I’ve interviewed Jon Stevens three times now and each time we’ve gone way over our allotted time, he’s just one of those guys you connect with – passionate about music and life and someone you feel you’ve known forever. This year he’s released his latest and I think best solo release ‘Starlight’ and hit some pretty serious stages and Festivals over on the other side of the world. Next week he’s ‘home’ again at the Caloundra Music Festival (Sept 29th – Oct 2nd) so we caught up to talk all about that, the ‘Starlight’ album and The Dead Daisies the band he was fronting last time we spoke.
Mark: Jon, thanks so much for talking to The Rockpit today, how are you?
Jon: Good thanks Mark how are you mate?
Mark: I’m good thanks mate it’s been a couple of years I think since we last spoke. There’s been so much going on in that time, but first the big news Down-under is that you’re playing the Caloundra Music Festival in a few weeks, headlining the ‘Surf’ stage on the final day.
Jon: I am yeah, on the second of October. It’s been a few years since I played that Festival, I’m really looking forward to it, it should be a great show.
Mark: This year it really looks like a great line-up, and in such a beautiful part of the Country.
Jon: Oh definitely, it’s just growing bigger and bigger all the time that Festival.
Mark: Almost getting up there to rival our other great institution the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival.
Jon: It’s certainly established its name and identity that’s for sure. You’ll love it there.
Mark: You also played another rather big Festival earlier in the year on the other side of the world- the Isle of Wight Festival which of course has seen some huge names play over the years.
Jon: Yes, that was pretty fun! It was fantastic mate,I had a big band out there and added some backing singers to the line-up, played the new album”starlight’ and just really blitzed it really ‘cos nobody really knew who I was! I think people thought Holy Shit! Who’s that guy! For me obviously being round Australia for so long,and I’ve played many times overseas over the years but I felt over there I was going out completely unknown and I like that. I love that underdog sort of thing you know? And everyone there was really nice, the crowd was amazing and it was such a well-run gig,its been around forever and the fact the people were so welcoming to me was just great. And to see that part of the Country and the Isle of Wight and all the history was really cool.
Mark: And when you think of some of the artists that have played there over the years it must be great to be a part of it.
Jon: Oh it’s mind-blowing really.
Mark: You also played a series of 5 back to back dates over there and I think you’re just about to go over there again to play Dave’s (Dave Stewart who produced and co-wrote ‘Starlight’ with Jon) 65th birthday show?
Jon: I actually just got back on Monday night, we did that last weekend. It was great.
Mark: What was it like? Did he have a big cake?
Jon: (laughs) It was fantastic – I was on stage with Clem Burke, you know Clem?
Mark: Clem from Blondie my favourite drummer of all time!
Jon: Oh he’s brilliant, amazing. I met him years ago you know when I toured with Blondie, INXS and Blondie did a double tour through the UK, we actually did two shows at Wembley which was pretty cool, and obviously I’ve been a big fan of them forever, since I was a kid and I hadn’t seen Clem since then actually so I went up and said “Hey mate remember me?” thankfully he did. And of course I got to play with Dave Stewart, and Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) also played so it was great to meet him as I’ve loved The Pretenders forever. It was just one of those special nights you don’t get many days like that Dave had managed to create this real magic, he’s a wizard.He’s such a beautiful guy, he sees the world through different eyes. It’s almost childlike but always creating.
Mark: And when you look at his career he’s done some wonderful stuff.
Jon: Oh God yes.
Mark: ‘Starlight’ though, that you wrote with Dave, what can I say? It’s your tenth solo album and I’m of a mind that it’s my favourite so far.
Jon: Thank you mate. It’s definitely mine too, just the process that we went through in creating came out so naturally and organically, we plugged into a stream of consciousness and we were both of the same mind, it just flowed,great chemistry.
Mark: I read somewhere that when you first met Dave you were writing within fifteen minutes? That chemistry I imagine doesn’t always happen so fast?
Jon: 15 yeah, absolutely not, absolutely not. His personality and experience and with my experience nothing really phases me anymore, you know. It’s all about people and how the energy is and if you can imagine unbeknownst to me I walked into a studio and there were like 20 people there, cameras and dollies and I thought “What the fuck is going on here?” and then Dave pops up and says “Hello mate, how you going?” There was filming and musicians and I just thought were were meeting up for a catch up you know, and to talk about what we were going to do! From the minute I walked through the door I was being filmed!
Mark: So he’d already started the documentary?
Jon: Yeah man he was sorted, that’s how he rolls! And having known him for a while now, pretty much, no actually everything he does he’s always rolling a camera. Everything.
Mark: And the documentary I have to say to readers is well worth checking out, it’s still up there on your website isn’t it?
Jon: Yeah we sucked it up on there. I’ve watched it a couple of times and it’s interesting and confronting at the same time.
