Gordon Barry is a very talented singer songwriter who grew up in Wexford, a beautiful County located in the South East of Ireland. His early instincts to follow his own path and explore his creative muse, has led to steady success over the years and with the recent release of a new EP, ALL THE LIVE LONG YEAR, Gordon finds himself perfectly placed to build upon the momentum gained. Lonesome Highway caught up with him during lockdown to ask about his reflections on the journey thus far and his thoughts on the road that lies ahead.
You grew up in Wexford and was there a busy music scene to influence your formative years?
Wexford has always had a healthy music scene. I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf though. As a solo artist that’s kind of the way it is, but there was a core group of musicians and songwriters that I used to play weekly sessions with for a couple of years, that looking back now, did motivate me to write more at a time when I needed it.
When did you start playing and who were your early influences?
I started playing late enough. I was 19 when I bought a bass and started to sing, I borrowed my brothers guitar shortly after and learned that. Early influences would have been Counting Crows, REM, The Wallflowers & Neil Young.
Have you always written your own songs and where do you draw the inspiration from?
Yeah, as soon as I started playing I was writing but, like anything, it takes a lot of time to hone a craft. It took me a few years before I was really happy with the songs I was writing. I draw inspiration from everything around me, books I read, films, things I’ll hear people say, stories I’ve heard, whatever music I’m listening to and of course the wellspring of human emotion. There’s always more than enough down there to draw from.
In 2014 your debut ep, SOJOURNING, was released. Included among the 5 tracks was the song, Devil & St Jesus, a catalyst that would later kickstart a lot of interest in your career. What do you remember of that project when you look back?
Yes indeed, that was the start in a lot of ways. There used to be a beautiful open mic night in Wexford called The Red Chair, a lovely communal place where I would go and perform weekly. I was asked to record a song for a collective album they were releasing of artists that played there. I had just written Devil & St. Jesus on Christmas Day while out for a walk and so I recorded that for it and then decided to make an EP then while the iron was hot. I recorded Sojourning at home with no knowledge or experience of recording. I bought a Mac, an interface and a 50 euro mic and learned on the fly the very basics of what I needed to know. Then I took it to a local studio and with the help of a couple of mates, we added some more harmonies and instruments and came out with a nice little project. But yeah Devil is where it all started to step up.
You recorded in New York and also played gigs in the city. Is that where you first met Steve Earle?
I first met Steve in upstate New York, near Woodstock but my first encounter was when I was living in Manhattan. I had seen him playing a Woody Guthrie benefit concert. The next day I spotted him on the street outside The Noho Star and slapped him on the shoulder and said hello, he threw me daggers and I kept moving swiftly along. He wouldn’t remember that of course but I would because he was a real hero to me.
He became something of a mentor having heard you play and invited you to his song-writing boot-camp. You received the kind of praise that could derail many aspiring artists (“Gordon Barry is the best songwriter that’s come out of Camp Copperhead, but make no mistake he was already a special songwriter when he got there”). How did you find that strong reference impacted your career arc?
Only positively. It gave me hope that I was on the right track. As an artist you have doubts, that’s the game we are in, it’s a flaky industry but when your greatest song-writing inspiration pays you a compliment like that it’s so heart-warming and personal. It meant a lot. His albums, The Mountain and Transcendental Blues changed the way I began to look at and write music. I’ll be forever grateful to him just for that.
In 2017 you released your debut album, THE BEST WAY TO KILL A MONSTER. Nine songs and a decision to use the talents of Seattle producer Steve Fisk. An unlikely choice, given his reputation with acts like Nirvana and Soundgarden. How did that come about?
A mutual friend of mine put us in touch. Of course I knew his name from his early work with Nirvana and Soundgarden etc, being a fan of all that stuff. He is known for his involvement with that heavy Seattle scene but he has put his hand to a diverse array of different styles of music. I was also a fan of his own band Pigeonhed, with one of my favourite singers in Shawn Smith, so I was thrilled to work with Steve. I was very pleased with the end result.
Your song, Devil & St Jesus, won top prize for lyrics at the 2017 International song-writing Competition in Nashville. Who was on the judging panel that year and how has the award changed your standing in the music industry?
