Barnsey ready for good times to roll
JIMMY Barnes is looking forward to returning to the Gold Coast for a good time with great mates on February 10 when he headlines new summer music festival Under the Southern Stars.
The over-18s event, at Broadwater Parklands, in Southport, will also feature Barnes’ Cold Chisel bandmate Ian Moss, The Cruel Sea and Beasts of Bourbon frontman Tex Perkins, Barnes’ guitar star brother-inlaw Diesel, longtime pal Richard Clapton, northern NSW roots rocker Ash Grunwald and local livewires The Rich and Famous.
As Barnes tells the Gold Coast Bulletin, gigs on the Goldie are always good.
This festival will bring you back to Broadwater Parklands, where you played a Gold Coast 600 Supercars show with Cold Chisel. What do you remember about that show/venue?
As with most Cold Chisel shows, we had a lot of fun. The venue was great and a lot of people turned up. Anytime we play on the Gold Coast we have fun and this will be the same. We will be in the sun with a lot of mates playing rock and roll. How could we not have a good time?
The homegrown rollcall for this show is a beauty. Can we look forward to a
singalong? I’m not sure this is a We are the World crowd or line up, but we are all friends and could end up jumping up on stage with each other. But in my experience, things like that are always better without planning them. The more spontaneous the better. There can’t be that many waterfront venues like Parklands that can accommodate big outdoor shows ... Should we be doing more to promote it to artists/agents and attract more concerts?
The more shows you have there the more the word will get out. As long as the crowd have a good time, the word will spread. It really helps having good line ups like this at any venue. I think that the people of the Coast should all come out and show Australia how to have a great time. What are the best and the worst memories you have of a gig/venue you’ve played on the Coast over the years?
In the old days we played a lot of clubs and there were some very famous clubs in your area – The Playroom comes to mind.
But we have played outdoors and indoors and people seem to like to have a good time up there.
It’s the kind of place people go to have a party. I don’t have any bad memories from the Gold Coast. The spine-tingling version of
you performed on was surely a new PB. What impact has revisiting your past for your books had on your storytelling in the musical realm? Have you found new meaning in your own lyrics or rediscovered songs you thought you knew inside out after all that digging around into yourself?
I am always finding new things in the songs I sing. They take on new meaning every time I sing them.
The writing process obviously opens up new doors to the songs. I think that a lot of these songs can be seen in a new light as I grow and as I learn more about myself.
It is an exiting time for me as a man and as a singer. And I hope I can bring this experience to my audience. They have been a huge part of my journey and my growth.
We have shared some history, this town and I.
Under the Southern Stars plays Broadwater Parklands February 10.