WHO: Darren Middleton.
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WHERE: Fresh, Launceston.
WHEN: Thursday, May 1. Middleton will also play at Red Hot Music in Devonport on Friday, May 2, and the Waratah Hotel in Hobart on Saturday, May 3.
DARREN Middleton admits that he lost his way after Powderfinger called it quits in 2010.
"It was a lot more of a rollercoaster than I anticipated," said Middleton, who did work on the guitar and as a songwriter for the group.
"It was mainly from an emotional point of view, and I spent a long time feeling really lost, which really struck me out of the blue to be honest.
"I had never found that before, probably because I always had a purpose in the band.
"But I was able to get my feet back on the ground [after about 1 1/2 years] and a lot of that has something to do with this record [his debut solo record Translations, which was released last year], with my musings existing on that record at that period of time.
"I'd convinced myself it would be all smooth, but the reality was after getting back from a holiday with my family, I did want to get into it, but I was just hitting brick walls.
"I hadn't dealt with the fact that this big chunk of my life was over and I had to find a new identity, and it did impact the people around me.
"I made a decision to just get my shit together, and when I look at the songs [on Translations] it was the most honest I have been in my songs.
"Once I had mentally made that decision [to make the album], I have been able to move forward."
Translations has allowed Middleton to find that identity, an album he is happy to describe as being a monumental moment in his life.
"I'm really proud of it, as I can stand up and play it and stand behind the songs," he said.
"It is a cliche, but it is that heart on the sleeve feeling.
"It is fairly soul-baring. Musically I wanted it to be quite beautiful and sparse.
"With the tour I'm on now, I'm very exposed up there, as there's not a wall of sound, a big band or anything behind me, it's just the songs standing on their own two feet, and me giving it everything I've got.
"What I look for in a live experience is a moment you hadn't planned for and you can't manufacture.
"I want it to be a moment."
Middleton, who will be bringing his show to Launceston's Fresh on May 1, will also play "one or two" Powderfinger songs - something he has only recently added to the set, and an experience he said is "a bit weird".
"The question I will ask myself at every gig is `is this a cover I'm about to do?', he said.
"I've picked a few Finger songs that I'll probably play two of every night.
"I'm not doing it as a band, which is better for me, standing up with four other guys singing a Powderfinger song, which would feel a bit odd for me.
"But as a solo artist, I think it's OK."