The Songwriters Circle

The Songwriters' Circle is a concept which began in Canada and has since spread its wings across the globe. The Circle usually features three or four singer songwriters, who not only perform their songs to a live audience, but also dissect them, discussing how their songs are written, relating amusing anecdotes etc. This Australian tour features Canadian artist Matthew Barber, local guys Nicholas Roy, Asa Broomhall and former Noiseworks and Electric Hippies member Steve Balbi.

Steve Balbi was unaware of The Songwriters' Circle until he got a call from a couple of local promoters looking to launch the program here. Balbi was not short of work, being in the midst of recording a new Noiseworks album, rehearsing with that band for the Long Way To The Top tour, recording his own solo album, running his Ziggy stage show, and fronting '80s band MiSex... but the Circle gig intrigued him. “It seemed like a good thing to do,” he says. “It would be great for it to be an ongoing thing whereby people say, oh Songwriters' Circle, four songwriters where we can go and listen to their guts. I'm not doing it to make a million bucks and go to the Bahamas, I'm doing it because it is the part of music which means the most to me.”

Balbi is interested to hear what his fellow songwriters have to offer the audience on the tour but is fairly clear about his ideas on songwriting. “I've always thought that honesty is the best policy,” he reckons. “I like writing in metaphors, it's nice to write in poetry but I think it's best to just tell it like it is. I love affecting people. I like it that I can play a gig and make people cry. I love being able to tap into their emotions. Don't be afraid to hurt somebody.”

There are a million ways to tackle songwriting but one approach which Balbi has never subscribed to is the business method, whereby you write to a brief or treat songwriting as a day job. For Steve, it's more a case of write when inspiration strikes and don't force it. “There was an instance where I was asked to write a specific song based on rock'n'roll, fast cars and chicks and I thought the whole concept was ridiculous. I wrote the song in about five minutes and it actually became successful and took an album to number one but I never meant to write that song. I come from a place where it's a real gift to write a song, it's quite precious.” For a musician who is playing an instrument and creating music on a daily basis, it's easy to keep repeating musical ideas. Most writers develop comfort chords or habits which lead them down a similar musical path but Balbi doesn't necessarily think it's a disastrous practice. “I think it is something you need to be aware of but not too bothered about. I think it's OK but at the end of the day, it's either going to move people or it' s not. The chords may not matter, it could be a phrase or the melody or instrumentation. I think as writers, we all try to steer away from writing the same thing too many times. But comfort chords, yeah, the capo is good for that. Same chord, different key!”

Another way Balbi prevents himself from repeating ideas is to put himself in different life situations, removing himself from any kind of comfort zone, a credo he brings to the stage too. “I hate being organised. I love the energy of being on the edge of anything. I hate being staid and in control. I think that is really boring so I will always put myself in dangerous situations. Whether it is something I say to an audience or something I give. I think the audience sometimes think, 'Should you be saying that?' It puts them in an uneasy place and it's a place from which you can take them and make it OK.”

One of Balbi's most enjoyable methods of songwriting is in conjunction with another artist. It's the exchange of ideas which appeals to him and it's another reason why The Songwriters' Circle held so much interest for him. The first time Balbi encountered collaborative joy was with fellow Noiseworks ad Electric Hippies member Justin Stanley. “Before Noiseworks there was an ad in the paper for a guy who wanted people to write songs with and I answered the ad and so did Justin,” recalls Steve. “We arrived at this guy's place at the same time. It didn't work out with him but Justin and I stuck together. With Justin it was effortless, there wasn't any real verbal involved. I'd add a bit, he'd add a bit. He's probably my soul brother in regard to music and collaboration. I don't think I could find that with anyone else anywhere in the world.”

Pushed for an example of songwriting perfection, Balbi offers two. “I break my life down to the simplest choices and the simplest route is always the greatest. I keep coming back to what I think the greatest song ever written and that's Let It Be. What it says on many levels with its simplicity and the progression, it's remarkable, just that line… Let It Be. Everybody's life, every moment, every second, if you can embrace that phrase… it's magic. On the other hand, I love the story of Like A Rolling Stone because that is my story. I remember hearing that song when I was about 12 years old and thinking what an amazing story and it ended up being my life. I think it's amazing songwriting.”

Balbi is looking forward to the uncertainty of the Songwriters' Circle gigs and the surprises it will bring. I road test a couple of questions which may come from the floor on any given night. Song he's most proud of? “What Do You Do When You Don't Know What To Do? Nobody has heard it. It will be on my new solo album.” Easiest song he's ever written? “Greedy People, which I wrote for Electric Hippies. We'd just walked out of the break up from Noiseworks. We left the accountant. I went home and wrote this sweet, melodic, jolly, pop song which was seamed with anger.”

The Songwriters' Circle begins in Sydney on October 25 and includes two shows at the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival.