While lockdown in NSW caused a steady cancellation of gigs, rocker Steve Balbi took it in his stride.
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The former Noiseworks bassist, one half of the Electric Hippies duo and Mi-Sex lead vocalist will grace Bowral Bowling Club on Monday, November 16.
His show is the latest in the Great Southern Nights live concerts to kick start the arts and hospitality industry.
The Sydney based musician said that while gigs were cancelled, documentaries were postponed and money was lost, the lockdown provided Balbi with a chance to make a new album and spend time with his family.
"The documentary [Legendary Dust Buckles] we were working on was postponed so I thought I'd do a record," he said.
"Every week we were getting cancellations, as well as the documentary I was making. Like a lot of people, I lost a lot of money but it's only money.
"I had my son's drum kit in the room and I sort of wrote a record and put it out.
"It was quite inspiring to be challenged to either sink or swim. I like that kind of struggle.
"I found lockdown to be a privilege. I got to spend time with my family and I think that's really priceless. I spend so much time having to work and do all this stuff that I think is so important and I had the opportunity to make the most out of my time with my family and my creativity."
Balbi said he spent most of his time during the day with the kids and hanging out with them and would work on his album at night.
"It all started when I was sitting at the kitchen table on the second day of lockdown when I wrote a song 'All I Own Is Now'," he said.
"Then I thought 'I like this one, I'm going to make a record, I'm going to make it really simple, really basic and what means a lot to me'.The record sort of sounds like that. It's sort of music that I grew up on in a way.
"I'm totally aware of the gravity of COVID and the impact that it's had on us all but to me, it was a bit of a blessing."
With several shows across the state, Balbi is happy to perform.
"I'm looking forward to playing in Bowral, I'm looking forward to playing anywhere," he laughed.
"It's a new sort of area for me, I haven't spent a lot of time playing music in the Highlands but I love the Highlands and I'm looking forward to getting there.
"I've heard great reports about the venue, I think it will lend its self to a lot of blood and guts stories. I like to tell the odd story and I don't leave anything in the car. I find it's really great to connect with people in those smaller rooms. I enjoy that."
The smaller venues are a full-circle moment for the former Noiseworks bassist who began his decades-spanning career playing pubs and clubs.
"We grew up playing eight shows a week but from North Sydney to Narrabeen, there were 22 venues," he said.
"I think the smallest one was the San Miguel which held 500 people and the Mosman Hotel people which held 200. The rest were big barns that were full of people.
"To come back full circle and play small rooms is cool. To be honest, I don't care if it's 20,000,10,000 or 10 people it doesn't bother me.
"I just bring it all out and tell stories. I'm a storyteller and I will sing from the depths of my soul. What songs I play will vary, I sort of make it up as I go. I like to take risks, I like to be on the edge of messing it all up.
"I think that it's exciting. It's exciting for me and I think the audience feels that and there's an energy that you can create.
"I think it's always great to challenge yourself. It generally works well enough."
Before the COVID pandemic, Balbi was working on a documentary called 'The Legendary Dust Buckles'.
"I had this idea for many years and I happened to tell it to my publisher. It's a band name that I've had for a long time and I wanted to just travel the country," he said.
"There's a lot of music documentaries but I wanted people to experience the songwriting part of it. So we would be on bus - kind of like the Partridge Family - with recording gear and we would travel and have a chat with a family that had been in a bushfire.
"We could write a song about their experience and record a song in their lounge room.
"People do have incredible tales to tell about getting through adversity."
Balbi had already teamed up with Finch Production and the ball was sent to roll when the pandemic kicked in.
"We had some big investors but it's all on the backburner right now," he said.
"A good idea is a good idea so we will get there.
"We were deadset way along the road with it. It was disappointing news but I didn't lose any sleep over it.
"We just got on with things."
Tours and documentaries aside, Balbi has several projects with Electric Hippies and Mi-Sex.
"There's so much I'm doing, I'm producing a lot of bands, working with Dylan Frost [Sticky Fingers]," he said.
"I've been doing Electric Hippies again with Justin Stanley and that's been wonderful and we have an album half made there.
"There's a lot of Mi-Sex stuff coming up too."
Mi-Sex bassist Don Martin passed away on August 8, 2020 from prostate cancer.
"Don is the spiritual leader of Mi-Sex and will always be," he said.
"He really embraced death as bravely as anyone possibly could and made it a candid conversation we were able to have, conversations about how I felt going forward.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to without Don and Don's opinion was 'it's part of my legacy, it's what I love doing and I'm so proud of it. Just because I die, why does [MiSex] have to die.'
"One of the last things he said to [keyboardist] Murray Burns was 'keep the fire burning', so I don't have any problem continuing.
"I don't feel like we're doing him any injustice or disrespect, quite the opposite. We will keep on writing as long as we continue to enjoy it."
Steve Balbi's new album 'I think I know for sure' is out now. You can catch him at Bowral Bowling Club on November 16. Tickets can be purchased here.
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