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Tim Barry's Rustic Regionalism
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by
Pulse Team
January 28 - February 3, 2010 |
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There are a certain number of artists who treat locality as a muse, almost as if where they are from dictates their entire creative output. Take Bruce Springsteen, for example: without New Jersey and its history, his music would suffer heavily. Tales of the cities and towns one lives in, from prosperity to decline, can often offer albums worth of influence, so much so that there is no need to move on, so to speak. Everything required to keep churning out music is at home, only a few blocks away. Such is the story with Virginia’s Tim Barry, a songwriter–cum–Americana virtuoso who is indelibly linked to his home state. With Barry, nothing is more than a short drive away. He records near his house, uses local musicians and writes about the real Virginia, emphasizing both its pluses and negatives. Such is the story with the guitarist’s fifth album, titled 28th and Stonewall. “I recorded my newest album at the same place that I’ve recorded all of my music, Minimum Wage Recording Studio in Richmond,” explains Barry. “I originally began recording there in 2004 out of convenience. It is located in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood where I used to live. I could just walk down the street and be ready to record. It is also incredibly affordable, which is great for me ‘cause I generally have very little money to work with. Regardless, I’ve continued recording there mainly because I’ve built a tremendous musical relationship with the studio, and it is where I go to hone my skills and develop the recordings.”
For those who are new to Barry, not only does the songwriter record under his own name, he also used to front a louder, more punk influenced band that is equally as popular as his solo material, called Avail. Avail is very different to Barry, which can often engender a paradox of sorts within his music, as what he records under his own name differs considerably from the recorded output in Avail. Yet, according to Barry, both projects are one and the same, as the only difference to him is noise, or distortion. “Avail and my own music is one in the same,” responds Barry. “Avail was Americana with fast drums and distortion. However, nearly all Avail songs were written originally on acoustic guitar, so to be honest, my music is not much different.”
With 28th and Stonewall, Barry presents some of his most mature and developed work to date. His music is rugged, dark and soaked in alcoholic imagery, and divisively local, even down to the name of the album, which is an intersection near where he grew up. In addition, with Barry, folk music feels energized, as punk is inserted subliminally to add an electric feel, even through an acoustic and a vocal mic. “I realized pretty quickly years ago that replicating album versions of songs live is a lot of fun with folk music,” adds Barry. “Essentially, every song is written with acoustic guitar and vocals. But on some of these songs I add tons of instruments, while on others I keep it simple and add nothing. I have a great time experimenting with new instruments in the studio, but in the end I can play any of the songs on stage, stripped down with nothing but guitar and vocals. So it is a bit of both in this instance. Still, I love the challenge and the spontaneity of live shows.”
While on record Barry experiments with a variety of instrumentation, how a song comes to being is very simple, a process that produces the rural heartfelt nature that overrides much of Barry’s work, even from his earlier days fronting Avail. “The songwriting process for me is pretty simple,” explains Barry. “It goes like this: a song shows up in my head and I write it. Sometimes the process can take forever based on the idea and sometimes it happens real quickly. For example, this week I finished a song that I started writing in 2006 while touring Australia. It’s the easiest song in the world, but I just couldn’t find the direction and mood for that many years. And now, nearly four years on, it’s done. The flip is, last week I wrote a song in one five–minute sitting. It just showed up and was done. I believe the process is more about life experience than writing. There is plenty to write about, it’s just about going out there and finding the songs or the perspective to have them given to you.”
Barry will embark on a lengthy North American tour, supporting the record that is now released on U.S.–based Suburban Home Records. The tour will feature Barry alone, allowing him to delve into the guts of each song and why it is so important that every note originated close to home, somewhere in Virginia. “To be honest, I was born, raised and grown in Virginia, so naturally the region will pop up in my songs,” concludes Barry. “It’s the area I know best and the people that I’m most familiar with.” P [SHAIN SHAPIRO]
Tim Barry (Richmond, VA)
w/Chuck Ragan, Lemuria, Cavaliers!, Ulysses and the Siren.
@ Mansion House.
5 William St., St. Catharines.
Sunday, January 31. 6:30pm.
timbarryva.com
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