Paula’s adolescence was spent as a casual observer in the Melbourne punk scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s. After a myriad of garage bands, the first serious musical interlude was not until the late 80’s with the formation of Velvet Hammer. 

 

Founded in1989, Velvet Hammer was a raucous punk/metal crossover band from Melbourne, featuring Paula on vocals and guitar. A fiercely DIY ethos predominated in the local scene and Paula’s throaty vocals wasn’t typical of female vocalists at that time. 

 

Velvet Hammer toured extensively, along the east coast of Australia throughout the 1990’s and participated in numerous festivals with many local and interstate punk/metal bands.  VH also produced numerous video clips which were aired by RAGE, a music show on ABC television.

 

Much was written about Paula’s confrontational approach, with slogans from Hot Metal magazine labelling her as “Australia’s most brutal female vocal.” It also saw her strongly aligned to and unofficially labelled champion of the Riot Grrrl/ Grot Grrrl movement in Melbourne and interstate, advocating a woman’s right to be represented in the male dominated Hardcore culture. In doing this forging a legacy for women’s inclusion in this cross over movement of the mid 90’s.