When you step out and you embrace all of who you are, it's not all going to be roses.
There's going to be haters.
That's just the walk of life.
But no one can prepare you for that.
And yeah, it definitely impacted me there for a while.
So I've just learnt and tried my best also to not let my heart harden, but to still manage
to find ways to love those that don't necessarily like me as well.
Hi, I'm Jess Rowe.
And this is the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, a podcast that skips the small talk and goes
From love to loss and everything in between, I want to show you a different side of people
who seem to have it all together in these raw and honest conversations about the things
I don't know about you, but in this time of social isolation, I really crave connected
So I'm going to dig deep to give you a new window into the souls of the people we're
curious to get to know and understand.
There might be tears as well as laughter as we celebrate the real life flaws and vulnerabilities
that make us human.
In this episode, I speak with musician Mitch Tambo.
Mitch is a proud Gamilarai man who first caught our attention with his bilingual version of
You're the Voice, which he performed on Australia's Got Talent.
And a few years later, he wowed the country again when he shared the stage with John Farnham
and Olivia Newton-John to sing it at the Firefight Australia Benefit Concert.
But Mitch is far more than just one song, and I wanted to discover how he uses his music
to spark joy and deeper conversations about what really matters.
Now, Mitch, it is so exciting to be chatting to you.
I want to know, first of all, when did you decide you could sing?
That's a great question.
When did I decide?
Well, I never really decided.
It was quite, I guess, spontaneous.
I mean, obviously growing up doing traditional song and dance is a bit different, but around
2016, I decided that I would do what I thought would be a Yidaki sort of album, like just
I started to lay down these loops and beats and decided almost instantly that I needed
to just express myself, and the only way to do that would be to sing as well.
And I wanted to sing in my language and be able to tell, I suppose, my own contemporary
story in the way in which I feel about certain things and see things and just, yeah, let
And within about seven days, I think I had my EP, so I roughly did a song a day just
on the loop pedal and in the kitchen and just sort of went from there.
You mentioned, though, that it was so important to you to do this in your traditional language.
When did you connect with that?
Because for a lot of, I would imagine, young Indigenous kids, that's not necessarily a
part of who they are to begin with.
They have to find it.
How did you find it?
Yeah, so I suppose I was blessed to grow up in Tamworth on country and have language in
my life to a degree in terms of, you know, through song and dance, because we had our
own little dance troupe, which has continued into something amazing back home now today.
But so I was really blessed in that way.
But I think it didn't really occur to me the power of language until roughly 2016 when
I started to sing and express myself and my own identity through language in the creative
artistry sense, I suppose.
And I just remember the way in which that I picked each song was the song is when I
would get to a point in just singing and jamming out once I'd created the loops that I didn't
feel alone anymore.
Like I felt this abundance of spirit, like just fill the room.
Yeah, it's hard to explain, but I felt like there was all these other like, I guess, ancestors
and people in the kitchen with me and my eyes shut just singing because I would just layer
I wouldn't do harmonies or anything.
I would just sing over it like sometimes like 20 times would be that layered.
And I just get this overwhelming feeling.
And I knew that it wasn't me.
Like it was much bigger than me.
And like through this expression, just opened me up to starting, I suppose, to gain this
deeper understanding of the true power when we connect to our language.
And I feel like everyone has that capability of connecting to mother tongue, so to speak.
The way you have described that has just given me goosebumps over my entire body, that beautiful
sense of as you sing, you have a sense of spirit and your ancestors around you.
In a way, would you say that that's almost like a connection that people feel with the
Yeah, it's so deep.
And I think it is truly spiritual.
And regardless of what's happened historically, if we are blessed enough to be able to reconnect
with language and country and our culture on that level, I feel like there's a real
beauty that can happen and a real door that can open up for yourself.
And it's almost like an enlightenment.
I mean, there's so much that I still have to learn.
I only know like not much at all really in the schemes of the true depth of our culture
and all the rest of it.
But in terms of just my experience, I suppose, if I just focused on language, it's just been
astronomical what I've been able to just feel in my heart and spirit through singing and
connecting on that level, I suppose.
And you've done that in the most beautiful way because I feel that with your music, you've
connected all of us.
Yeah, well, thank you. I appreciate that.
That's a nice compliment.
I mean, that's definitely the intent and the purpose.
And the purpose is really to connect us all.
