{"id":38652,"date":"2019-11-01T13:23:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T02:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=38652"},"modified":"2019-11-01T13:23:12","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T02:23:12","slug":"jack-jones-of-southern-sons-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2019\/11\/jack-jones-of-southern-sons-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Jones of Southern Sons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe idea actually does have an appeal and it\u2019s not just celebrating the music but it\u2019s kind of getting to celebrate it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Release: It has been more than two decades since iconic 1990s four-piece Southern Sons performed together. Now, in a special coup for music fans, the beloved band are coming back together for a 2019 Reunion tour, featuring all their classic hits. Original members Jack Jones, Virgil Donati, Geoff Cain and Peter Bowman will undertake a whirlwind tour throughout November and December, taking music lovers on a walk down memory lane as they traverse hits such as \u2018Hold Me In Your Arms\u2019 and \u2018Heart in Danger\u2019 to name a few.<\/p>\n

We gave our good friend Jack Jones a call to talk about the Southern Sons reunion and everything that goes along with it\u2026<\/p>\n

Well it\u2019s been about five months since I saw you last and it\u2019s been a busy five months, so fill us in, what\u2019s been happening?<\/strong>
\nWell in the wake of this \u2018Sons\u2019 reunion, there\u2019s just been a lot of preparation, I also was involved in Virgil\u2019s record that\u2019s about to come out, so I did some shows with him in Melbourne and I was also down doing some recording with him down and Reggie\u2019s place, so I\u2019ve been involved with that. Doing some solo gigs, a smattering of stuff here and there, a bit of writing and really just kind of tying up, getting prepared for this \u2018One Electric Day\u2019 tour that\u2019s been looming. So that\u2019s kind of what\u2019s been happening, it\u2019s been pretty busy but it\u2019s always the same, it\u2019s like bursts, big bursts.<\/p>\n

The biggest question is, for something that we said would never happen, after so long why was now the time for Southern Sons to come back together to do these shows?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* You know what? It\u2019s funny, I think going out and doing that gig a year ago hat Darren convinced me to do, I really think that was the genesis of this being a possibility. It\u2019s funny how in a year how much can change, I mean things can change overnight but really when it comes to other people, even being in that conversation with Virg he was really open and \u201coh man, I\u2019ve been pretty nostalgic lately, and maybe it would be fun to do that\u201d and everyone just had an openness, apart from Phil, he just doesn\u2019t want to go out and play at the moment and he\u2019s happy just being at home writing songs and that was his dream and he\u2019s living it and I think that\u2019s fantastic. Of course we\u2019d love him to do it but we\u2019re doing it with his blessing and I think it\u2019s right because it\u2019s just been so easy so far, the phone calls have been easy, the conversations have been easy, everyone\u2019s been enthusiastic, maybe we\u2019ve all spent just enough time on the other side of it living our own lives, doing our own thing. The idea actually does have an appeal and it\u2019s not just celebrating the music but it\u2019s kind of getting to celebrate it together.<\/p>\n

Seeing you do the songs of Southern Sons at the Opera House was a treat and just watching the way people reacted to these songs was something awesome, did you realise how much people still truly loved these songs?<\/strong>
\nNo, I didn\u2019t and it\u2019s funny because that has been this resounding kind of feeling and I think that\u2019s also been maybe a bit infectious, just talking to the guys about that and conveying that to them, these gigs have been great, they\u2019ve been really fun, people have been enjoying it, you might want to consider coming out and doing it, we\u2019ve got this offer to do it, how about it? I mean Reggie was like \u201cI\u2019ll strap a guitar on for anything\u201d but I had to find Geoffrey, I had to find Goffa, he was in the middle of Warrnambool somewhere, I had to go digging, and Virg, I think it just worked out great timing wise he\u2019s just been here and we\u2019ve hung out together and we see each other fairly regularly, same with Reg and I, we\u2019re always doing something together somewhere. So it has blown away, my response to the music has blown me away and I\u2019m just so chuffed and stoked that the guys want to do it and I really can\u2019t wait to get in a room with them and have that experience. We made this sound together, I mean without sounding wanky it is really something special and to be able to get back in that space with these guys and play this music that we created together, I don\u2019t know there\u2019s something exciting about it and I\u2019m feeling quite inspired.<\/p>\n

