Jack Jones reflects on life, career and 25 years of Southern Sons

SOUTHERN Sons brings its 35th-anniversary tour to Tweed, giving fans a reprieve from a long time between drinks.

With hits like Hold Me in Your Arms and Lead Me to Water, Jones had a singular voice in Australian music of the era and the long locks to match. He and the band carved their space in the charts with two platinum albums, eight times gold and an ARIA win.

But then, it all changed, and Manhattan-born Jones found himself in a long void, which led to a 10-year tenure overseas.

“I couldn’t get arrested here. I literally tried. I did my best,” he said.

“The toughest decade of my life wasn’t being away but the decade preceding it.

“They were also some of the greatest years of my life in the way they shaped me.”

As a New York native, the US move seemed natural, but the constant divide became untenable and made relationships and career development challenging.

“It’s a magical city filled with an energy that doesn’t ever dissipate,” he said.

“I had a few epiphanies, and in one period of 18 months, I did 16 trips, which was brutal.

“I realised if I’m going to live here or there, I need to live in a place longer than three months.

“We have all these attachments to things, people, stuff, and ideas.

“They’re myths – stories that just happen. We make decisions about our lives, and then another thing happens.

“It really is an adventure – this whole thing we’re doing. You’re dead a long time.”

Another interim project has been The Fabulous Caprettos with Dave Gleeson, Rai Thistlethwayte and Russell Morris. The quartet have shared their hits, favourites, and musical friendships for the last 10 years.

“I’m always trying to keep my finger in a few pies,” Jones said.

“There’s always some gold to be mined by doing something outside your wheelhouse.”

Born Irwin Thomas, the artist records and performs under both monikers and is recording two new projects – one by Jones and one by Thomas.

“It’s how we used to make records and build the arc with two sides. There’s a Jack Jones side and an Irwin Thomas side,” he said.

“There are expectations around Jack, but Irwin doesn’t have the same. With complete and utter freedom, I can be whoever I want to be, an opportunity to fully express myself without compromising.”

The troubadour at heart, Jones, aka Thomas, is back on Aussie shores, and that’s all that matters. Audiences can expect a bit of both wrapped in a hefty dose of Southern Sons on February 1.

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