And I suppose through me stepping out and I will say learning, because I feel like it's
a real learning, you know, learning to embrace all of who you are, you know, through that
journey, it's just with the hope to empower others to just embrace who you are entirely.
It shouldn't matter what race, religion, gender, sexuality or class, you know, you're
from, you should really be able to feel free to be who you truly are and feel safe enough
to just bear it all, you know, and not feel like you're going to be judged and condemned
for it. So I think through my journey of discovering that and walking in that, it's led me here.
And hopefully through that journey, it's, you know, encouraged others to just embrace
Who has made you feel safe so you can do that?
It's a great question.
You know, if you ask me that pre sort of stepping into the spotlight, I'll just say family and
community and and all the rest of it.
But there's a real uncertainty when you're in the spotlight and you're under immense
scrutiny. You know, that idea of feeling safe, it's really interesting because sometimes
you don't feel safe. Sometimes you feel really exposed, you know, especially with online
social media. But I feel like it's definitely, you know, my beautiful wife, Lele, it's my
mum, it's my net and pop, it's my management, it's my close friends that make me feel safe
and make me feel like, I suppose, not alone in the journey.
Because when you step out and you embrace all of who you are, you know, it's not all
going to be roses, there's going to be haters, that's just the walk of life. But no one can
prepare you for that. And when you hit that, it's just, you've got to have, you know, a
great support network. It doesn't have to be massive, but just a support network of
people that you can draw on and feel OK. And certainly like Arnie Bernadette Duncan, who
I do all my lingo with and, you know, strong members in my community that I've had these
conversations with that have gone, it's all good, you know, we've got you and you're on
the right track and we love you and let's keep doing this.
I mean, I've been able to draw on pivotal members of my community, Arnie's uncles and
just have long conversations and really debrief and I suppose walk through it into the next
chapter. And it's so good, as you say, that you've
got those people who can walk through with you because I wonder if you ever get tired
and weary of feeling that you have to be the voice for your community.
Yeah, I'm definitely not a voice and I learnt that really quickly. I learnt that super quick
as soon as I stepped out and started to have, you know, I guess, mainstream media attention
or all that kind of thing. I mean, all my life up until, I suppose, you know, the AGT
moment, my whole heart and intent was geared towards celebrating and like, yeah, I'm representing
my mob and this is who I am and let's get it. But I learnt really quickly after AGT
and I guess, you know, moving into that journey that I'm not the voice of my people and I'm
not the voice of anyone other than myself. And if people want to jump on board and they
resonate with what I have to say and they feel like, yeah, that's me, then that's a
real blessing and honour for me. But I certainly don't speak on behalf of anyone. I can only
speak on behalf of me and my perspective because not everyone agrees with what I have to say.
That's just a part of life. But I think it's finding the freedom in that and just be like,
hey, like, I'm not, I'm going to do my best today to not take on board that comment because
I don't speak on behalf of you anyway. I only speak on behalf of me and my lived experience
and what I've discovered in my own research. And if you resonate, deadly, let's rock, you
know, and if you don't, that's cool too, because we're all here to journey and live out our
own life experience. So yeah.
That's a really evolved way to look at it because, you know, there's many times when
I've seen you in the spotlight where you talk about things that matter and are so important,
how can you then separate yourself and say, well, I'm just speaking for me, not for my
Because I realised like, you know, once I started to get, I suppose, some negative comments
and things like that, the true impact it had on me, because obviously when I speak, I really
wear my heart on my sleeve and it's not like it's scripted. It's really me and it's really
what I believe in. And I'm just trying my best to play my little minute part in the
jigsaw puzzle of humanity.
So I realised really quickly that I had to let go because it was just impacting me too
much and just realised that, okay, this is what it's all about. And you also have to
acknowledge that, you know, if you're ruffling some feathers, then maybe you're actually
doing your job, you know, maybe you're actually doing what you're meant to be doing, but you're
really going to have to grow in this and really going to have to take courage that you're
on the right track.
And my pop in particular, he would always say to me growing up, you know, whatever you
do the right thing, doors will open for you and whatever your heart's in the right place,
you'll land on your feet. But the minute that you stray away from that, well, you'll see
what happens kind of thing, you know.
So I've sort of taken courage on little words of advice like that and obviously having these
other conversations with people around me. And it's just helped me to keep moving forward
because, yeah, it definitely impacted me there for a while. So I've just learnt and
tried my best also to not let my heart harden, but to still manage to find ways to love those
that don't necessarily like me as well, you know.
