SHANNON Noll has confessed to rebelling against a wholesome upbringing by taking drugs and drinking after his father's death.
"My dad never drank and he never smoked," the 32-year-old pop star said of his father Neil.
"He worked his fingers to the bone. You can be a good man and, still, things can go wrong.
"So I thought, bugger it, I'm going to live life, try things, have a bit of fun. I don't want to live my life worrying about what might go wrong."
Noll smoked marijuana regularly to help cope with his father's accidental death on the family farm in 2001.
"I didn't let myself think about him when I was smashed," he said. "Consequently, I found myself getting smashed a lot."
The birth of Noll's son Cody later that year forced the singer to quit.
"I got to a stage where I had to own up to it," Noll said. "I'd turned into a zombie on the lounge. I wasn't doing anything useful. I wasn't going to do that to my son."
Noll, who was raised in Condobolin, NSW, said he should not have to apologise for having fun.
"I am a normal Australian bloke. I do love a beer," he said. "But I'm no different to any young bloke you'll meet who's playing football, or surfing, or working. I want to enjoy my life and have a good time."
In March this year, he was criticised for a drunken performance at Thredbo, NSW.
Punters claimed Noll staggered and slurred through his set.
And while Noll said he took antibiotics for a throat infection and drank only three beers before the show, he would not make the same mistake again.
"I threw down the last beer and then the alarm bells went off," he said.
"I knew I was teetering. I was on the borderline of being gone.
"I came offstage thinking, 'Damn!' I should've known better.
"I am aware of how easily it can happen and I'll never go near that realm of possibility again."
Noll lives at Lilli Pilli, on the NSW south coast, with his wife, Rochelle Ogsten, and their children, Cody, Blake and Sienna.
A relaxed Noll said he was training with a local Australian Rules team for fitness.
"I started playing last week -- just to get a hobby going," he said.
Ogsten said her rock star husband was getting better at work-life balance.
"And not just for the time we need together, but for the kids," she said. "They need their dad around. The boys go wild after 10 days."
Ogsten said their children had distinct personalities. Blake, 5, and Sienna, 20 months, were extroverts, while Cody was like Noll.
"Deep, a real thinker," Ogsten says. "I can always see Cody's mind ticking away."
Noll owns a small home in Condobolin, which he uses as a getaway and said he wanted his city-raised children to have country values.
"I'm always quoting things Mum and Dad said to me like learn to acknowledge a compliment, because there's not many of those going around these days," he said. "Treat people like you want to be treated. And don't judge anybody until you've walked a mile in their shoes."
Noll will perform at Horsham Hotel, June 11, Doncaster Shoppingtown Hotel, June 12, Ferntree Gully Hotel, June 13, Chelsea Heights Hotel, June 14 and Hallam Hotel, June 15.
