As the daughter of acclaimed jazz drummer Len Barnard, and the niece of musician Bob Barnard, music is in her blood, while her warmth, effortless charm and natural talent have captivated audiences across the country.
In the ‘90s as the vocalist of Rebecca’s Empire, she enjoyed both critical and commercial success before going on to release two highly-acclaimed solo albums. In the years that followed, Barnard has remained in the public eye thanks to numerous TV and radio appearances, and her many philanthropic interests that range from songwriting workshops for intellectually disabled adults, to her role as founding member of the Mirabel Foundation, which works to assist children who have been orphaned and abandoned due to parental drug use.
However, it’s her latest gig that’s got the Melbourne music scene buzzing. Together with her colleagues at the Northern College of Arts and Technology in Preston, Barnard has developed a one-of-a-kind study unit called Backing Beck that gives 15 lucky students the chance to experience the highs and lows of life on the road as her support act, opening a show on a tour across Victoria. “I thought ‘What better experience can you get than going out and playing your music to a large audience.’ That really sorts out the sheep from the goats, you know?
“And for me personally, the best thing about being a musician and a songwriter is the communication with an audience,” Barnard says. “It’s extremely edifying, especially if an audience likes what you’re doing – it’s just a wonderful feeling.
“It’s like being in love,” she says. “It’s fraught with potential disaster as well. If it’s a really good show and you can walk away feeling happy, that’s great – but often you’ve got so much to focus on, and one small thing can ruin a whole set. If you’ve got a crappy sound, for example, how do you keep performing professionally when you can’t hear a word you’re singing? Or the audience is really loud, or the barman empties the bottles in the bin right in the middle of your most sensitive ballad about your dad dying. There are so many external things that come into play when you’re performing – but the more you do it, the more you can get your shtick happening.”
Having just wrapped up the third year of this unique course, NCAT are holding auditions and taking applications now for next year. “There are 12 units in the Certificate IV course, and I teach four. It incorporates everything from stagecraft, to learning how to promote yourself, to performance, songwriting and how to negotiate with record companies, and other necessary stuff like making sure you register your songs with APRA.
“We designed it to give students three terms to work on their repertoire, and lot of time to practise, because, although most people who do the course can play an instrument, they haven’t actually performed to a large audience night after night. It’s a real learning curve for everyone.”
As a novice to the teaching profession, in the beginning Barnard says she had to learn how to tailor her style to meet each student’s needs. “I’m not really a natural teacher, but what I’ve noticed is that everyone has a different style of learning and you have to tap into each individual to achieve results. I will admit that when I started teaching this course the cynical side of me thought ‘You can’t teach this, you’ve gotta go out and do it,’ — that’s why the tour element is such an integral part of the course, and every year it’s got better and better.”
With summer here you may think that this hardworking muso/mentor would be content to put her guitar down and her feet up for a well-deserved break – think again. “I’ve been working on new music, and I’m planning my third solo album early next year,” she says. “I always have something happening.”
By Natalie Rogers