I think that's very generous. I basically with people who are like that, I reckon you
block them, you block them and you just get rid of them.
I hit the block button. But what I've tried to do is acknowledge that, you know, for
some of the comments coming from a place of maybe trauma and I don't need to allow
someone else's trauma to become my trauma. And all I can try to do is to love and to
try and just let go and move on with my life and not lose sleep over it. So I guess that's
where I'm trying to get to.
That's part of, I think, what makes you so special that you do wear your heart on your
sleeve. Keep doing that because you never, ever want, I think, anyone to change the essence
of who you are, because that is what makes you so unique. And you mentioned there about
ruffling a few feathers. I do love the feather that you wear when you perform.
Look, that headdress, yeah, I mean, it's very sacred and got a lot of meaning behind it.
Obviously started off with the Murai, the white cockatoo, and now it's the Belir, the
red-tailed black cockatoo. And they both have stories behind them. The Murai, we believe,
it's the two pointers up there protecting our gateway back home through what we know
as the Southern Cross, what we call it Yaran. And the red-tailed black cockatoo, it's got
a few different stories around it, but there's one that I'll share and that is we believe
it brought us fire. And I wear it with the intent of keeping the fire burning, in the
essence of keeping our culture alive and being able to represent that. And then there's the
Dinawan feathers, which is on there with the emu. And you can see the Dinawan up in
the Milky Way, the Warrampool. And again, there's some beautiful stories around that,
but we use the Dinawan in a lot of our teachings around us becoming young men and their stories
as we grow and many metaphors to take out of that. So yeah, I wear it for that reason.
And just to rock and represent my culture and to try and keep those stories alive, I
suppose, and try and maintain who I am. And yeah, that's really it.
But that's a big hit. I mean, stories are how we connect with one another,
and it's how we feel understood and heard. And that's what, again, is so special, I think,
about your music. And what also I just think is remarkable is that you talk a lot about your mum
and how much your mum means to you. Tell us about, Roz.
Well, there's a lot to say, but I think I've just come to a place in my life where I guess I'm a bit
older now. And I think you start to realise, because we look at our parents as old from the
jump, but then you get a bit older and you realise, oh, wait, they were younger than what
I am now when they went through that, when it was just us two in a house. And wow, mum was
actually really young. That would have been a lot to handle. So I think you start to reflect as
you get older. And I think you just start to really like, not that you never did appreciate
your parents, but you just start to appreciate them on a whole nother level, I think.
And I've just come to that place where I just really am blown away by my mum's strength,
resilience and unconditional love and capacity to just sacrifice and do amazing things so that
I could just have the best possible life that she could provide with all of her tools and resources
that she had in those moments. So I just try to just get on her and celebrate her when I can.
Because she, as you say, is such a strong woman. You moved, was it when you were two to Tamworth?
Yeah, 18 months old, moved to Temmie and started off in a house commission area,
which was all cool. There's nothing wrong with house commission. Like I always say,
house commission provides so much amazing housing for people in great need. But I mean,
in those situations, things happened, I guess that weren't cool. And for example, I reflect now and
I'm like, well, mum was like mid-20s, maybe. And here she is with this baby, which is pretty
much a new mother and single mother, follows next door, stealing her cat, dumping it and getting
drunk and sitting on the roof, meowing all night, tormenting her. And me being this young baby with
severe middle ear infections up all night, crying and her just by herself in the house. And
there would be times where I never realized that I was traumatized by it until like this year or
something. And I was like, oh, wait a minute, like these dreams I was having as a kid, because I
would have her up of a night walking up and down the house with a crowbar, go mum, mum, they're
coming to get you. They're going to come and get you. And I thought it was just nightmares. But
what it really was, was probably the trauma from these guys that obviously stole the cats and blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. And they're just some accounts. And fortunately enough, we had obviously
my amazing grandparents who pretty much took us in and we went and lived with them for a number
of years, you know, and had an amazing, amazing years with them. And I'm still very close today.
