Tim Barry - Richmond, VA

Biography

 

Promotional write-ups like this are generally loaded with hyperbole and bullshit intended to sell records and CDs and digital downloads and ringtones and all kinds of other stuff.

However, this is a press release for Tim Barry’s latest recording, a 12-song effort entitled 28th & Stonewall and it’s gonna be a little different. See, Barry, a singer-songwriter and former front man for Virginia punk stalwarts Avail, is vigorously opposed to bullshit. So the goal here is to give you an honest, hype-free introduction to 28th & Stonewall, which hits stores and the web on January 26, 2010, thanks to the good people at Suburban Home, an indie Colorado label.

Barry’s third full-length recording as a solo artist builds on the sound that’s garnered him a small but dedicated following over the past few years, weaving together folk, low-fi country, and classic rock. If you ask Barry, he’ll tell you he just got together with friends in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia and put down a bunch of fresh songs with some real talented musicians. He thinks the tunes are pretty good.

“I like the flow of it, the peaks and valleys, the way it goes up and down,” says Barry, who wrote the bulk of the songs in a three week burst while home from tour. He’s quick to give longtime collaborator and co-producer Lance Koehler props for his work on the album: “The quality of the recording is by far the best Lance has done, and the mastering is real good.”

If you ask other folks about 28th & Stonewall, they’re likely to tell you it’s one of the best things he’s done in a music career that’s spanned nearly two decades. (Yeah, we know, that borders dangerously on hype.) Words that come to mind in describing the new record: pretty, funny, honest, guarded, rockin’, sweet.

It’s also a step in a different direction for Barry. While 2008’s harrowing Manchester painted almost exclusively in shades of black, 28th & Stonewall utilizes a much wider palette of colors, moving deftly from mood to mood. Kicking off with “Thing of the Past,” an infectious country stomper built around a crisp electric guitar riff and pedal steel twang, Barry gets playful and raucous with the help of the No BS Brass Band on the bluesy “Will Travel,” and clowns around on “Downtown VCU” and “Bus Driver.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise is “Prosser’s Gabriel,” a fury-laden five-minute-long historical sketch about a failed slave uprising in Virginia. The song, featured in a recent issue of Beyond Race magazine, has already become a staple of Barry’s live performances.

Of course, this a Tim Barry record and a Tim Barry record wouldn’t be complete without some beautiful, heart-on-sleeve slow-burners. “You ain’t looked my way in months,” he laments on “Moving on Blue,” a gorgeous organ-driven chronicle of love lost, featuring Daniel Clark (a regular with Ryan Adams) on keys. On “With Ease I Leave,” Barry sits atop a hill overlooking the city, lonely and confused, watching freight trains haul coal beneath a winter sky: “I know I think too much and spend too much time alone.”

Barry, who’s maintained a relentless touring schedule over the past couple of years, recorded 28th & Stonewall in Richmond at Koehler’s Minimum Wage Studios, and tapped an array of Richmonders to back him, including his sister Caitlin Hunt on violin and guitarist Josh Small, a frequent tour mate. With the new record poised to drop, he expects to spend a very large chunk of 2010 on the road, playing everything from grimy dive bars to decent-sized theaters.

At a time when most of his contemporaries from the underground music scene have slowed down, quit playing, or found steady 9-to-5s, Barry finds himself more immersed in music than ever. “I could stay at home and make a lot more money working at the Richmond Ballet, but I wouldn’t feel fulfilled,” he says. His dedication to the craft shines through on 28th & Stonewall.

Tim Barry’s been kicking around the musical underground for nearly 20 years, first as the front man for Virginia punk heroes Avail, and more recently as a singer-songwriter with a penchant for constructing beautiful folk and country tunes. Dude’s been particularly busy the past few years, gigging relentlessly, including a couple months on the inaugural Revival Tour with fellow travelers Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, and Tom Gabel, and generating a steady stream of recordings. In late 2009 he’ll release a split 7” EP with pal Frank Turner (a co-release by Epitaph and Suburban Home), while 2010 will see the arrival of 28th and Stonewall, Barry’s third full length recording, a masterful collection of heartsick dirges, wry commentary, and upbeat stomp-alongs (Suburban Home).

With this barrage of new music on the way, he wanted to give listeners a little more insight into his life and craft. Consider the following text an alternative to the standard Wikipedia-style bio.

-Barry has decidedly mixed feelings about this media-saturated age. “I’m a believer in turning off the computer, unhooking the television IV…and living.” He can’t imagine devoting the bulk of his life to watching movies and “fiddling around on the Internet.”

-Not surprisingly, his philosophy on life is intertwined with his theories on songwriting: “If you don’t have a big life outside of music, you’re probably not going to write good songs.”

-He appreciates Steve Earle’s approach to songcraft. “To paraphrase Steve Earle, if you put nothing in, nothing comes out,” Barry says.

-Barry’s favorite quote about songwriting comes from a lyric by fellow Richmond denizen Josh Small: "Writing songs ain't pushing boulders, it's more like talking instead.”

-After two decades of touring, Barry – a self described “current events junkie” – generally finds himself more interested in talking about ideas and news than the music biz.

-“I read every newspaper I can get my hands on, whether people label it conservative or liberal,” he says, adding that he also seeks out the alt-weeklies in each town he plays, and is a fan of the New Yorker.

-By contrast, Barry spends “little to no time reading on the Internet.” But, he maintains, “I’m in no way a Luddite.”

-He has a habit of “home schooling” – picking different topics and educating himself on “everything from auto repair to economics.”

-When he’s not on the road, he works for the Richmond Ballet – Virginia’s state ballet company -- helping to produce The Nutcracker. At the ballet, Barry does everything from driving trucks to building scenery. Little known fact: Thanks to the ballet gig, he’s licensed to build and move pyrotechnic devices. “I have a great appreciation for the athleticism of the dancers,” Barry says with complete sincerity.

-At present he claims to be writing a book, although he won't really tell anyone what it's about.

-Barry rarely socializes when he’s not touring, because, after playing hundreds of shows a year, he finds crowds overwhelming.

-One thing he likes about Richmond is that it’s “a place where no one cares if you play music.” He’s not a fan of musicians “who create their identity and ego based on musical accomplishments.”

-Barry chooses to dwell in a one-room garage/shed with no running water, accompanied by two cats (Bumble Bee and Bernie) and a dog (Emma Goldman) – which is pretty fitting for a guy with a propensity for singing about simple living.

-He’s developed an interest in growing his own vegetables and now has a sizable plot, which will be featured in an upcoming documentary on sustainable gardening.

-Music is in his blood. Both of Barry’s parents sang in the choir at his Catholic parish, and his mother played guitar. (A teenage devotee of Slayer, Barry says he wasn’t exactly enthralled by the folky church music his folks played.) His sister Caitlin Barry Hunt – who often accompanies Barry -- is a classically trained violinist, while brother James Barry is an avant garde composer.

-Performing as a solo artist has been a seismic shift for him. “I speak for myself now. When I’m on stage I can say whatever I want. I don’t have to think about the guys in the band and how they’re gonna react to what I say. It’s the ultimate in freedom.”

-Barry’s quick to give props to his supporting crew, especially producer Lance Koehler (“he’s acted as my right-hand man and producer since I started making this music”), road manager Tim Shaw (who gets clowned on 28th and Stonewall), merch guru Matt Gere, web-dude and screen printer Logan Kornhauser, booking agent Margie Alban, and publicist Vanessa Burt.