How does one musician gather up all his collected inspirations and whack them down onto an album, without feeling he is not 100 per cent?
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Having a full awareness of his babies knocking at the door to be sent out into the world, with some in the womb for more time than most children take to hit first grade, Grinspoon's Phil Jamieson has made an album that represents his past and his future.
And it still gives him a kick when he hears himself on the radio.
With instant hit for any playlist - title track "Somebody Else" begging to be heard by all and sundry - Jamieson is a star who just can't stop being clever. And rather humble about his achievements.
"I just finished playing tennis, and I was in my car. [My track] 'Trouble' was on the real wireless, on the real radio," Jamieson says.
Holding a twang in his voice that sounded a little like that other Australian legend, Tim Rogers - because he'd been hanging out with him on the Rolling Stone's tribute to Sticky Fingers tour - Jamieson wonders aloud if he's sounding like a "wanker". Like one of those people who plays tennis on his days off, because he is a freed-up Australian musical icon, and shoots out Instagram stories because he can, living life like he was on reality television.
"I filmed an Instagram story of myself listening to it, because I hadn't heard my solo stuff on wireless in the car," he says.
"You know, it's one of those things where you just like flick over. And I thought 'Oh...!'"
Not a bad moment for a guy who should be well aware of what his voice sounds like on the FM frequency. Grinspoon may still be heading out to massive festivals, but it is this project that pivots on his need to spin out of control on those babies he hasn't been able to show a new public, yet.
"Somebody Else" is his first solo mission into the sonic territories he now calls home. Or other people's home, depending who's listening.
It's easy to create an album like this when you have your creative mind working for you, 100 per cent of the time. "As a songwriter, creative, whatever you want to do - I'm always kind of writing. I'm writing songs about cooking toast in the morning or, you know, broader issues."
And he hasn't been afraid to re-write the sonic text book, away from Grinspoon and into the land of the present.
"Chordally and structurally, I was trying to do semi-tonal stuff, rather than big shifts," he says.
"I was just trying to do different stuff. A lot of the songs I was attempting to start with a chorus as well, arrangement-wise, rather than, verse one, chorus, verse two, middle eight, or something."
With the album a fruit born from creative necessity, Jamieson sweats it out from behind a firestorm of anticipation and readiness to take the first lap of the country with his huge collection of neo-tracks.
"I'll be honest, it's been a while since I've done a full show," he says. "I think it was (Green Day's) American Idiot shows where we were doing eight shows a week. But then you're not travelling with those kinds of theatre productions. So this will be great. It'll be great to keep my eyes on the prize."
Keen to show the world just how far he has come as a man on his own two feet, settling old bets and making things count like only he knows how, "I'm really excited about constructing the setlist," Jamieson says. "I've got a great band with me."
For the album's short release tour, "[You Am I's] Davey Lane is the guitarist who is going to be joining me, obviously co-wrote some of the songs, and can play anything in the world. So yes, it'll be two days [preparation]," he says.
"But two days should get us across the line. And then a long soundcheck everywhere we go."
One of his favourite moments on the album did not come from hanging out with professional musicians and big name producers. Instead, it was from teaching a youngster how to play guitar.
A simple moment, that gave new meaning to the birth of inspiration.
"The final track on the record is called a 'Little Pickle'," he says.
"I got asked to teach a neighbour how to play guitar. And I'm a relatively rudimentary guitar player. I found it difficult to teach because I can't play Jimmy Page or Slash, you know. So I ended up going round and round and we learnt 'Blister in the Sun', we learnt 'House of the Rising Sun' - all the sun songs. And we ended up writing 'Little Pickle' together."
It left the young lady with her first writing credit.
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"That moment to me is one of the special moments, because if you listen to 'Little Pickle' and listen to how the guitar is playing, you can imagine somebody picking up a guitar for the first time and playing a song," he says.
"Because it's so straight - there're downstrokes only. It's one of those things, there's a beauty and simplicity and sometimes we overthink things.
"'Little Pickle' is one for me to cherish and for her to cherish as well. Trying to also invoke the power of song.
"And anyone who knows E minor and G can write one."
- Phil Jamieson's Somebody to Love is released July 25. He plays UC Hub on Friday, August 5.