If anyone knows the music industry, it’s Jon Stevens.
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At the age of 16 the singer-songwriter already had two number one singles to his name at home in New Zealand. He then caught the attention of Australians in the 1980s with his band Noiseworks and songs like No Lies, Love Somebody, Take Me Back, Touch and Welcome To the World.
The man could write a damn good rock song, was captivating as a frontman, and boy, could he sing.
Stevens is also one of the hardest-working artists in the business. He has released solo albums with the likes of Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart and Richie Sambora, performed in stage productions the calibre of Jesus Christ Superstar, toured the world as a member of INXS and formed his own band, The Dead Daisies. Noiseworks has made a comeback on the festival circuit in recent years, too.
He keeps touring and recording for one reason: his love of music.
Weekender calls Stevens at the tail end of his Best Of tour. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are shaking hands on the television in his Melbourne recording studio.
“Wow, we’re seeing a bit of history here,” he remarks.
“Look, you’ve got to see this as a positive; a step in the right direction. Life’s too short to be cynical. I understand the value of still being alive when you shouldn’t be. I’m very grateful, put it that way.”
His Best Of tour has played to packed houses all over the country and Stevens is now ready to record a handful of songs he wrote in January.
“It’s been pretty hectic the past few months, we’re just starting to slow down now,” he says.
“With this last tour I just wanted to play in as many places as I could, all the pubs, just everywhere. So many artists don’t do that these days. They might jump onto a festival here and there but everything is so strategic.
“I’m like f – – – that, just go and play, man. And for the past four months that’s pretty much what I’ve done.”
His extensive back catalogue, both as a solo artist and as a member of a band, made it difficult to choose a set list – not that he complained. It’s an enviable position for any artist to be in.
“When we first started the tour we were playing two-hour shows, putting in different songs every night,” he says.
“But a month or so in, it became apparent that we didn’t need to be playing the pubs for so long because we came on stage at 9.30 or 10 at night. Now, while I’m used to staying up that late, my audience wasn’t, necessarily, especially after a few wines and a few beers.
“So we landed on a set list which was pretty amazing and stuck with that most of the time. When I’m in acoustic mode I play versions of the songs whereas on this tour we’re playing the songs as they were recorded, with keyboards and background vocals and everything.”
Stevens says it how it is and, in his words, “doesn’t like bullshit”.
“The way I see it, you play and sing, you play for real. Use the technology but don’t rely on it, like music is today. I know there’s something for everybody but what can I say, I just do what I do,” he says, laughing.
“You gotta keep it real. I’m old school, I don’t know how to do it another way. And I’m not going to change at my tender age, no.”
He is equally matter-of-fact about his new songs.
“I wrote a bunch of songs and haven’t had the chance to put them down properly because I’ve been on the road. I’ve picked a half dozen to record and we’ll see how they come up,” he says.
“I don’t really go out that far from the norm, my norm – they’re just good songs, you know?”
It’s a no-nonsense approach to making music that he is passing down to his son, Levi, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist.
“He’s always recording. He’s got his own set-up at home and sings and produces music – he knows his hip-hop inside out and is just plugging away,” Stevens says.
“One of the things I told him when he first got into music was to do his own thing. Control as much as you can on your own. Program it, perform it, write it, sing it, play it. Be a one-stop shop.
“You never stop learning in this game.”