Tom Waits, Chris Cornell, Rickie Lee Jones, Donovan, to name a few. I would like to think it would have some standing to a listening audience at least, because that’s all that matters in the end. If people listen to my work and consider it to include good songs and good lyrics, then that’s all I would have hoped for when I wrote them. The win obviously is great and opens doors too that previously may have been shut, it’s an advantage. Tom Waits is a master lyricist, one of my all time favourites, so that was such a massive compliment to have him deem my song worthy of that. And Chris Cornell too, make no mistake, behind all that incredible music he made, he’s an incredible lyricist, very visual and descriptive, He was a major influence on me starting out. Sadly the same day I was told I won the prize, was the day that he passed away. He was so good.
With the release of your new ep, ALL THE LIVE LONG YEAR, we have four songs to add to your growing body of work, including a cover version of a Jolie Holland song, Old Fashioned Morphine. What was the motivation to include this cover song?
I had been performing that song for years and it being a little less known, people would comment on how they loved my song, Morphine. I would remind them it was a Jolie Holland song, so then they would go listen to that and come back and say they liked my version, so I decided to record it. The original version feels jazzy or like something you might hear in a dark basement lounge. I wanted to give it a bit more of a kick up the arse so I used big drums and Hammond organs. I’ve heard it described in a recent review as a swampy New Orleans funeral anthem which I loved.
You recorded in Camden Studios, Dublin with Cian Boylan and Conor Brady. Also, in New York and Wexford, which suggests that the project evolved over time, between travel?
It did yeah. I recorded half of my album and EP in Wexford, then when I was living in America I recorded half in Coney Island, came back then and finished it with the lads in Camden. Morphine was initially recorded in Cork with Christian Best. It’s fun for me to listen to & remember recording some of those tunes in the winter in fingerless gloves and some in the sweltering summer in shorts.
There is a Country/Gospel vibe running through the new songs. Are you pleased with the response to the release, even if touring to promote it is impossible right now?
Yes it has been great. This EP has garnered the most attention from all my releases except for maybe Devil And St. Jesus. Which did surprise me a little seeing as I couldn’t really go out and plug it live.
With Covid-19 lockdowns, have you been based in Ireland and how has it impacted on your creative process?
I have been here yeah. It probably has made a lot of people get more creative I’d imagine, with being stuck in with a lot of free time. Personally I haven’t written much music during all this but that’s fine, I have a healthy backlog to draw upon when needed.
It’s hard enough to try and make music your full-time career. How has the lack of gigs and income had an impact on your resolve to carry on regardless?
It has and it hasn’t. As you said it’s hard enough to make a full time living from it anyway so it doesn’t make that much of a difference. I believe If you’re patient enough and want it enough and are prepared to put in the work, hopefully that will come for you regardless. But it certainly is a major pain if you gig full on, yeah.
With streaming services paying little or nothing to artists these days, if you could change anything in the music industry, what would be your plans?
I have my own personal views on the streaming services. I bite my tongue a bit cause I do see musicians give out a lot about that stuff on social media and that’s never really a good look in my opinion. In one way they give you the opportunity to get a reach on your music that you wouldn’t have got before. On the other hand, it’s not right for musicians to make a pittance on something they’ve created, while corporate companies make all the income from subscribers. Honestly, if I could, I would change it to at least let the listener listen to a song or an album they like a couple of times but then it locks so you have to purchase it at some price. I think that would be the fairest compromise for the times we live in. I doubt that will happen though, unless I take that idea to dragons den and make my money that way.
With the new vaccine rolling out, what are your plans for 2021 as we look towards the return of live gigs later into the year?
I would love to record album number 2 and get out there with that. I have a really strong set of songs waiting to go so we’ll see what happens there.
Do you see a combination of reduced numbers at gigs, mixed with online streaming attendance as a practical solution to social distancing challenges?
Yeah I think that’s the only way at the moment really. I played a gig in December and that’s how it was done and it’s the best and safest way for now.
What has the last 12 months taught you in terms of having to slow down activity and take stock?
It taught me not to take the simple things for granted and also it made me grateful that I wrote like a man possessed for years, cause when the muse isn’t visiting, that might have been a cause for concern had I not.
Your song, Roll With the Punches, is a strong message for these times. Keep positive and this too shall pass. Any final thoughts?
That’s it. Tomorrow is another day. A fresh start to go again in the face of whatever shit we seem to be facing. If today has been crap it’s alright, get up and go again, it might be better tomorrow.
Review by Paul McGee