Now on a much larger scale you\u2019re doing some shows with the band as well as playing One Electric Day with a ridiculous line-up of Aussie talent, have you thought about how you\u2019ll be putting the set together for these shows?<\/strong>
\nYeah look I have and it\u2019s pretty short set list considering what a normal set list is, probably about a third of the length so we\u2019re gonna be giving the kids what they want, they\u2019re gonna be getting all the hits, and there won\u2019t be much room for anything else but it\u2019s gonna be a fun little set, I can\u2019t wait to hit the stage with the old mates and play these songs again. They\u2019ll be getting the \u2018Always and Evers\u2019, the \u2018Heart In Dangers\u2019, the \u2018Hold Me In Your Arms\u2019, the \u2018Waiting For That Trains\u2019, the \u2018Lead Me To Waters\u2019, that\u2019s all going to be in the set, we won\u2019t be holding back on that one, so it\u2019s gonna be fun man, it\u2019s gonna be fun.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll also be some pretty big crowds you\u2019ll be playing in front of\u2026<\/strong>
\nLook, they\u2019ll be the biggest crowds we\u2019ve all playing in front of for a while and I\u2019ve gotta say, doing this with John, Farnesy, doing these shows with an old mate is just going to be a pleasure, I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing him. I ran into Rob his son just a couple of weeks ago at an airport, great guy I\u2019ve just all the time in the world for that guy and I think he\u2019s beautiful and the apples don\u2019t fall far from the tree, so I\u2019m very excited. I haven\u2019t seen John since his 50th<\/sup> birthday and it\u2019s funny how time flies.<\/p>\n

Your voice is still as pristine as it was way back when, what sorcery and or magic do you use to keep it in shape?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* I\u2019ve tried conjuring, that seems to work at the moment, I don\u2019t know I\u2019ve been looking after my voice better these days, I just try to kind of take good care of it, I don\u2019t really know how to sing properly, sometimes I sound a bit weird and disingenuous when I say that but it is true, and it took me a bit of massaging my voice back into shape before I started doing these shows because I haven\u2019t really sung that way in a long time, maybe that\u2019s part of the secret too, I\u2019ve been using a different part of my voice for the last twenty years. This other part is obviously still there and I\u2019m thankful for that. It was kind of scary in the beginning to be honest with you, I don\u2019t know if we had this conversation, but when I first started singing these songs again it was a bit overwhelming and I was like I don\u2019t know if I can sing like that, I don\u2019t know if I can do this again, but it kind of woke up *laughs* it\u2019s weird but it did, this part of my voice that is where this music kind of resides it kind of woke up. I\u2019m actually really enjoying it, and it\u2019s probably the first time in a long time I can actually say that. I\u2019ve always enjoyed the opportunity to sing these songs but the actual singing I haven\u2019t found that enjoyable as it\u2019s usually been quite stressful you know, but for some reason maybe I\u2019m just a bit older and maybe I just realised that there\u2019s no use in worrying about these things any more *laughs*.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Not to get ahead of ourselves, but do you think there would ever be room for new material from the band in the future?<\/strong>
\n*LAUGHS* That\u2019s a great question, a year ago if you said do you think you guys will ever get back together and play?<\/p>\n

We did that *laughs*<\/strong>
\nI should\u2019ve said we probably did *laughs* So I\u2019ve learnt that lesson, in a world where anything is possible, that is definitely possible, and I like to be spending more time in that world where anything is possible, because when you do it\u2019s amazing what shows up for you in life.<\/p>\n

