10 Questions with ... Dave Barnes

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

LABEL:

• Razor & Tie

DISCOGRAPHY:

• What We Want, What We Get (2010)
• Me and You and the World (2008, Indie)
• Chasing Mississippi (2006, Indie)
• Brother, Bring the Sun (2004, Indie)

1) How did you get connected with Razor & Tie? How has your journey unfolded in the last couple years? Any significant, unexpected highlights?

I got connected with Razor & Tie through Beka Calloway, my A&R girl there. She had JUST taken a job there and we had been friends for a while. She had been at Columbia Records and had really wanted to work together, but wanted to be in the right place. Razor & Tie was that place.

It's been good. I've found, like any good story, there has to be conflict: some wins, some losses. That's what makes a great story, and it's made mine a good one. But it's definitely been as hard as it's been good. Expectations are a hard thing to regulate, and I think I had some huge ones coming in, so I'm still learning how to appropriate those and also learn what is fair to expect, etc. In the long run, it's been a great run. I've seen more and more people listening to my music and coming to shows, so that's always great AND I've had SO many new opportunities from being signed that I would have never had without it!

The highlights have been amazing. I've been able to play with and hang with people I hugely admire: Bonnie Raitt, Marc Cohn, Tommy Sims, John Mayer, Jonny Lang and the list goes on and on, it feels like. That's some of the coolest stuff to me: the fact that people I like musically also like me. Amazing.

2) What's the story behind the new single "God Gave Me You"?

It's a song that I wrote for my wife. I had been through a rough patch and was amazed to find that not only was she there at the end of it, but was with me the whole time through it. It's also, I think, about other relationships, though: friends, family, etc. I really do believe they are both the gasoline and guardrails in our lives. They push us when we need to be pushed, and they keep us on the right road when we start to veer off.

3) How does it feel to be working with Christian radio? Is this your first foray into the format?

It has been a huge blessing. In my career, I haven't really been able to spend much time in the Christian realm, and it's such an easy fit for me. So many connection points. I have been amazed at how much fun and how easy it's been to straddle the line! Ha! Everyone has just been so gracious!

4) Any upcoming tour plans? What cities might we find you playing in?

We have shows in Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham, North Carolina, Boston, NYC, and quite a few other places! Come on out!

5) As you were in the studio recording the new record, did you have an "a-ha" moment when you thought, "There it is. Now we have a record"?

Yeah, there are a few, honestly. Each song is sort of a fence that marks off the edge of a new frontier that I'm trying to traverse on the record. Each of the songs is pretty different, and each is sort of a post in the ground on the property. Not many of them occupy the same space, so with each song being recorded, it really feels like, "Okay, we have that area represented and well established. Now onto another part of the property." I have no idea if that makes any sense. HA! It sort of makes the recording and especially finishing of each song feel like it's own a-ha moment! "God Gave Me You" was a nice one, too. That and "Little Lies" came in at the VERY end. "God Gave Me You" we recorded AFTER the entire record was done. Having those couple of catchy songs really gave the record some steroids, in my opinion.

6) Do you have a favorite song to perform live?

There are a few. The new songs are all really, really fun: from the chorus and vibe of "Little Lies" to the power of "God Gave Me You" and "What I Need," to the smooth subtlety of "What We Want, What We Get." "Grace's Amazing Hands" is always fun.

7) As you leave the stage, what do you hope the audience takes home with them, other than a CD or t-shirt?

Well played. Well played. A DVD? I kid. I kid. I hope they had a really good time. Laughed, sang, listened. I really want people to feel like they could relax and enjoy the show. That it was fun to be there.

8) What is your favorite city/venue to play?

Nashville is always a blast to play. So much of that is because I live there. But it's also because it's Music City and you really have to bring your A game, which always makes the show a lot more intense in a good way!

9) Do you have any humorous or interesting stories from radio visits?

Oh yeah. My favorite one was from the last record, "Me and You and the World." People were still finding a lot of info on me from Wikipedia and would do a lot of their questions from that site. What they didn't know is that my friends had hacked my page and put up a bunch of stuff that was COMPLETELY wrong. So I got a few questions from those interviews like "So what was it like to tour with Van Halen?" and "What was it like having Peter Cetera as a father?" Talk about awkward, cause you can't correct someone on their show! So I had to do my best to neither confirm nor deny the accusations.

10) Do you have much time to check out other artists' music? What are you listening to right now?

Oh yes, I LOVE that. It's still what gives me most of my inspiration! I just produced this guy named Andrew Ripp who is a MONSTER of a talent. He and two other guys in Nashville, Steve Moakler and Ben Rector, are new to Nashville and insanely talented young guys there in town. There is also a really talented friend of mine from Canada named Greg Sczebel that's really great. His new CD is awesome. I've also been listening to a bunch of Bela Fleck lately. He's amazing.