Anthology

An Interview with Brad Barr of The Barr Brothers

by: Casey Pukl

When Brad and Andrew Barr started playing with their band The Barr Brothers, they decided to start recording some of their songs. Over the next three years, they recorded what turned out to be a pretty sweet record that is starting to gain some massive traction in the indie music scene. The band has been getting nods from MTV and Paste Magazine saying, “The Barr Brothers is a name you’ll want to remember.” I got a chance to chat with Brad Barr as they were driving through the Grand Canyon. He gave me the scoop on their recent experience at CMJ, their writing process, and exactly what listeners can expect at their live show.

CP: Tell me about your writing process. Your record is so diverse and it almost feels like it was written by two different people at some points- like “Beggar in the Morning,” and “Give the Devil Back His Heart,” are two completely different worlds. Tell me about this.

BB: Yeah, the record is really diverse, and we actually have a few different writing processes. For songs like, “Beggar in the Morning,” “Old Mythologies,” and, “Let There Be Horses,” I write the lyrics on my own. I really take a lot of time to make sure the feel and the delivery is exactly the way I imagined it. Once it shapes up, I’ll bring it to the band and we’ll flesh it out. Sarah really likes to digest the whole song and feel it out and go from there to add her parts, and same with Andres. We all just get a feel and fill it in.

But then with “Give the Devil Back His Heart,”, it’s more of a body feeling than this cerebral kind of song. Things like that song are born out of riffs we have going or musical ideas and pieces. The lyrics are really secondary in songs like that, and I don’t take as much time really crafting every single word. It’s just a feel.

CP: You guys just came from CMJ where you seemed to get a good bit of attention. Tell me a little about that experience.

BB: CMJ was really crazy. We played every day. We played “Sleep No More” which is this absolutely mind-blowing, brain-bending experience. It’s just 6 floors of mayhem, and we got to be the band downstairs at the end in the bar.  I think that was probably my favorite show we played. Then we got to play in the Apple Store in Chelsea, which was pretty cool. And then we went to Arlene’s Grocery. It’s a cool little venue. I think we’re getting a lot better at just being whipped up on stage with no sound check and sounding pretty good. It was the same deal at the Rockwood, but we’ve played there before, and we really like those guys.  All in all, it was a really cool week. Unfortunately we didn’t really get to see any other bands or music, but we had a lot of fun.

CP: Tell me about this first record. I’ve heard you recorded it over a three year period- is that true?

BB: Yeah. When we started, we really weren’t trying to make a record. It really started as trying to make really great recordings of some of our songs, not necessarily a record. But I think it resulted in a really organic process. We took our time, and everything we recorded is really the best it could be. I can really hear what we were going for. I think it’s a really nice rocking-chair kind of record.

CP: You mentioned recently that 75% of your second record is already written, even though the first was just released.

BB: Yeah, and I know it sounds really impressive, but you’ve got to remember that the songs on the first record, some of them are four or five years old now. I’ve been writing all along, so there’s still a ton of songs that have been written along the way. Now I know exactly what the band sounds like and what it’s capable of producing. That’s not to say that we don’t experiment and try to create new things, but I know what we sound like now, so it makes it easier. We’re still trying new stuff on stage and exploring our sound.

CP: What can our listeners here at Anthology expect to hear at your show on Tuesday night?

BB: I have a feeling we’ll be playing probably 75% of the new record, and then another 25% new material. We’ve really re-developed a lot of the songs from the record because of the sounds. It takes a bit of ingenuity to pull off some of the sounds from the record, so you’ll see some really interesting stuff. There are things happening that aren’t usually done. I think the show is overall really dynamic- it’s sweet, then it rocks. It’s a bit of everything. If you like the unexpected, I think you’ll dig our show.

Be sure to come out and see The Barr Brothers here at Anthology this Tuesday, November 1. You can preview their self titled debut on Spotify by clicking the link below!

The Barr Brothers

WHAT: The Barr Brothers
WHEN: Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 7:30pm
TICKETS: $10-$26 Buy Tickets
MORE INFO: Artist Profile