'I Can Get Them To Drop Their Guards': Jimmy Barnes' Lockdown Vocal Discoveries

He may not necessarily be Australia's "first" working class man, but Jimmy Barnes is without a doubt the most iconic. 

Between his tenure as the powerhouse frontman for Aussie rock icons Cold Chisel, to his exceedingly girthy solo career and beyond, Barnes has never been one to stagnate, professionally or personally; that is until, like so many others around the globe, the COVID pandemic came a'knockin', and life as we knew it was forced to suddenly halt into low gear.

While many negatives, including the continuing teetering collapse of the live music industry, have emerged amongst the shuddering unease and ongoing uncertainty, there's also been the occasional silver lining to be found - and quite often in the most unlikely of places. For Barnes in his forced isolated universe in 2020, an accidental silver lining and seemingly small act of self-entertainment would inadvertently lead to worldwide adoration and, ultimately, the eventual creation of Barnes' 20th solo studio full-length Flesh and Blood, which the man himself expanded on while chatting on today's episode of The Green Room With Tiana Speter. 

"Jane and I have managed to find a few shiny sort of things, good things happening in the COVID period," Barnes explained to The Green Room host Tiana Speter. "We've spent a lot of time playing music, writing books, writing stories, writing songs, recording...so, it's been a busy time. And we've managed to do most of it from home, which is really good."

With Barnes and wife Jane recently celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, the milestone also came with a reminder that, prior to COVID and the lockdown onslaught, the pair had never spent more than three weeks in one place throughout the four decades together. And while Barnes explained that it was nice to sit back and reassess what they were doing; the accidental result of time spent in lockdown and some creative sparks in that period would also result in a brand new album for Barnes to add to his burgeoning collection. 

The [Flesh and Blood] songs themselves stem from the sessions that we were doing on social media, with Jane and myself, we were called The Jane Barnes Band," Jimmy recalled. 

"We realised we were all gonna be locked down at home, and we thought we'd better do something, keep ourselves entertained. And Jane said: 'I'm gonna learn guitar'. And she started learning, she'd learn a song and say: 'can we sing this song?'. So, we'd learn the song that she'd learnt on guitar, and one day she said: 'Why don't we put this up on the internet?'. You know, reach out to people who are locked away.

"So, we did this. And, it worked, it was a really nice thing and people really responded and they really appreciated the fact that we were thinking about them. But it took on another life, further down the track, it became sort of a link, a connection for us to the world as well. So, like we were trying to connect to people for their sake - we connected for our sake in the end."

With the first lockdown in Australia proving to unfortunately not be the last many would endure, Barnes and wife Jane continued to forge ahead with their creative outlet, continually stepping outside of their comfort zones, while also connecting internally in new and unique ways. 

"It made me think a lot about relationships, and a lot about family and a lot about love," Barnes mused.

"And love is a big, broad word. Anybody who looked at our videos, I mean there was a million comments saying how beautiful it was, and 'How you look at Jane' and 'She loves you so much, she's smiling at you', and all that sort of stuff...but if you'd have seen the video a minute before, you know, when she was wanting to kill me - you realise that when you say 'love', love is about work and effort, it's not just all shiny and nice, it's about lots of different things.

"We learnt a lot about each other doing this, and that's what led me to writing the songs. This album was inspired by these songs" 

With 2021 yet again hurling obstacles and roadblocks into the mix for the music industry and general day-to-day life, the fatigue accompanying snap lockdowns and sudden border closures has certainly crept further into the psyche of many around the country and beyond our shores; but, as Barnes pointed out, there are some small victories to be found amongst the booming silence while gigs have taken a slight backseat; namely, the rediscovery of the importance of live music, and its seemingly otherworldly charms. 

"In a way it's a good thing, that we realise how important that live music thing is to everybody," Barnes enthused. "Music is like communion, it brings us all together. I'm not saying it's religious, but there's that spiritual thing where you get in a room...as a singer, I get in a room, and whether it's 300 or 3000 or 30,000 punters in front of you - I'm only as good as the people I'm singing to. That audience makes me and lifts me, and makes me a better singer. And it helps me get in contact with my soul more. 

"It's about that shared moment in time."

For a seasoned performer like Barnes, lockdown and forced ongoing isolation could've spelled disaster, with the lifeblood of live performance stripped so swiftly away and a question mark still hanging so sharply in the very near horizon. But Barnes has never stepped back from a challenge in his life , and it was in the times of forced quiet that the Aussie legend seized the opportunity to further himself, both on a personal and artistic level. 

"It's something that I miss incredibly, I've toured non-stop for the last 40 years, 45 years...and so, to have 15 months where we were sitting back...I took the time to learn a lot about my voice, " Barnes said.  "It's a bit different singing to a Zoom camera or to a telephone. But even in that, I ended up sort of learning more about singing in this time so that I could bring it back to the table when I came back out and played live.

"I've done a couple of warm-up shows, and I've really noticed I'm now using a lot of different aspects in my voice. 

"Before, I used to go out, and all I wanted to do was pin everybody at the back of the wall. I'm now doing it a bit sneakily, I get up there and I can win people, get them to drop their guards, then pin them to the back of the wall (laughs)."

With yet another history-making debut predicted for Flesh and Blood on the ARIA Album Charts today and a tour on the very near horizon, it's clear that the Jimmy Barnes legacy is set to only flourish further against whatever odds life may try to throw in the way. But perhaps what's most impressive about the endurance of Barnes and his passion is his refreshing excitement about what's to come. 

"I can honestly say my best work, the best of me is still to come. Which gives me a lot of joy."

You can watch the full video with host Tiana Speter later today; and you can also catch up on the full The Green Room podcast episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts (below) - or wherever you usually grab your favourite podcasts!

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Tickets for Jimmy Barnes' upcoming Flesh and Blood tour are on-sale now. Head to theGuide for all upcoming tour dates and more info.

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Need more music, film, TV and comedy in your life? Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here - and did you know you can also watch episodes of The Green Room too? Head here to check out some of the recent videos, and if you're still hunting for content to feed your ears, be sure to check out the some of the other exciting Handshake Agency podcasts below!

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