profile
M
C Pony is in the house and she’s
inspiring and encouraging people
to explore and embrace veganism
through song, although she’s
quick to admit she’s no singer.
Her first official single, Happy
Veganniversary, a celebratory song for
vegans to mark the anniversary of the
date they went vegan, can be seen on
YouTube and iTunes. She’s also written an
award-winning spoken word piece called
This Muddy Swine, released two singles
called Born to Die and Mother and Child,
and she regularly does poetry readings,
presentations and performances all around
Australia, as well as the US and the UK.
“Like most girls, I’ve loved horses and
ponies since as far back as I can remember.
Plus, a lot of the time, I wear my hair in a
ponytail. So, when it came time to finding
a stage name for my performances, MC
Pony really stuck,” explains Sydney’s
Elizabeth Usher about her pony-tailed
alter-ego.
“I’m unfortunately not a singer at all -
although I’m always happy to get up and
do some terrible karaoke for a laugh,” she
jokes but then adds more seriously: “I write
and perform hip hop, in a distinctive and
heartfelt style that I call ‘mindful rhymes
for kinder times’.”
MC Pony can regularly be seen at vegan
events such as the Sydney Vegan Festival,
Sydney Vegan Expo, Cruelty Free Festival
(NSW), Living Green Festival (ACT) and
World Vegan Day (VIC). “It’s so great to
know that these events are attracting a
huge audience of people interested in
working towards a more compassionate
and humane world,” Elizabeth says.
“Internationally, I’ve performed as
myself, doing poetry readings or presenting
a speech, or as MC Pony in the US and
in the UK, including at the London Vegan
Festival. Most of my other performances
have been at songwriter nights such as
the NSAI Nine and my own single releases
at venues like Lentil as Anything and The
Newsagency.”
MC Pony even has her own digital home
at veganthused.com. Elizabeth created the
word “veganthused” from a combination
of veganism and enthusiasm.
“The Veganthused project is all about
inspiring and encouraging people to explore
and embrace veganism. Despite performingmaterial that raises awareness about animal
rights, environmental and social justice
issues, an MC Pony show is fun, upbeat and
entertaining – it’s activism with a smile!”
Her song Born to Die, is about the sad
life of ‘broiler’ chickens. “A few people
have told me that they’d had no idea
what happens to ‘broiler’ chickens and
that since watching the video they are
re-thinking their choices when it comes to
eating meat from chickens. So obviously
that is the ideal response. I’d love for the
average consumer to be properly informed
about what is behind a packet of ‘chicken
meat’ - the inherent suffering endured by
‘broilers’ simply because of the way they
have been bred - and also for them to learn
about all the vegan options that can be
chosen instead.”
“Hopefully, this awakening would then
lead towards being more informed about all
other types of exploitation of non-human
animals in agriculture, and encouraging
kinder choices across the board.”
Last month, MC Pony performed at the
Dairy Truths and Music for the Animal
Liberation Movement, a special fundraiser
for Animal Liberation NSW, where she
debuted her new single Mother and Child.
“The theme of focusing on the dairy
industry was linked with the timing of the
event being three weeks before Mother’s
Day,” she says.
Elizabeth says that she finds performing
on stage fun, more so than being nervous.
Although, she says, “There’s a very fine
line between being nervous before aperformance versus having a sense of
excitement about it. I usually put in a lot
of hours into the preparation and rehearsal
beforehand so that I can feel primed and
ready to go on the night. But there’s always
going to be a sense of ‘what if something
goes wrong’ and I do usually need a toilet
break shortly before taking the stage.”
“I try to craft a set that’s a combination
of educating about the issues, encouraging
positive change, and celebrating the vegan
movement, plus some pure entertainment
as well.”
“Of course, I recognise that MC Pony’s
music and approach aren’t going to appeal
to everyone – but in reality, there’s not
a single musical act that does. When it
comes to managing nerves, it also helps
that I’ve typically received very lovely
feedback about past gigs - although I’m the
first to admit that I’m usually not playing to
a hostile audience.”
Elizabeth says that people have been
encouraged to believe without question that
animals are treated humanely on farms
and in slaughterhouses. “Indeed, there are
huge and powerful economic interests that
want this belief to continue and the status
quo to remain. It’s traumatic to face the
reality, especially in terms of the sheer
numbers of lives affected. But the bottom
line is, whatever the industry spin about
‘world’s best practice’ and so on, it all comes
down to the suffering of individual beings.”
To find out more about MC Pony and
her upcoming performances go to
veganthused.com/.Pony-tailed alter-ego MC Pony enables Sydney’s Elizabeth Usher to inspire others to explore
veganism through songs about animal rights, and environmental and social justice.
Spreading the message
THROUGH SONG