So, but yeah, it's through those stories and journey. And, you know, you realize, wow, like,
how incredible your parent or parents or guardian or caretakers are. And, you know, and then mum,
obviously put herself through university. Oh, extraordinary. But Mitch, just going back to
the crowbar. So she had a crowbar that she used to, did she have it under her bed? Under
the bed with it? Yeah. Yep. Yep. And I'd be, I'd be petrified. I never slept in my bed once. I'd
be right in there and that's what I did next to her, you know, because I was just petrified.
And for a little boy to go through that and then to see your mum enduring that, it's quite something.
Yeah, it's full on and, but you don't, we never dwelled on it. Like I don't recall
mum like really bringing it up ever like any of these things.
Do you talk to her about that now?
Yeah, of course. Cause, well, sort of led me down the path of reflection was when I released
Dreamtime Princess and that really just opened my heart up to reflecting on a lot of things.
So obviously through that and obviously, and certainly through wanting to talk about it
openly, I raised it with her first and said, you know, I'd like to talk about this part of
our story. Is that cool with you? And, and all the rest of it. So it allowed us to get, have that
little yarn, I suppose. Because that, that song, it's so uplifting and upbeat, but behind all of
that, it's a very sort of serious issue that you're singing about, isn't it? 100%. DTP evolved from
me being a young fella in Thamworth and like just with the brother boys and like having those
yarns that you have. And I was like, what kind of, you know, wife do you want when you're older? And
I turned around and I was like, I want a DTP. And all the brothers are just laughing like,
geez, you're one, but you're crazy. What's a DTP? And I said, Dreamtime Princess, my brothers. And
everyone was just laughing up. And many years later, it come back to me. And I remember just
laughing at myself like, whoa, this is a song title. I need to do this song. And I started
laying a beat on the loop pedal and put a little hook down and then really quickly
just feel like I got taken on this journey. Like I was, yeah, I don't know what I was like,
the ancestors was like, you're not doing this song without, you know, getting a bit educated here
because this is actually way more serious than you think. So I started to not in like, it wasn't even
like I intently set out to have real conversations about DV, but immediately I just started to have
these real conversations with some sisters around me about their journey with domestic violence. And
it was quite full on. And then I dove a little deeper into the statistics, which were just so
full on at the time and varied, but it was almost like 35 times to 80 times more likely to be
impacted by domestic violence than any other woman on the planet or something like that.
But varied stats depended upon location and whatever. But the essence of it was there as
a while. This is incredible. Wow, that is severe. And I went and seen Black Panther at the movies.
Black Panther was out and all these kids are walking out, pumped up and I was so emotional
because in that movie, the way in which they highlighted the beautiful women in the movie,
it just made me think about our community's pre-colonization, you know, like these matriarchal
societies where women are held so high with so much regard and are like at the front, you know,
in Black Panther. But there's warrior women like at the front, women like leading medicine and
Black Panther sister. And just the way it was shot, I think they encapsulated all this diverse
beauty and it just made me feel so emotional. Then the next day, Lazy Sunday, I got up,
put some Netflix on, watched a bit of Red Fern now and it was where this sister, she got like
raped in an alleyway, I think. And I remember just laying on the ground, like I shut my laptop and
just laid on the ground and cried for like, I don't know, half an hour or more, maybe near an
hour. I think it was like half an hour and then I just laid there reflecting because it just sort
of all fell on my shoulders like how real it is and how I think, you know, DV's been so normalized
in a lot of ways and it's just not cool. And it made me reflect also, you know, we talk about kings
and queens and princesses and all these royal titles. And there's nothing more royal to me
than coming from the oldest living continual culture on the planet and that only being because
of our beautiful women and that gift of giving life, which is through their sacred womb. And I
just felt there's nothing more royal than that. And I really wanted to be able to celebrate that.
In a fun way and not lose the essence of the fun because I wanted to be able to picture, you know,
a whole bunch of sister girls getting ready on a Friday night to go out or whatever and just
flaunting it and just feeling, you know, unstoppable, but allow it to open up these
conversations about domestic violence and hopefully allow it to open up into all communities.
