New York Stories: The Music Of The Brill Building.. featuring Gavin Hope!

Gavin has one of the most beautiful voices in the country and is celebrating his critically acclaimed new disc "For All We Know". I am so excited to finally be sharing the stage with him again after many many years! Here is our short interview in support of the concert New York Stories: The Music Of The Brill Building Oct 24th at Hugh's Room in Toronto reservations at info@hughsroom.com!

                                                           

Micah: When we first met you were still a teenager singing with The Earthtones and opening the show for The Nylons! So you started singing A Capella young! How did all that come about?

Gavin: I've always loved choral and a cappella ensembles since I was in high school, and in 1991, I won a talent competition singing at the Calgary Stampede called the Youth Talent Showdown, and that's where I met the Earthtones. As a part of that group,  we toured around a lot in western Canada performing doo-wop and pop tunes, and were stoked when we were asked to join the bill and open for the Nylons!! A highlight of that experience was you bringing us back on stage to sing with you in the encore "Kiss Him Goodbye", and you passing me your microphone.. I nearly shat.   ( on a side note, the year before I became an EarthTone, I saw the Nylons perform at Jack Singer Concert Hall  and absolutely loved the show - Little did I know that the next year I'd be in a group that opened for the Nylons, and the following year - I'd be IN the Nylons! What a trip ). So yes Micah, I was a wee lad of 17 or 18 when we met I think..lol. 

Micah: How do you compare your musical theatre experience (starring in the original Canadian production of both RENT and The Lion King) influence your stage performance work as a singer?

Gavin: As a singer, to be in shows like The Lion King and RENT were quite demanding. We had 6-8 weeks of rehearsal leading up to performing 8 times a week, 6 days a week. So I learned how to sing in a much more controlled way, for survival! I couldn't be reckless with my voice and just belt anything out.. I started learning where my limits were and how to overcome them. It was a challenge, but definitely a growing experience. I also learned how to take care of my instrument more, and getting more sleep to make sure I was rested for the performances. Matinees and double show days were pretty demanding for sure - especially by the end of the week! In Lion King especially - it wasn't just singing, but it's one of the most physically demanding shows you can do as a singer.. running around, dancing AND singing..all in cumbersome and delicate costumes. When I was playing Simba, I had a tight head mask on, a corset, and in one scene I even had to battle the villain while being strung up 14 feet in the air. It was all quite the wild experience.

Micah:The Nylons is a musical institution in Canada, what were the challenges in joining an already existing group for you?

I think the biggest challenge for me was fitting in as the youngest member. I was barely 20 years old when I joined the group initially, and the guys not only were quite older than myself, they were an established icon in Canadian music that had been around for about 14 years before I joined. They had many fans, and I was one of two 'new guys' in the band. But because I was young, I had fresh wide eyes and was pretty much ready and willing to do just about anything - it was such a thrill!! WIthin a month or two of joining the band I was already in studio recording my first album with them ( Because ) and the follow up Christmas album Harmony. As far as the challenges though - primarily the age gap, trying to fit in, and wooing the old fans.. But it all seemed to fall into place relatively quickly, which I was thankful for.There was also learning the dynamic of the individual guys in the group as well.

Micah Can you tell us a bit about the making of your beautiful new disc and how that all came about?

My new solo Jazz album is called "For All We Know", and it came about randomly literally a year ago, by meeting my producer and accompanist Bill King at the SING! Vocal Arts Festival fundraiser last October. SING! Is a great new local music festival that focusses on vocal talent, groups, and just anything to do with singing in and around Toronto. I was singing at the annual fundraiser as I had performed with the Nylons as a featured group the inaugural year, and was asked to help out. I met Bill at the fundraiser and he played as I sang a tune. He liked my voice and wanted to do some recording together, so over the next few months we laid down a couple of tracks, got some funding from great people at Slaight Music, and lo and behold, we just released a full album of Jazz standards as well as one original by Bill. I'm really excited about it as it's the first time I've recorded this type of album ( my first album was much more pop oriented ) with such lush, simple, and intimate songs. So far we've had a lot of buzz about it, fantastic reviews, some radio play, and some really positive feedback! Looking forward to seeing where this goes. 

