Jimmy Barnes described his mate, Boston music professor, Mark Simos as the family songwriter and he is sharing his family songwriter with Cold Chisel.
"I hooked him up with Don Walker and Ian Moss. I think he and Don will write something fantastic together," Jimmy tells Undercover News. That will make Mark the very first person outside of the band to write a Cold Chisel song. The Cold Chisel album, their first since 1998's 'The Last Wave Of Summer' is expected sometime in 2011.Mark was a songwriting professor at Berkeley where Jimmy's son Jackie was studying. Mark and Jimmy hooked up after Jackie invited him to school and he sat in on a class.
"We wrote the title track for this album [I've Seen It All (Rage and Ruin)] on the first day," Jimmy says. "I thought he was an amazing writer. He dragged lyrics out of me that I hadn't written for a long time. I call him the Prof".
As well as He is out here at the moment doing sessions for songwriting. I've had him writing with Mahalia, my daughter. He has been writing with Jackie, because Jackie is writing songs for a whole bunch of people. He is going to write with Elly-May and then he is going to write a bunch of songs with me. He is the family writer".
As well as the title track, Mark also co-wrote the tracks 'Adam Was Just A Man', 'Can't Do It Again', 'Love Can Break The Hardest Heart' and 'Largs Pier Hotel' on the 'Rage and Ruin' album.
'Rage and Ruin' is in stores today.
Jimmy and Jane Barnes will also show you through their house tonight (August 27) on Better Homes and Gardens on Channel 7.
Watch the Undercover interview with Jimmy Barnes on uctv.fm
