Music has always been at the centre of Jimi 'The Human' Hocking's world.
With an opera singer mother and a piano player father, it was something he was enmeshed in from day one. “My dad's quite the legend. In fact I'm always proud to tell people, my dad was quite probably the first piano player on Australian television.
"Music was always a huge thing for us, we grew up in that environment. I have two sisters and a brother who are all musical and we are very fortunate to have that upbringing, because of course some families dismiss the idea of wanting to be a musician. But in my family, it was a complete green light.
“I often joke that if I had a mid-life crisis I would run away with the bank as opposed to run away with the circus.”
With a career that has seen him also play with The Angels (1988) and The Screaming Jets (current member), it makes sense that music was always part of the picture.
Jimi is heading to Blues On Broadbeach on the Gold Coast this month. “It's such a great weekend. It's all free and there are some amazing bands playing. Ian Moss and Kevin Borich are like big brothers of my art.”
Last year saw a new album release for The Screaming Jets and Jimi says as a band they are as strong as ever. “I think making this last record has been quite a cathartic experience for us. It was great to make it but to have it so well received is just a real bonus. We're really in a good place right now. “I don't think any of us imagined 25, 26 years down the track we would still be playing in the band.”
Jimi says leaving The Screaming Jets for awhile wasn't an easy choice, but was something he had to do. “Between '93 and '95 or '96 I calculated I'd been home less than 10 days every year. "I left the band in '98 because I had other things I wanted to do and we just were so committed to touring that I couldn't pursue my lame-ass little sports dream or my desire to go to America and play in New York at that time in the blues scene.
"So the only way to do it was to leave the band and pursue it.”
The following few years saw him win a wealth of awards for his blues music, gaining him quite a lot of recognition both internationally and here at home. In addition to this he produced an EP with his father “just for fun”.
If he seems busy that's because he is. With a new baby on the way and plans for a solo album, a Screaming Jets album and a blues group album you'd be forgiven for thinking Jimi would want some time off.
But Jimi says he is grateful for all of it. “Even in the midst of crazy busy stuff, I sit and take stock and look around and say 'you know what? This is the dream.
"This is what it looks like. It's as dirty as this.' It means you're busy. It means you're grabbing guitar strings on the way out the door... It doesn't get any better than that for a guy like me.”
Jimi Hocking plays Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast) 18-21 May.
– written by Angela Peita