                                                                           

New York Stories: The Music of the Brill Building
Micah Barnes & Friends in Concert
$28.50 advance $30 at door
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 – 8:30 p.m.
Hugh’s Room
2261 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON
For dinner reservations or concert tickets, please call the club at 416-531-6604 or email info@hughroom.com.

The Music Of The Brill Building..Billy Newton-Davis!

New York Stories: The Music Of The Brill Building is an Oct 24th concert at Hugh's Room celebrating the classic age of 60's Pop  featuring former and current members of The Nylons, Gavin Hope, Tyrone Gabriel and 3 time Juno award winner Billy Newton Davis. 
Here is a brief interview with everybody's favorite powerhouse performer and pioneering pop star Billy Newton-Davis!

Micah: Your family had many famous musicians already so a career in this business
must have seemed likely for you. Was your family encouraging?

Billy My family has always been very supportive of my career.  My Dad and My Aunt
sang in churches around the Grenville, South Carolina area in the 40's.  My
cousin Billy Davis Jr. was a member of The Drifters.  When he was in town,
he always tried to put me on the stage... always!
My Dad played every genre of music.  Somehow inherently I could pick up the
rhythm, the style, the lyric from mimicking artist like Aretha, Dinah
Washington, and Sarah Vaughn...My most memorable style was that of Sam Cooke.  My Dad in his later years, Iwould have been five years old, sang in a quartet in Cleveland capturing the quartet, and a'capella style of his roots from the south.

Micah: Thats why The Nylons A Capella was such a good fit!  I believe before that you started out singing in The Church. How has that influenced the way you make music?


Billy: My voice is my gift. Having gospel roots shaped my career. 
 Micah:Your early years included a stint on Broadway with Sammy Davis Junior  How do you think working with "greats" helped you achieve your own career?

Billy: I was enamored with Sammy Davis every since I can remember.  He just tore
down the colour wall.  I have always loved cool, unique, and sassy. He was
just so Hollywood... ha ha ha ...Many times I saw what I did not want to
become ha ha ha ha .

Micah:Did you know you were born to make history as one of Canada's first black
pop stars?


Billy: No I did not... I am flattered, and much honored. 
I would like to think more like... I hope that I have contributed something
to make a change, and some things a bit easier for young artist in our
community, and across the country.

Micah: What advice to you have for up and coming artists who are considering a
career in this business?

Billy: Ha ha ha ha! Take a business course; take a promotion and marketing course.
Have great social media skills.  Of course study your craft of voice, music,
and dance. Acting courses don't hurt.  The big thing is connections
...putting yourself out there..one more thing.  Remember...
Song writing and touring is where you make your money!
And by all means never ever give up on your dream..ever...

Micah: Awesome words for all! Your recent collaborations with Electronic Dance Music's biggest star Deadmaus lead to yet another juno win. What was working with him like?

Billy: Deadmau5 is a force to always be reckoned with.  He is genius.  He has a
great ear.  He is totally savvy in the world of dance music.  He has a very
unique sound, and a wicked sense of time, and rhythm.  He is a business man
obviously.
He knew my voice, and just surrounded it with magnificent sound.  Winning
another Juno was just a blast! 

Micah: Singing with you in The Nylons was one of the highlights of those years for
me. Any special memories from those years?

Billy: We were all comrades'.  I thought in our years we brought another dynamic to
something that was already quite established, and we put a new twist on that
era of The Nylons.  I remember a lot how much we laughed.  I also remember
the loving arms around me when I joined....  Oh I learned a lot about my
voice and my talent. I met the fabulous Micah Barnes. a great friend for ever! 

Micah: I have much gratitude for that indeed. So pleased to have you on board this Oct 24th Brill Building show.  Have you sung this material before? What attracts you to this music?

Billy: I am thrilled to be on board.  Yes I have performed this material over the
years.    This is the music I know from growing up in Cleveland, Ohio.  My
parents had a record store... these were the hits, I heard, and played in
the store...This was Dick Clark...radio..And what about The  Ed Sullivan
Show.....  This music is simple and great poetry.  It talks about love,
heartache, tears, joy...people loved this music because it was life.. They
saw it  and felt everyday..  There was always love..Under the moonlight...
I  know... I am such a romantic!

                         

New York Stories: The Music Of The Brill Building
Hugh's Room Oct 24th

8.30 pm show Tickets $28.50 in advance $30 at the door
RESERVATIONS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
http://hughsroom.com/2013/07/micah-barnes-friends-in-concert-an-evening-celebrating-the-music-of-new-york/

Pictures, Music, Bio's and more info at https://www.facebook.com/events/449744058473750

THE RESIDENCY: A TIME TO FIND OUT

Unanswered questions are what the road to a recording is made of. What songs belong here, what is the narrative spine of this music, how can the arrangements support the musical story etc. I'm not sure any artist is ever "sure" of where they are going when they start the journey. It's the unanswered questions that we are willing to ask that set our course and start to define the parameters of the communication.

 In my case I have found that the eventual collection of songs is always like a recording of a specific place and time in my life. When I listen to my last few solo discs (available on itunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/micah-barnes/id211531143) they sound like pages torn from a personal journal. The songs map the emotional landscapes I was inhabiting at the time and draw a map of how I got to where I am now.

The new collection I am making is no different. Sure it's a collection of romantic songs about the complications of love..hence the working title "Rules Of Romance" ..But I don't know where this story starts and ends yet..
Taking the songs to the public is the best way to find out. It's in that interaction between singer and audience that the songs start to breathe and come to life. Then they clarify what they are meant to do in the world and create a space for themselves…begin to dictate where they belong and how they can best be presented.

I look forward to being on this journey with lots of you folks who have been there with me along the way. Lets find out together!

http://www.pubaret.com
https://www.facebook.com/micahbarnesmusic
https://twitter.com/micahbarnes

The Romantic Jazz Standard: A Personal History

                                                                      
I had no idea what romantic love was about when I first stumbled on the jazz standards in the songbooks my parents had on the piano. Sure I had heard beloved artists like Streisand and Louis Armstrong sing them on TV and on albums as a kid, but at age 12 I jammed through the "Harms Songbook of Standards"with my father Milton Barnes accompanying me on keyboard and the whole world seemed to expand.I found my heart alive with the joy of expression. And my love of the American Jazz Standard was born…..Thank you Daddio!
Although Billie Holiday was my secret guide through the classics I also listened carefully to Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole during my teenage years. Afternoons and evenings were spent hours clunking away at the piano learning the songs I would begin to perform in public, starting at the very tender inexperienced age of 14.

                                                                    What was it in these romantic words by Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter that attracted my young heart? What was I hearing in those melodies by Gershwin and Irving Berlin? After all love was something I could still only imagine at that point? I can't honestly say except that my head and my heart were a swirl with the beauty and the magic of these songs that seemed like sacred texts handed down to me personally from the universe as a way to make sense of the world and understand life.

Feb 9th I am honored to be sharing the stage with Jackie Richardson and top notch musicians again this year at Hugh's Room for our annual JAZZ VALENTINE concert in Toronto. An opportunity to explore the material that so inspired me in my youth..and led to so much in my life and my career..

Details and Reservation info here:http://hughsroom.com/2012/10/micah-barnes-and-jackie-richardson-a-jazz-valentine

Hope to See you at The Show!

ATLANTIC STORIES

                                                                 

This is it! I am finally on the plane to our beloved Halifax. (Porter airline which leaves from the island airport in Toronto is only minutes from my door!).
 My history with the city and the province is a long one. Way back when Daniel and I were fresh out of high school we made an East Coast swing with our Jazz Cabaret trio that included both St John's and Halifax and made for some wonderful memories.  It was then that the idea for the song "I'm Coming Home" (from the latest disc "Domesticated") was born, during a walk by the rough grandeur of the Atlantic ocean.
  I visited to perform often during my time with The Nylons and Marc Conners and I always agreed that Halifax was our favorite Canadian city (outside of Montreal of course!). The size, the history, the close knit sense of community really attracted both of us and we day dreamed about moving from our crowded Toronto lives to a kinder gentler place.

                                                                     
The last time I performed in Halifax was a few years ago as a solo artist  at the Rebecca Cohen Theatre on tour with jazz diva Molly Johnson. I had returned from California with a little disc under my arm that Molly fell in love with and she promptly invited me out to open the show and join her singing back up on her national tour. Halifax was a sweet stop for us and I vowed to return as soon as it was possible.

Thanks to a couple of dear friends in the business I am now back on the plane heading east and I can't wait to see old friends, meet new ones and enjoy the vibes  as I play shows and coach workshops through the week.

St FX Wed Nov 28th
Stayner's Thurs Nov 29th
Details up at http://www.facebook.com/events/332163900212546

Join the adventures on twitter!https://twitter.com/micahbarnes

The Grand Piano

                                                  Liberty Village to Queen West

 I grew up in a skinny dark victorian house in The Annex area of downtown Toronto. It seems that all of the houses had an old out of tune upright piano left over from earlier days in what would have been the parlor.
                                    An old fashioned home entertainment system!

That's how I grew up playing the piano to accompany myself on those glorious standards in my parents music books.  For some reason when I play an electric keyboard it all becomes intellectual compared to when I lay my hands on an actual instrument and can "feel" the sound.

     My father Milton Barnes was a classical composer and so one would assume that he would have worked on a real piano. It was always a heartache to me that he created all that beautiful music on an electric piano, and I always vowed that one day I would own and play a grand piano. So when brother composer and drummer Daniel needed to move out of his Liberty Village studio this month I made the purchase of the baby grand that has graced his studio these past years.

Perfect timing.  I am right at the place in the writing of new material where working on a real piano could deepen and open up the musical possibilities. Besides supporting my composing life the piano also gets to aid in the support of my clients at my Singers Playground coaching studio.

What every artist needs..... The best tools available to create with.
Here's to you Miltie!

 http://www.micahbarnes.com
http://www.singersplayground.com

On The "Cover" Tune.

                                                                     

              People often ask me how I pick which tunes to cover. Usually I start with being attracted to the words and melody on an intellectual level. I always have to learn and sing through a tune before I know whether it's something I can make my own.  I find myself having to live with a song a long time before it really feels like I'm singing my own experience. But once that happens it can really and truly feel like I "own" the song.
          In particular I am  attracted by the richness and depth of the jazz ballad  A powerful musical tradition that I first understood from the intimate voodoo of Billie Holiday first and a little later Nat King Cole's rich and intelligent dreaminess. The "American Standards" tradition has overplayed some of these gems but that doesn't take away from the brilliant construction and magic of songs like "Body and Soul", "Lush Life" and "Lover Man": Sacred texts that bear exploring over the course of a lifetime.
            In my early teens while learning the standards I was really attracted to the irreverence of Fats Waller. The sheer force of his comic personality overcame the 30's tin pan alley triteness with a rollicking bawdy combination of humor and virtuosity that really captivated my imagination.  In my current set Fats is well represented by "A Porter's Love Song To A Chambermaid" as a joyful counterpoint to the more moody stuff.
            Also included in the current batch are songs by a very different kind of musical personality, Smokey Robinson, a man who Bob Dylan once called "America's Greatest Poet" Smokey's grace with a lyric and soulful delivery were an early contribution to the Motown factory system that set the standard for everything to come.
         These days I am also featuring favorite songs by Cole Porter, also an early inspiration, having written both words and music to his clever ditties, which were so key to moving the popular song from the dusty parlor into swinging Broadway and nightlife of the 30's. Writing in New York allowed me to drink in last years excellent Broadway revival of "Anything Goes" a few times.

Mr Porter's music was considered edgy and hip back in the day but they still speak to the restless romantic spirit today.
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To download Micah's latest disc "Domesticated" please log onto  Itunes