Mark:Well it is quite a personal and emotional album especially lyrically on tracks like the title track ‘Starlight’. Why did you use ‘Starlight’ as the inspiration for the album title?
Jon: It just sort of stood out you know and the photograph that was taken it just sort of married together, you know. And the song as you know is about suicide and I’ve lost two brothers to that. So it seemed right you know.Sometimes when you’re making music and you’ve got to learn to leave things alone and you try not to overdo things or overthink things but sometimes you’ve just got to let it be you know and ‘Starlight’ was one of those things, it seemed like a natural title for me. I could ave called it “F.U.C.” (laughs)
Mark: (laughing) that would have been good as well!
Jon: But I thought that ‘Starlight’ was more appropriate!
Mark: Talking of ‘letting it be’ you’ve also got a Beatle on the album, how did that happen? Was that another Dave surprise?
Jon: Well yeah because it was completely unexpected and it came about because I was having dinner at Dave’s house, he’d invited me over and there was a knock at the door, and who answers the door, I answer the door and it was Ringo. “Oh gooday mate, how you going, I’m Jon” (laughing) so I’m there thinking it’s Ringo! and trying to act really cool. There were six of us at dinner: my partner and I, Ringo, Dave, his wife and Barbara (Bach Ringo’s wife) and we just hung out and told stories and he’s an amazing, amazing man, beautiful energy. So we had a lovely dinner and then the guitars came out and we’d just finished ‘Starlight’, just finished writing it and I played it, just on acoustic while sitting down after dinner. And Ringo went “Holy shit!” But we all just got on and had a laugh and then roll forward a couple of weeks and Ringo said “I’ve got a birthday coming up would you come and sing?” and I was like “Yeah! I’d love to” and I was pretty stoked about that and then a couple of weeks later Dave said ‘One Way Street’ can you hear Ringo playing on this? And I said “Let’s ask him”, so Dave asked him we sent the song over and Ringo liked the song and said I’d love to play it. He said “No one ever asks me to play drums” (laughs) so he was really stoked.But that was so good, I mean to have a Beatle on there, amazing and obviously he wouldn’t play on there if he didn’t like it.
Mark: I think the thing I most love about the record is that it covers such a wide spectrum of sounds you’ve got the rock and soul on there that you’re so known for but you’ve got some Gospel on there, a bit of everything. Is that just how it happens? Or something that you and Dave aimed for?
Jon: I think that’s down to, you know, being the youngest of 11, I grew up listening to every style of music because I was never in command of the record player,everyone else was so I had to put up with listening to everyone else’s music so I think because I grew up with such a massive hybrid of stuff:I could sing The Beatles, or I could sing Stevie Wonder, I could sing Al Green or Marvin Gaye, I could sing Otis Redding, I could sing Robert Plant. When I was a kid I could sing all that shit you know what I mean and my voice was good at Rock or Soul,just growing up in the house so I think that’s sort of been a blessing and a curse (laughs). To be able to sing everything in each style.But to me you know,it’s just music especially as a song writer,when you feel it, it’s all Soul music to me. If it’s Rock and it’s got guitars in it, strip that away and its still Soul music because it comes from within.
Mark: I think my favourite track at the minute is ‘Oh Lord’ that’s the one I keep playing, a wonderful song. And your vocals are sounding better than ever too have you got a secret?
Jon: Um, I mean I gave up smoking a couple of years ago, but it’s probably more mental than anything and probably the fact that I’ve always played gigs and its a muscle and if you exercise a muscle its like anything its just strong. So when I did those 5 gigs in a row in London by gig 5 I was just coming into my straps. Swear to God, I was just like an absolute machine and that’s how I’ve always been,I just need to keep doing it, you know. The first couple of gigs are always a bit wobbly,but nobody ever notices, but certainly by gig 5 I’m rocking. I think that’s just what it is, I think my voice is way better now than when I was 25. In fact I know that for sure, I think artists get to a point in there life where they just don’t worry about their voice, I don’t, its the last thing I worry about. Just before I went to Dave’s place I’d been on the road over here, I’d just played the ‘Starlight ‘ tour and I’d had this bad flu that had been going around that’s put people in bed for two weeks and I still had to sing, you know. There were three gigs I had to sing where I probably should have been in hospital and the voice was fine. But I’ve never actually felt that bad flu-wise – a bad strain that one. But I survived it, and off you go!
Mark: You’ve played with some great bands over the years: Noiseworks, INXS, The Dead Daisies, whats the best aspect of a band situation? Is it far more liberating as a solo artist for you?