Because as you know, domestic violence doesn't discriminate. You can be a billionaire and be in
a DV relationship. So we need to have these open, honest conversations. And it wasn't
to condemn brothers in my community or men in general, but also to go, you know,
if you are a perpetrator and you're currently belittling your partner,
making them feel small or physically harming them or any of those things,
then you need to look at that and you need to go and access counselling or, you know,
maybe you've got to go back on country and find healing, but you must find a way to put an end
to it because we can't keep making our trauma someone else's and we've got to put an end to
this cycle. And it's funny because, you know, even with this song, the only negative feedback
I've had is from other brothers. And I don't mean just brothers in my community, just like fellas,
I mean. And I'm like, the song's not for you. The song's for all the beautiful, deadly women,
you know, and if this song's triggering you, you need to go and look at that, you know, because
I'm not out here either condemning the brothers in my community. I'm just saying
the women in our community are overrepresented. And that don't mean it comes from the men in
my community, Aboriginal men. It can come from all men, from all walks of life. You know, our
sisters date men from wherever they want. You know what I mean? But our women are overrepresented
and we have to look at that. And if that triggers you and makes you angry, me openly discussing it,
you need to look at it because, you know, I mightn't be a voice that resonates with you,
but it doesn't mean that I'm not going to speak out how I feel and what I went through,
because you know what? My mother had to go and sleep with a crowbar under her house because
some fellas wanted to go and steal her cat and torment her all night. So I have the right to
speak out about it. And I'm going to speak out about it because, you know, our sisters, our
mothers, our daughters, our nieces, all women have the right to feel safe and feel like their dreams
and their life matters. And that's it for me, you know. So I don't have an issue in speaking out.
And I understand what comes with speaking out. But I'm okay with that because, you know,
I'm here to just play my role the best I can in all my imperfections as a human being. But,
you know, this is just who I am. And when I write songs and music, I can't help but, I guess,
have a message or a place in which the songs are birthed from. And I just can't help but want to
talk about it, you know. And bravo. Keep using that voice. And also, I think you talk there about
you're not perfect. None of us are perfect. And I think that, again, is what is so important
about sharing our stories, that we connect on this level of vulnerability and saying, hey,
I haven't got all the answers. But that's it. And that's the key, isn't it? Oh, for sure. Like,
you know, I'm not trying to sit up on my high horse and claim perfection. And like, you know,
I'm on my pedestal and I'm pointing the finger at people. I'm just merely sharing my story
and my journey. That's it. And I'm on my journey. You know, I'm far from perfect.
But I like to think, you know, when we know better, then we do better. And that's really it.
And I know what I know at the moment. And who knows? Next week, I might know a whole bunch
of other things. And I'll rethink what we spoke about today. But right now, this is who I am in
this current moment. And I definitely hope to evolve as time goes by. That's it. You know what
I mean? Oh, you will. You're such an evolved individual already. Talking about about journey,
though, I want to go back to your Australia's Got Talent journey when you did perform You're the
Voice in your language. And now, was that the first time your mum actually saw that you could
really sing? Yeah, they didn't even know. How did you hide that from her? I mean, like, obviously,
they'd heard the EP with Wallambar and all that kind of thing. But if you listen to that EP,
it's like the way it's sung, it's all pretty, I guess, like a traditional kind of style, you know.
So You're the Voice was the first time I'd ever sung like in that style, you know, and like, I
guess, commercial sort of pop melody, you know, John Farnham, that kind of vibe. I didn't know I
could do it, you know, like, I never knew. I went on AGT and I made the choice to go on AGT
because one of the biggest things was I wanted to sort of break fear off my life.
And obviously, we've all got fear. And it's not like I've fully broken it off. But at this point
in time, I was like, I don't want to be held back by fear. And like anxiety. And I think I'd come
to a place where I realised that these things kind of had a grip on me. And I was like, I can't do
this. You know, I've got it. I'm going to step out. I'm going to do this. You know, let's just do it.
This year in this AGT experience, I just want to open up to growth, to change. And I want to push
myself and just see what happens. Get uncomfortable again. What was the fear that was holding you back
that you'd fail that you couldn't do it? I think doubt, like doubt and what other people would think.
And I feel like I carried that a lot just in life, like whether it be say through sport or whatever,
you know what I mean? Just that idea of what if. It's too much. You know, just way too much. And
even now I have to like remind myself like, bro, enough with the what ifs. Like enough. The what
ifs like, they can just kill your spirit and just stop you from just living life. And so I was like,
I sort of said to myself, if you go on this show and you don't make it and everyone hates it,
who cares, man? You've only got one shot at life. If you go on there and you hit a bung note and
it's all over, who cares? You've got one shot at life. Like at least you went out there. Like
in the scheme of life, in the scheme of our existence, like it's not, it's a drop in the
ocean. Like all of this is like everything we, you know, it's just a drop. It's just a part
of our journey. Like what's worse is sitting back and being that person that judges all the singers
on, you know, the voice or all the accents. Oh, look at that. And you literally never stepped
out and tested yourself. So I was like, all right, I've got to have it. We've got to do this.
