Why I Love: Fierce Deity on Lemmy

By Special Guest on 28th November 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Tasmanian ‘Twitch streamer’ and songwriter Jonathon ‘JB’ Barwick has been spanning the genres with Fierce Deity since July of 2019. The A Ballad of Heartbreak And Despair single (which features guest vocals from Andrew Hudson of Australia’s thrash paragon Harlott) brings an epic conclusion to a series of singles JB refers to as The Trials. He’s joined us at the barrier to write about why he admires the legendary figure of Lemmy.

My first touch of Motorhead was the video for ‘Iron Fist’ back when I was about 15 years old. In Australia, there’s a late-night music show called ‘RAGE’ that has a guest host each Saturday. That week The Datsuns were playing cool shit from their childhood and thus it became cool shit from my childhood. I heard a lot of my favourite bands for the first time that night – Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin etc – but the Motorhead guy stood out to me the most.

His name was Lemmy and he played rock ‘n’ roll.

As a kid I idolized the stories of rock stardom in which all shame is abandoned (I hope I’m not the first to tell you if your life goals are along the lines of being wheeled into a hotel room covered in whipped cream you’re probably doomed to stack shelves in retail). There’s aspects of Lemmy’s ways that don’t align with my own idea of a fulfilling life but his attitude towards making music resonates deeply with me – I just want to write songs for as long as I possibly can.

If you can’t hear the difference between Motorhead’s albums then music in general is probably not for you. Lemmy’s lyrical prowess became so captivating over the years – he could write amazing lines regarding brutal humanity as easily as he could write tongue-in-cheek rock n roll.

My favourite album changes day-to-day but a lot of days it’s Inferno. There’s so many great songs on there from start to finish but there’s a hidden gem in ‘Keys To The Kingdom’ – some great poetry with a musical break in the middle that has so much finesse you forget you’re listening to Motorhead.

Lyrically it’s hard to pick a favourite piece of work – Lemmy was a master of context thanks to his balance of historical knowledge and life experience. He seemed to find it so easy to see someone else’s perspective and translate it into his own with conviction.

I was lucky enough to meet him very briefly a lifetime ago – my old band opened a show for them when they were touring The World is Yours. I wished him a good show on his way to the stage and he replied with the most genuine “Thank you” I’ve ever felt as he shook my hand. He was infamously good to his fans.

Lemmy was a truly unique character. He spent his life doing what he wanted and knew it was the only way for him. That’s something a lot of people wish they had the balls to do. So couple that with his manners, humour and common sense philosophies towards life and you’ve got yourself an attractive character even before you give him the band with the most volume and fewest fucks to give!

I’m sure history will remember him for what he was.

His name was Lemmy and he played rock ‘n’ roll.

Our thanks to Jonathon (or to Fierce Deity) for taking the time to share his thoughts and his splendid new video for the new single, A Ballad Of Heartbreak And Despair: