Celebrating The Music of the Brill Building!

     Micah Barnes, Billy Newton-Davis, Gavin Hope and Tyrone Gabriel star in
                          "STAND BY ME: THE Music of the Brill Building" 
                   STRATFORD SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL AUG 23RD 2014

           Micah Barnes on  "Stand By Me:The Music Of The Brill Building"

"One of the most important musical landmarks in New York City is the Brill Building where a small army of ambitious teenagers competed with each other to write the next million seller for Elvis, The Drifters or The Shirelles. Along the way this bunch made a long string of hit records that saw them leaving parents basements in Brooklyn and entering rock n roll history as they created the second great American songbook, filling the airwaves and the dance floors and jukeboxes of the world with the hopes and dreams of the american teenager.

I first began singing this rich material during my time as a member of The Nylons when the guys schooled me on how the early Doo Wop and Rhythm and Blues developed into sophisticated three minute pop classics such as "One Fine Day" and "Spanish Harlem",  but it was while I was living and writing in The Big Apple, writing the songs for my next release "New York Stories" when these songs began to inspire me once again and the idea of "Stand By Me" was born! 

Imagining an evening that might recreate a concert from the early 60's I asked some of the best singers in Canada to join me in forming a vocal group to interpret songs written by legendary Brill Building composers and lyricists such as Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Lieber and Stoller and  Bacharach and David.  Each of the singers had to be able to handle  harmonies so it was natural to ask Billy, Gavin and Tyrone (who have all been a part of The Nylons), however this show also features an excellent batch of musicians including my brother Daniel Barnes on the drums, Russ Boswell on bass and our musical director Michael Shand.

"We are all really looking forward to meeting audiences in STRATFORD with the perfect summer evening out, one that will have everybody singing these songs for the rest of the season!"
                                                           
"STAND BY ME: The Music Of The Brill Building" 
STRATFORD SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Saturday August 23 | 9 pm |  
The Church Restaurant
$42 Show Only | $92 Show and Dinner Package 
For dinner reservations call 519.271.2101
The Church Restaurant
Please call our box office at 519.271.2101 | 1.866.288.4313
https://stratfordsummermusic.ca/artist.php?id=104 

World Pride: Singing Because I Can

It's easy to feel cynical about the idea of World Pride as a citizen of Toronto, the whole city feels like it's gearing up for one big colorful tourism event. Amidst all the hoopla I am feeling something very real around this year's international focus for Pride as I prepare to perform on stages across the city.

"All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike"-Maya Angelou


 This year I will be thinking about all the gay men and women who live in fear of bring killed for living their truth in countries around the world such as Uganda and Russia. How lucky are we to live in such an open and accepting place as Canada where we led the charge for same sex marriage internationally and offer safe haven to refugees from countries where their lives are in danger.

I will be joining the Nylons performing at the outdoor Aids Vigil June 24rd. June 25th I will join Lorraine Segato, Jackie Richardson, Billy Newton Davis and kd Lang on the bill for the World Pride Gala, and take part in the ROM World Pride concert with John Alcorn, Heather Bambrick, Julie Michaels and Bill King June 27th.
                                                                             
                                                                 

"The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free"-Maya Angelou

Thats what I will be carrying in my heart as I join my singing brothers and sisters in song for World Pride. Singing for those who can't. Singing for these who have been silenced. Singing because I can.

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New York Story: Chapter Two

Greetings from NYC where we came to launch "New York Story" to the world. What a whirlwind week it's been watching the song climb to the top of the Canadian Itunes Jazz chart in less than 5 hours (climbing to #21 on the US chart!)! I feel truly humbled and grateful for the deep support from friends and fans on both sides of the border. Thank You!
  We've come full circle, returning to the place where the song was born one beautiful fall day during a long romantic walk through Central Park and The City. The lyric and melody and feeling is still very much alive for me as the musical history and energy of New York continue to inspire.

     For a recording to create impact in the world there is always a small village that has nurtured it's birth, and in this case it all starts with the incredible musicians in my trio, Daniel Barnes & Russ Boswell, who helped arrange the song as it took shape over our Month of Sundays at Toronto's Jazz Bistro Dec 2013, (Special Thanks to Sybil Walker and to her right hand guy Ori Dagan for their tireless support of the music!). Also contributing is the exceptional Michael Shand whose keyboard work on this song and others on the upcoming full length brought just the right touch.

       I also hold deep gratitude to my favorite singing partner, the incomparable Ms. Jackie Richardson for her intelligent approach to the lyric which helped clarified the romantic story as we recorded the duet version for the complete"New York Stories" due fall 2014).
    Of course the recording atmosphere at The Drive Shed studio's has been amazing, with John Beetle Bailey and Taylor Kernohan at the helm, really and truly nurturing of the music. Thats a large part of why the recording sounds and feels so damn easy going and relaxed!
      While putting the finishing touches on the recording my video producer Leonardo Dell'Anno assembled his top notch team of Juan and Louisa to shoot an in studio performance video of the song which really captured the spirit of an old school jazz recording session and invites the viewer into the atmosphere of a New York Jazz club! Like lightening in a bottle.

 
And finally.. I have to thank the listeners and viewers who have welcomed this song with such loving embrace.. it has filled us with a sense of grace and purpose as we put the finishing touches on the full length "New York Stories" for release in the fall.

Thank you for being a part of this New York Story!

Listen and Watch: Reverb Nation
Purchase:  U.S.A.   Canada
Follow The Story: Micah Barnes FaceBook Fan Page

"New York Story" Chapter One

In the midst of what we hope is the last winter blizzard in Toronto Jackie Richardson and I made our way up to The Drive Shed studio's to cut the duet  version of our title track "New York Story". John Beetle Bailey and his trusty side kick Taylor having raised the already recorded band track into a suitable key for us… and Jackie and I already having rehearsed and performed the song live at our annual Jazz Valentine concert at Hugh's Room last month..so of course the recording session itself was a breeze, and the lady could not have sounded better. Our romantic vibe together is so delicious, what an amazing feeling to hear this song come to such beautiful life.

           Our fearless engineer John Beetle Bailey and Jackie Richardson

"New York Story" the song itself burst into life last fall 2013 while my honey and I were spending time at the New York apartment, for what seemed the first time there was space for us to take in the city and feel the romance of living in New York. Inspired by Jazz standards and the likes of Carmen McCrea and Tony Bennett I started to feel that there was an emotionally true story to tell about my experience of romance both in the city and WITH the city.
          At first the lyrics were just little snippets but the melody already felt lush and romantic in the tunes infancy. In fact it was based on the bones of another song, (which happens a lot when I am preparing material for an album) "The Rules Of Romance" which served the title song from the solo show I had toured in order to try out the new collection of original and cover songs on audiences across Canada. (FYI Winnipeg loved "My Used To Be", Halifax liked "After The Romance The Rent"!)
         Sketching the new snippets of the song in our Harlem apt (on the electric keyboard I had driven down from Canada) and finishing up the first draft of the lyrics in a nearby coffee shop up on Sugar Hill, I was able to bring the song into enough shape to present it to my trio (Daniel Barnes and Russ Boswell) in time for our Month Of Sundays Dec 2013 at The Jazz Bistro.

   The Micah Barnes Trio, Micah, Russ and Dan, backstage at The Jazz Bistro

    During that month the tune kept eluding myself and the trio, tempo, key, chords and melodies shifting subtly until the fully realized version began to emerge. But the words still had some glaring holes in the lyric and so after our month was done I began  the hard sweat part of writing, zeroing in making sure every single word fell in just the right way melodically and that the sense and meaning of every moment in the song was perfectly clear.
 The listeners will be the judge but by the time Jackie and I were rehearsing the tune for our Jazz Valentine it felt like the lyric and melody had in fact landed. What a relief.. and with guest pianist Michael Shand on deck for both that show and the recording session the whole arrangement started to make sense to our ears;  the first chapter in our romantic adventure with New York City!

The solo version will be available for download from itunes April 13th! Single release show at The Jazz Bistro Sunday April 13th at 12.30 pm and 7 pm!  Single Release Show Details!