So we did it. And obviously it went well. Like we did Wollomba, Standing Ovation,
Golden Buzzer. Like I was just blown away. And I remember sitting in the car after it with the
brother boy that danced with me. And we had this moment. I sat with him. I was like, man, you know,
like for the rest of our lives, like no matter what happens from here,
like our kids, our kids will see this forever. Like, and our grandkids to come, like whatever
happens next, like this is, you know, our kids get to see that and see that the golden confetti
fly down and just see that we're up there just rocking out our cultures and just celebrating,
just celebrating, you know. And then after that, we started to have these conversations because
okay, next, you know, you're in the next round, what are you going to do? And I'm like,
John Farnham. We started to talk about that. And what led you to that song? Because it's such an
iconic Ozzy song. You know, we need to hurry up and come together. Be a voice for change and for
love and acceptance that we could just love and accept one another, regardless of race, religion,
gender, sexuality and class, that we could pave just an amazing way for the next generations,
you know, that you could be a young black fella just walked out of an event, paint it up and go
to Maccas and not have to worry about being discriminated. Or, you know, you might be a
young 14 year old and you're in the closet and you don't have to be scared about coming out and
just celebrating your own sexuality or, you know, whatever it may be, a sister in a scarf or burqa
could just be that. But we need to come together and we need to just do this because, you know,
in my community, we're losing so many young people to suicide and we need to create this
future that's safe and that's open and loving and accepting for everyone. So, yeah, I decided to
come out and do the song. Oh, and what a song because then, of course, you performed it with
John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John in the Firefight Australia Benefit concert.
What was that like? Was there lots of what ifs or fear before that performance as well?
No, there wasn't. And it's so funny because in that particular time, I was cool with it.
The night before it, I did like a festival in Goulburn, just peeking out, nerves, you know.
And people often ask me and I'm like, I know it was like 75,000 people, John Farnham,
Olivia Newton-John, Brian May from Queen, you know, closing the show. But I was all right with
it. And I sort of think it was because we did the rehearsal. When we did the rehearsals in the studio
and I didn't know Olivia would be there. I thought it was just me, John and Chong. And we got in,
I got to the studio and there was Olivia and I'm like, oh my God, like, what's going on?
Should I even be here right now? She's a queen too, isn't she? I'm like, what am I doing here?
Like, for real, I don't even know how to be in this situation. Like I'm in this studio,
it's just us. I don't even have anyone in my corner. I'm just rocked up out of my little car
and here we go. And you know what? They were just the most amazing people. And there was this real
moment here. And I just felt like I was with my grandparents. And I don't mean disrespect,
but I just mean there's just nothing but love and this unconditional acceptance.
And they were just so happy to have me there. And it just felt really real and genuine. And
there was a moment there, we got about to start rehearsal or whatever. And John just pauses and
he looks at Olivia and he's like, Livy, have you seen his version? Have you seen it? And she's
like, no. And he's like, Chong, Chong, get it up, put it up on the screen. I'm like, oh no,
can we do this one? I'm not here. No. Anyway, they watch it. It's just all positive. And at the
end, John gave me a big hug and he was like, just thank me for everything I've done with the song.
And he just said, this song isn't mine anymore. It's ours. And thank you so much. And I feel
maybe that just set me up to just go and have fun and just do it. I don't know. But that night,
I don't know, I just felt just ready and just at peace and whatever happens, happens. And it
was just a beautiful experience. But for me, the highlight hands down was the rehearsal.
That was just it for me. I mean, the concert and everything it was for and all the rest of it,
incredible and absolutely amazing to be a part of it. And then obviously the album went number one
and to be a part of it all is just incredible. But to be in studio with them for a rehearsal
and to just feel what I felt off them, they're both icons, absolute real deal icons. And to just
see how humble and down to earth they were was just incredible.
And the performance though, was so phenomenal. My husband, who was a massive John Farnham fan.
And when I was doing the prep for this interview, he was looking again and again and again
at you on YouTube with it. What I love about it is that it is a unifying song. Seeing you
perform it in that way, it becomes a song for all of us to move forward together.
