Jenny and Andy, share a peek behind the curtain of what it's like to be a part of Sound Barriers, a band at Life Without Barriers' Community Program in Hobart.
Image: Jenny and Andy smile at the camera, holding their hands up in a peace sign.
Jenny wore one of her favourite black dresses, a red jacket, and a light touch of makeup as she waited to be picked up. She was more dressed up than usual for a Wednesday morning, when she’d normally head to the Life Without Barriers community program centre in Hobart.
Today, Jenny and her fellow Sound Barriers band members, Geoff, and Matt 'Hoori', were going to the Moona Arts Centre, where they would be performing at the Mosaic event.
The trio headed to the stage to meet the other band members: Matthew, and Life Without Barriers program support worker and musician, Andy. Jenny, Hoori, and Geoff have been working with Andy for a number of years.
Image: Sound Barriers performing on stage with Jenny singing. Behind the band is a large banner designed and created by Matthew Hoori that reads 'Sound Barriers. Rock.'
It was 9.30am and their performance wasn't until 11am, which gave them ample time to rehearse. The band did some sound checks and had a little warm-up.
Andy said everyone appreciated having the extra time to get ready for the performance.
"You know where everyone's going to be standing. Over my shoulder, Jenny is in the right position, she feels comfortable and that's always really important."
"In the past, when we went on stage and played straight away, it was like, 'Who is going first?' 'Oh, the seats are too high.' It's so much better when you can take your time. Isn't it, Jen?" Jenny agreed.
They practised five songs and Jenny played the tambourine, then jumped on the drums. Andy reflected on how Jenny has grown both personally and musically over the years the band has been together.
"Jenny’s gotten way more confident, she just used to be on the tambourine, but in the last two years you’ve been rocking on the drums, haven’t you, Jen?" Andy asked.
"Yeah, I just wanted to give it a go. It feels good," said Jenny.
Andy added, "It brings a whole different energy to you."
"Like a rock star," Jenny said, and they both laughed.
Formed at the Life Without Barriers community program for people with disability, Sound Barriers has been playing together since 2015. Jenny, Hoori, Matthew, and Geoff, are original members of the band and the band mates come together to practice weekly at the community program.
"Being in this band makes me happy," said Jenny.
Image: Band members of Sound Barriers standing together with their instruments.
Sound Barriers isn’t Jenny’s first experience of performing for a crowd. As a young girl, she would do gigs with her dad.
"My dad used to play the guitar at the pub. I used to sing with my dad," said Jenny.
When it was finally time, Sound Barriers blasted onto stage with their signature tune, The Sound Barriers Anthem. The screen behind them displayed a larger-than-life picture of their band name. The crowd went wild. Matthew grabbed a tambourine and got everyone dancing.
"He was in his element. Matthew gets everyone in the party mood. Like it's OK to dance and have a good time. It’s what we love about him," said Andy.
Jenny looked out into the crowd and recognised many of her school friends among the faces. The band members have found that their gigs often brought many of their friends together.
Her family was there too and even her nan had come to this gig. From the stage, Jenny saw her dad and mum smiling and enjoying themselves. They later told her she gave a good performance.
"I played for my dad," said Jenny.
Sound Barriers played their favourite hits, including songs from Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson, as well as original numbers they had written. The band had a lot of fun that day, as they could play as loud as they wanted.
"This was one of our rockiest gigs! The sound was great. Probably one of the best gigs we’ve ever done," said Andy.
Image: Sound Barriers performing on stage with Jenny on the drums. Behind the band is a large banner designed and created by Matthew Hoori that reads 'Sound Barriers. Rock.'
The band’s reputation has steadily grown over the years, and they have been playing more regularly at different gigs. They are also working on a longer-term project to record their songs.
Recently, Jenny and Andrew went through all the songs they performed and organised them. Jenny put them all in the folders in the right position, so the band now know where all the songs are, including old songs that they used to play back in the day.
Jenny also has a lot on the horizon on a personal front. A while back, Hoori proposed to her, and they are now making plans for their wedding. Though they are still waiting to set a date, Jenny said, "We’re going to have the wedding at my farm. Hoori wants the band to perform."
She has promised to keep us updated about her wedding.