Jon: Yes and no, even as a solo artist my band, you know still feels like a band because we’re mates they’re not just hired guns I don’t know,we’ve been playing in Australia for years. When I started out in a band I was 23, I was working with like-minded people the same age just trying to write songs and getting in to music. And then INXS was a whole different world, already established etc, etc. But I like being in a band,I like being around musicians, I like creative people and I like people dedicated to their craft, whether it’s guitar players or drummers, it doesn’t matter if you’re good, you’re good, you know,and I think the great bands are always the sum of their parts. And even though the front-man always gets the accolades,or always gets the girls, whatever, you know it’s always the sum of the parts. Like The Rolling Stones, the Beatles, INXS you’re as good as the people around you you know what I mean? So I like being in a band from that point of view,as far as being a solo artist, yeah its good being a solo artist because you don’t have to deal with other people’s egos apart from my own (laughs). If a producer does a bad job then he’s sacked (laughs) and me working with Dave was me not wanting to produce myself (laughs) I just wanted to take that weight off myself and be free.
Mark: I’m hoping you might do that again, that was a collaboration that really, really worked.
Jon: That definitely worked.
Mark: What do you take away from your time with The Dead Daisies was any part of that an enjoyable experience for you?
Jon: Well The Dead Daisies didn’t exist until I created it. I wrote the songs, I created the name, the logo, everything. Everything about the band was down to me initially. That first album I wrote with Vanessa Amorosi and John Field in two weeks.
Mark: With Vanessa?
Jon: Yeah she was living in L.A. I went to L.A. with David Lowy who you know was the money guy, and I was the creative guy and he flew us in for three or four weeks on his jet and he really wanted to play with me and I said look we’ll try a few things, but he couldn’t cut it anyway. So I said look we’re trying to write songs but we’re not getting anywhere so we sat down, talked through some ideas, and I said you go to New York all the time why not stop off in L.A. for a few days and come and work with my mate John Fields who I love to death and is an amazing guy. So we spent two weeks in the studio and I called up Vanessa as she was in town, I said come on down, as we work so well together, we’ve got great chemistry… as I’d already made the ‘Testify’ record with John Fields we knew how he operated and as we worked so well together it seemed right. When you give yourself a limitation like two weeks, and when the pressure’s on for some weird reason I thrive in that environment. I just get shit done, and John’s the same so that was the first Dead Daisies record. And then when we’d done that we were still missing a couple of ingredients so I pulled ‘Lock ‘n’ Load’ out of my bag which I’d written with Slash in 1998, and I played it for David Lowy and he went wild, he said we’ve got to have that on the album. I said well it’s not going anywhere unless it gets Slash’s blessing, so I called Slash and said “Look mate I’ve got this project I just started” and by that time we’d just come up with the band The Dead Daisies, a name which David hated, but I thought I’m the creative guy, you’re the money guy, so work it out. So anyway I said to Slash that I really wanted to record ‘Lock ‘n’ Load’ for this project and I’d love to ask you to play your part on it, so here’s the music, and if you like the music great, if you don’t then I won’t record it. I mean it’d been around since 1998. So anyway he gave me his blessing. I actually recorded that song in Melbourne, I recorded it with my band and I sent it over to L.A. got Slash to play his original parts on it and he was so exited and so gracious to let us put it out. I told him I couldn’t get someone else to do it, that’s just not right.
Mark: It’s a great song, I love it, and so many others on that album. I think we’re well over on the interview?
Jon: Oh don’t worry about it keep going, if someone rings they’ll call back.
Mark: This happened last time I think, its always great talking to you, it feel like we’ve known each other for years
Jon: (laughs)
Mark: Take it all the way back for us if you can,what was it that made you realise that music was going to be your life? Was it a sudden realisation or something that was always there?
Jon: No it was so natural for me, you know coming from New Zealand and growing up in a big household. I’m half Maori and half Scottish and both cultures are very musical so it was just one of those things that was natural it’s like breathing man. Everyone sings there, Maoris can sing man, I’ll tell ya! we’ve got some amazing singers, way better than me. (laughs)
Mark: I’ve heard them at the Rugby.
Jon: Yeah well that too! (laughs)
Mark: So something that was always going to be?
Jon: Yeah I don’t think I could have escaped it, I don’t think I had a choice. I don’t think I’d really decided to do it till I met Stuart Fraser really and we’d formed Noiseworks and I’d already recorded two albums by then! But then I was just really young and green and didn’t really know what I was doing but when I met Stuart we just really hung out, wrote songs and drank and laughed and that was it (laughs).
Mark: Thanks for taking the time to talk today Jon, it’s always great to talk to you.
Jon: Pleasure Mark. You too, come and say hello when we’re in the same vicinity! Thanks mate, cheers.
CATCH JON’S NEXT SHOW AT THE CALOUNDRA MUSIC FESTIVAL ON OCTOBER 2ND 2017