Yeah, beautiful. I'm glad you feel that way because that's definitely
the intention behind it 100%.
That's how it makes me feel. And I think what strikes me so much talking to you, Mitch, is
how not only open you are, but how compassionate and again grown up you are about life and issues
that for many other people, and I don't want to generalise, but especially for blokes,
it's hard to get to the place where you are at now. Why is it that you think you are so
compassionate and open in the way that you are?
Well, thank you for seeing me in that light, but I'm not really sure. I think we go through
things in life and I guess with every hurdle, we've got the opportunity to grow and reflect
and to want more. And I think for the most part, what's driven me for many years is just wanting
to be a good dad one day. And I know that's crazy because obviously it's been my thought
process from early 20s or something, but I just really wanted to end up being a good dad one day
and that's it. And that's what's driven me, I guess, to go deep and also be open to dealing
with my own issues. If I say react to a certain way, be open to that criticism,
why do you react that way and be able to reflect and be like, yeah, where did that come from? And
then try and deal with it, I guess, but I'm definitely not perfect. I'm still trying to
get better and grow and elevate and deal with things better and develop greater capacity for
things and all the rest of it. But I feel like I've just spent a lot of years just thinking to
myself, one day when the time's right, I just want to be a good dad and good husband and just
be the best I can at that and obviously do what I love and what I love is what I'm doing. But
just be a good dad and good husband one day. I guess that's what's really driven me to just
continue to reflect and be hungry to grow and elevate. And so you mentioned you've got
three stepdaughters. And what's that like? It's awesome. I feel like they've changed my life
obviously completely and helped me become a better man 100%. And I feel like just develop capacity
where I actually didn't think I had it. So it's been an incredible journey. I mean,
especially being a fuller and coming in and there's five of us and all girls.
So I've definitely learned a lot. But at the same time, I've just learned so much. They're
just incredible and have just changed my life. And it's just such a beautiful journey to be on.
And I often look back and I'm like, wow, if you really allow yourself to just, I suppose,
open up and grow and develop that capacity, it can just be such a beautiful journey. And I think
initially, the first thing was just being scared. And I'm just scared of failing. I don't know.
I don't want to get this wrong and wreck lives here. You know what I mean? Seriously.
But you let go of all that and then just journey. And it's just such a beautiful thing.
What I'd like to finish with is you said you want to be a good dad, the best dad. What does that mean
for you? I think it just means showing up and being open to listen and to learn and to grow
and not be set in your own ways and to just let go. I mean, I think we can all have our own
preconceived ideas of how it's got to go down and how it should be. But that doesn't necessarily
mean it's right or it's going to go that way. And I think more or less, it's probably not. But I
think when you open yourself up to just the journey and to just let go of your own insecurities,
I think it can just be a beautiful thing. And I think I either read it somewhere.
I probably read it somewhere. I won't claim it. And it's kind of like not our job to be authorities,
but to just help and nurture and sort of help guide our kids on their journey rather than be
like these authoritarians of like, no, you shouldn't. No, that's wrong. But to be able to
conversate and to have open conversations and to try and just sort of guide and nurture the
situation. And whether that's right or wrong, I don't know. But I know that when I read it one
day, I was kind of like, oh, that makes a lot of sense to me because it's not our job to be like
you know, the military. It's kind of like our job to just nurture and help guide them on their
journey, you know. And I tell you what, and Mitch, you are going to do that in the most
remarkable way. You are such an extraordinary man. And I have just loved talking with you.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for having me. It's been a blessing.
Wow, Mitch is such a wise soul. His take on life is far more grown up and together than mine.
And I can learn so much from him. My guest for next week is media superstar Jackie Oh.
Now I've known Jackie for years, but we've never really talked like this before. We go deep
and both of us had some tears. It's a funny thing what we miss. It can be the littlest things,
for me, it's having that family time at the dinner table. It's like that used to be my
favourite part of the day. So I don't have that now. And I think I will get that back. But as I
said, I want to wait, you know, a little bit longer and then maybe down the track, I will fall in love.
That would be nice. The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show was presented by me, Jess Rowe, executive producer
Nick McClure, audio producer, Nicky Sitch, supervising producer, Sam Kavanagh.
Until next time, remember to live big. Life is just too crazy and glorious to waste time on the
stuff that doesn't matter. Listener.