Looking back at when Southern Sons were at the height of their career is there one moment that stands out for you that will stick with you forever?<\/strong>
\nThere are, one of the moments is when John Farnham left a message on my voicemail, like my mini cassette answering machine and it was just after I\u2019d got the job in the band and he called me up to congratulate me, and I\u2019d been writing with him and stuff, and for some people they would say playing in front of 70,000 people and this concert or that concert, but that time was really magical for me when things like that were happening, then it was like hey we\u2019re going on the road, and John was like \u201cwe\u2019re going on the road and need a couple of guitar players, do you and Phil want to do it?\u201d and those things to me were the real highlights. Of course opening for John and Sam Brown and what a great way to start a career, what an extraordinary way to get cracking on it. Then look, there\u2019s thousands of moments but I remember coming home and hitting that button and hearing John on my answering machine and him congratulating me on that gig and I just thought \u201cwow\u201d, and in a world where you want to be sort of I don\u2019t know, you kind of so desperate to be respected by your peers, not even respected just acknowledged, that kind of acknowledgement it really went a long way and that kept me going for a long time, it kept me working really hard and I always wanted to show up ready to go, and it also came with a lot of pressure too because when that guy says you\u2019re great you feel some kind of responsibility and a need to deliver greatness all the time. I mean wow, in some ways being acknowledged by John was way more satisfying than being compared to him which was way more overwhelming and that created a lot of pressure for me. It\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t want to be compared to John, it\u2019s that I had such an issue with being compared to such greatness. It\u2019s really hard to show up for that all the time *laughs*.<\/p>\n

Then you go and do \u20185 in a row\u2019 and you basically are John Farnham\u2026<\/strong>
\nSee that was the thing, that\u2019s where it all kind of started, maybe I made a rope for my own back and I probably did I mean that was the first time I met John, I mean I\u2019m not sure because we never spoke about it until years later when I got the job and I ended up singing in the band, so I don\u2019t know if it registered with him you know what I mean, looking back now we never really had that conversation. I was like 16 when I did that and it\u2019s funny I just listened to it the other day, it\u2019s so funny you should mention that because I just listened to it, someone sent it to me and said \u201cremember this?\u201d I said \u201cI do\u201d *laughs*.<\/p>\n

If you could\u2019ve done one thing differently back in the late 90\u2019s with the band, what would that have been?<\/strong>
\nLook you always wish that you knew more, and I don\u2019t know how I could\u2019ve possibly known more than what I knew at the time and that\u2019s not to say that I knew a lot, that\u2019s to say that you know nothing really and you continue knowing nothing , you just know more of nothing. I\u2019d love to be able to say I wish I saw this thing coming or wish I saw that thing coming and I don\u2019t know, maybe I would\u2019ve bought a house earlier, maybe got into that part of my life earlier. I just loved guitars and amps and I still do and maybe it\u2019s a weird thing because if I could change anything about that time it probably wouldn\u2019t have anything to do with the music but it might have to do with my own financial responsibilities but again that just comes down to the not knowing, and you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know. It\u2019s not like we were raking in the cash and making millions of dollars or anything, it wasn\u2019t the 80\u2019s, it was the 90\u2019s but we were just on the end of that record company money but it wasn\u2019t anything like the old 80\u2019s budgets or anything. I always thought it would\u2019ve been a great thing for our band to buy a piece of real estate as a band and put a recording studio in it, and I do remember suggesting that, I mean this is when ADAT\u2019s came out, late in the piece and everyone was like well who\u2019s going to us it when and who\u2019s going to know what to do with it? When I think I was actually on to something at that stage because the money wasn\u2019t necessarily in the studio per se, it was in the building because we all know studios as a business aren\u2019t really a great investment, but I think it could\u2019ve possibly kept us together a bit more, although it\u2019s a really tricky question that, it\u2019s fraught with cognitive dissidence because I think about it and what would I have done different. Actually, this is before Sons, but I probably would\u2019ve gone and had singing lessons like when I was 14 maybe I would\u2019ve gone and done that it would\u2019ve changed the whole experience. If I was really pragmatic about it I probably would\u2019ve tried to be a bit more fiscally aware, not that it\u2019s all about the money but it goes somewhere, if you\u2019re more aware of where it\u2019s going and what\u2019s happening with it\u00a0 then you\u2019re probably better able to direct it. That was a long answer wasn\u2019t it? *laughs*<\/p>\n

