Interview: Dauzat St. Marie on Seal cover, Osbourne connection, foundations, what's next and more

Written By Neil Shumate, OOTB Publications

The pairing of Mat Dauzat and Heather St. Marie, better known as Dauzat St. Marie, has brought together a serendipitous singer-songwriter partnership since their 2014 debut EP Falling Again.

Since forming (including a past history of being together in a rock band), the harmonious duo have made many achievements, such as touring with Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, and Seal.

Recently completed with being in the band for Seal’s 30th Anniversary Tour and later having an unfortunate injury, the duo has released a chillingly rousing cover of the artist’s 1991 hit song “Crazy.”

Both Heather and Mat took time for this OOTB interview to discuss how the new cover song came to be, their connection to the Osbourne’s, future goals, solo foundations, writing together, touring this year.

Your rendition of “Crazy” is spectacular! Out of Seal’s song catalogue, why did you choose to cover and record “Crazy” and how long did it take to nail down your re-imagining and configuration of the song?

Mat:

Thank you!

Heather and I started a heavy rock band called Hydrovibe when we were kids and tried to get the guys to do a heavy cover of “Crazy,” because we’ve always been a big fan of that song. We got busy doing other things and never got around to it.

I was in another heavy rock band briefly and brought the idea to them… and again, we never got around to it.

Then, one day, Seal called me on FaceTime and offered me the job as Guitarist and Backing Vocalist in his band for the 30th Anniversary World Tour… which then led to Heather joining as Backing Vocalist.

So, though she and I had tried in the past, our first time to ever get to play the song was on stage with Seal himself!

Though we play it just like the album with Seal, Heather and I really like to break songs down and make them our own.

The Dauzat St. Marie version of “Crazy” didn’t really take all that long to re-imagine, because it comes very naturally to us.

We included it in the set for our most recent headlining tour and it took shape quickly.

Since your debut performance as a duo 11 years ago at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, you’ve achieved a lot, including with Hydrovibe. What are some goals, hopes and aspirations you still have as a duo?

Heather:

Well, thanks to this recent tour with REO Speedwagon and Rick Springfield, we can cross “playing packed arenas” off our list! [laughs]

Perhaps the next goal would be to graduate from “support act” on an arena tour to “co-headliner.” And then graduate to “headliner.”

That being said, as long as we can continue to be full-time musicians who release new music into the world… and continue to successfully tour the world, we are exceeding all hopes and aspirations!

How are you both connected to the Osbourne family and how have those relationships impacted or influenced your project’s work together?

Mat:

A few days after we moved to Los Angeles, I got an invitation to audition for the Lead Guitarist position in Kelly Osbourne’s band…. AND I GOT THE JOB!

My first show in Los Angeles was The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and we flew to the UK to begin a massive three-month EU/UK tour with Robbie Williams.

The MTV show “The Osbournes” was in full swing at the time, so we were mic’d up with cameras on us at all times. It was a WILD time!

The Osbourne family treated Heather and I like we were family from day one… and still do to this day. We have so much love for those crazy lovely people! And, of course we learned a LOT.

Ozzy shared so many stories with us from the old days and imparted quite a bit of wisdom. We also learned a great deal from Sharon’s notorious savvy in the topsy turvy world of the Music Business.

They are wonderful people and have been so supportive of our efforts.

When did you first personally become interested in music and what was it that made you say, “this is what I want to do?”

Heather:

Singing has always been a big part of my life, and at an early age I would tell my family that I’d be a singer one day.

When I met Mat, this dream crystallized into a passion and career… and I’ve been enjoying the journey ever since!

Mat:

I knew as early as three-years-old that I would be a lifelong musician. I learned to whistle as a baby and was crafting melodies long before I could talk.

I taught myself piano at three years old and began crafting song parts. I taught myself guitar as an early teen and immediately knew it would be my main instrument. I started my first band as an early teen and began honing my skills on the stage.

I met Heather when I was around 18 and knew that our musical alliance would take us anywhere we wanted to go…. and we’re still going!

During the pandemic, you released many singles. Songs included the successful “Common Ground” and “In It Together” was used by The American Cancer Society. As a duo, what is your general process or formula to write such appealing, hit songs together?

Heather:

We don’t force anything… we let the song come into the world when and how it wants to come into the world. Each one arrives in a different way.

That being said, most songs start by Mat coming up with a guitar riff that my ear latches on to. We rapidly audition melody ideas until we lock that part in (Mat will have already found the perfect vocal harmony by this time as well), and then we typically play with chorus lyric ideas until the perfect chorus lyric that fits the mood of the guitar part arrives (this part can be very fast… or take FOREVER!).

Once we have the chorus locked in, we know the essence of the song… so the lyrics for verses and bridge tend to fall into place somewhat quickly after that.

Between all of your happenings, you managed to release an album, Overthinking, last summer. If you could choose one song on the album to introduce new listeners to Dauzat St. Marie, which song would you pick and why that song?

Mat:

I’d say “Common Ground” because it seems to sonically sum up Dauzat St. Marie.

What is Dauzat St. Marie currently working on or what’s next for you each as individual musicians?

Heather:

Well… I had a gnarly skiing accident several weeks ago that led to an ACL repair and Meniscus repair surgery, so we had to push Dauzat St. Marie touring back a little bit to July.

We’re taking this forced downtime to write and record new material and work on a new stage show to hit the road hard in the second half of this year.