Domesticated Set List (Part 2)

Exhausted? Yup. Happy? You bet! The London Free Press just gave us excellent converge of tomorrows show at The London Music Club. The shows are going great, everyone's being really supportive and the buzz on the disc is growing by leaps and bounds. I feel like a very lucky artist indeed.

More about the Songs from the Set:

Two Silhoutes On The Shade:

One is my favorite of the old school covers that the Nylons rearranged and recorded, this one on the classic "One Size Fits All" (my personal favorite of The Nylons discs). Daniel and I are singing with only Jon playing bass in this arrangement which allows the classic heartbreaking story of boy who thinks his girl is cheating by spying below her window and then realizes he was just on the wrong street. One of the best of the old school vocal group songs in that the story is so precise and well expressed lyrically and melodically.

Inside Out:

The beginning of a relationship is an exciting time but also a scary experience. Will be accepted for who we truly are when we stop pretending and pull away the masks? Natural insecurities are bound to come out and I wanted to write a song about the struggle to feel lovable that we all feel.

Its true that I have rerecorded this song on each of my solo discs, I believe this time that we have finally gotten it right. You be the judge.

After You:

Living at the end of the freeway right on the ocean in Venice Beach, (the beach town mentioned in the lyric), and struggling to find balance after the end of a long term relationship..I wrote this song to express "just how far a man could fall". The song was the last one completed for the album "Micah Barnes" and ended up opening up the disc with it's deep sense of drama and loss with communication to the lover saying "I thought you'd want to know, this is what happened after you".

Don't You Forget About Me:

OK Daniel and I agreed we needed a "pop" song that would be deeply familiar to our audiences and give them the kick of memory to leave them feeling happy, (Our "in house" name for this tour has been " The Make The People Happy Tour"), but we hadn't figured out what tune would work best. I was shopping at The Metro late at night and heard this Simple Minds classic over the sound system and got a sudden shiver through my body. I guess thats when I knew we may have found our perfect slice of familiar "happiness".

Domesticated Set List (Part 1)

Thursday June 2nd 2011

I am having the time of my life folks. The Tour dates this weekend are like a pleasure ride waiting at an amusement park. Yahoo!

SoooooI thought I would describe how the songs in the set emerged for us and where they come from.

Firstly a word about the set order and song choices.

I rely heavily on brother/ collaborator Daniel Barnes to find the right balance and not go over board on the ballads which I would sing all night long if given the chance LOL.

We have very similar taste in music, and Dan has the overview about how to build sets that will satisfy an audience much better than I.

…And so our tour set Part 1

(with variations depending on the show and venue and audience of course)...

Wild as the Wind

Been playing with this cover song for years, trying it our while performing solo shows in Los Angeles. I first head this song in the David Bowie version. Bowie's European Cabaret roots emerge from underneath his Rocker image more than just occasionally..both of which I relate to of course.. and his version is a prime example of his deep crooner style. The Nina Simone version is also well known, the original Johnny Mathis version from the film of the same name quiet vapid by comparison to my ears. I find the simple but poetic lyric carries me deep into the wilds of abandon every time I perform the song…making it a perfect way to set the tone and start our sets!

My Teenage Heart

This song from our latest disc "Domesticated" has a Bowie connection as well. While writing that summer in the boat house I was feeling the adolescent messiness of my past romantic behavior and found a way to say I'm sorry to all the past lovers in this tune. Our bridge, which Daniel created, is very much an ode to the classic Spinners sound but the groove idea I was using while writing it was very close to Bowie's "Panic In Detroit" which I've always loved. Although the recorded version which both Daniel and producer Gavin Bradley helped me develop sounds nothing like that recording it's always fascinating to remember the source.

(Now I Know Why They Call It) Falling

I remember well what a simple singable melody does to a crowd from my days with The Nylons. My past solo work has usually been more focused on lyrics and passion and pain…But that same summer in the boat house there was something new happening in my writing. A fresh approach to melody and harmony that held a new sense of joy and happiness and possibility. Writing an open hearted love song is in fact one of the hardest challenges a writer every has. Lets just say there was a bit of inspiration floating in the air that summer that this song tapped into. We used the old Buddy Holly record "Everyday" in our arrangement approach to keep everything simple and straight forward….

Shop Around

When looking for cover tunes the Motown songbook often seems overmined for it's gems…. but this tune, which Smokey Robinson wrote with Berry Gordy and made an early 60's hit with The Miracles, still feels fresh. The sexy and clever lyric always feels playful and a little naughty to me, which isn't a bad thing when you are performing for an audience right? The band (Daniel Barnes and Jon Maharaj) have been turning out a slinky funky groove on this one that feels like we could ride on it all night long. SO much fun to deliver!

More songs later. Off to Waterloo for my first date their as a solo act.

(We're taking this country one town at a time folks ha ha)