so lovely, she does it really well.

Taylor

If these people can kind of band together then I think that the haters and the keyboard warriors will disintegrate quite quickly.

Cassidy Paris

It’s awesome that there’s multiple women showcasing this confidence and empowerment. And you guys are signed to the same label so you can come together.

Taylor

You just announced your “Finish What We Started” UK tour for next May, do you have anything fun planned for this tour that you can share?

Cassidy Paris

 Yeah, I have so many fun things that I can share. This is not for the tour, but I’m going to be over quite a bit in the UK next year and I have a couple more dates that I can’t reveal specifically yet, but I will be overseas a lot, which is insane to say. you know, um, a second record that you’re gonna be over multiple times in one year. The UK Cassidy Paris has been able to do so much for me over there. I get the opportunity to tour over there so often with the postponement of the tour, I really didn’t know how things were gonna go after that. It wasn’t my decision to postpone the tour, and it was very much like the rug was pulled out from under me. When you do something like that and it is attached to a name, it could go either way. I’m really lucky because people really did. band together and get behind me through that situation. It’s allowed me to be able to, you know, bring the ‘Finish What We Started’ tour to them so quickly afterwards. I’ll do everything in my power to make those shows the best possible for the fans that missed out on the recent cancellation of the tour. There are a couple of little surprises, so it should be fun. I’m really excited. Yeah,

Taylor

That is exciting, I’m so happy that you are able to go back and finish the tour.

Cassidy Paris

Thank you, me too. It was definitely something I wanted to do. It was just more about getting it right and obviously the album was pushed back in terms of release date as well. It was hard to piece together, but it all came together eventually.

Taylor

You’ll also be performing on the Monsters of Rock Cruise for the first time next year, bringing your live show to an American audience for the first time. What are you most looking forward to during this experience?

Cassidy Paris

 I am so excited for everything. I can’t wait to see artists like Lita Ford, Nelson, and Stryper. There are so many bands there that I’ve never seen before because a lot of them haven’t toured Australia. I can’t wait to go out and see those bands. I can’t wait to meet the American audience as well. I have been to America one time, but it was for three songs, so I’ve never debuted a live electric set there at all, so it’s gonna be like a whole kind of new world over there. So I’m really excited and stoked to meet everyone. It’ll be a lot of fun.

Taylor

It’s honestly the best five days of your life.

Cassidy Paris

I can’t wait. Everyone tells me this and I’m so stoked to be able to do it. I remember when the opportunity came up that I was like, yes, of course. I’d love to do that. Um, I’m really glad about it.

Taylor

Top 5 desert island albums?

Cassidy Paris

 How difficult. I’ll go Back in Black by AC/DC, that’s one of my all time favourites. Hysteria by Def Leppard, another one. Riot by Paramore is up there for me. Mood swings by Haram Scarem, and A Strange Case by Halestorm.

Taylor

All awesome choices. Thank you so much for chatting with me!