Lastly let\u2019s look ahead to the future, finish this sentence for me, in 2020 Southern Sons want to\u2026<\/strong>
\nHA! I can\u2019t speak for the band,,,<\/p>\n

*laughs* Jack Jones wants to\u2026<\/strong>
\nIn 2020 I want to be more settled, I\u2019d like to have more roots in and spending more time creating music and I most definitely want to be performing more as well. They\u2019re my goals. I just want to get some roots down and feel a bit more settled back in Australia, I love my life here and I was finishing the sentence for Southern Sons hopefully we will have spent the last couple of years doing more shows together, I\u2019ve got more records to make of my own, I know Reg is the same, and Virgil, but who knows, man, it would be great for Southern Sons to make another record, it may happen one day, I definitely wouldn\u2019t rule it out based on the accuracy of my comments on if we\u2019d ever play again twelve months ago, so I don\u2019t know, don\u2019t ask me it\u2019ll probably be wrong *laughs*.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TOUR DATES:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nONE ELECTRIC DAY<\/strong>
\nCountry Club Lawns, LAUNCESTON TAS<\/strong>
\nJohn Farnham, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi, The Black Sorrows & Southern Sons<\/strong><\/em>
\nwww.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a>\u00a0| 136 100<\/p>\n

Saturday 9th<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nONE ELECTRIC DAY<\/strong>
\nCockatoo Island, SYDNEY NSW<\/strong>
\nJohn Farnham, James Reyne, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi & Southern Sons<\/strong><\/em>
\nwww.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a>\u00a0| 136 100<\/p>\n

Saturday 16th<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nONE ELECTRIC DAY<\/strong>
\nRiverstage, BRISBANE QLD<\/strong>
\nJohn Farnham, James Reyne, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi & Southern Sons<\/strong><\/em>
\nwww.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a>\u00a0| 136 100<\/p>\n

Thursday 21st\u00a0<\/sup>November 2019
\nCroxton Bandroom, THORNBURY VIC<\/strong>
\nwww.thecroxton.com.au<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0www.thecroxton.oztix.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nChelsea Heights Hotel, CHELSEA HEIGHTS VIC<\/strong>
\nwww.chelseaheightshotel.com.au<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0www.oztix.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday 24th<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nONE ELECTRIC DAY<\/strong>
\nWerribee Park on the Great Lawn, WERRIBEE VIC<\/strong>
\nJohn Farnham, James Reyne, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi & Southern Sons<\/strong><\/em>
\nwww.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a>\u00a0| 136 100<\/p>\n

Friday 29th<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nAnita\u2019s Theatre, THIRROUL NSW<\/strong>
\nwww.anitastheatrethirroul.com<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0www.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday 30th<\/sup>\u00a0November 2019
\nSouthport RSL, GOLD COAST QLD<\/strong>
\nwww.rslclubsouthport.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday 6th<\/sup>\u00a0December 2019
\nThe Gov, ADELAIDE SA<\/strong>
\nwww.thegov.com.au<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0www.oztix.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday 7th<\/sup>\u00a0December 2019
\nONE ELECTRIC DAY<\/strong>
\nSeppeltsfield, BAROSSA SA<\/strong>
\nJohn Farnham, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi, The Black Sorrows & Southern Sons<\/strong><\/em>
\nwww.ticketmaster.com.au<\/a>\u00a0| 136 100<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential information<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

From:\u00a0<\/strong>Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n

Band members:\u00a0<\/strong>Jack Jones \u2013 Vocals \/ Guitar, Virgil Donati – Drums, Geoff Cain \u2013 Bass, Peter Bowman – Guitar<\/p>\n