Quick Q and A with Barnaby Bright
 by Kathy S-B  ·  15 September 2012

Could you explain the origin of the name Barnaby Bright for those who don’t know.

Barnaby Bright is a medieval English name for the summer solstice, the longest day of the year; June 21st. In those days, life was very much governed by the rhythms and rituals of the Church, and the longest day of the year was also the Feast Day of Saint Barnabas. A limerick of the day went “Barnaby Bright, Barnaby Bright. The longest day, the shortest night!” So, we actually have our own day . . . pretty cool.

I love the quote in your bio that says that “Barnaby Bright creates a sacred, magical space for their audiences with unique instrumentation, powerful harmonies, intelligent lyrics, and genuine warmth of stage.” To me that is the PERFECT sentence. It wraps up your essence in 22 words. In a blog I wrote about you earlier this summer, I wrote about how astounded I was when you were able to quiet a very loud bar within minutes and have everyone sit there in rapt attention. It was a magnificent event. Can you sometimes feel that shift in energy in the audience when you’re up on stage?

Yes! And that’s when the magic happens. Lately I’ve been realizing that every performance is a little miracle. So many things can go wrong . . . sickness, car trouble, bad weather, gear malfunctions. To be in that moment of connection with an audience, sharing the same space, breathing the same air, focusing on the same sound . . . it’s almost otherworldly.

You’ve had some fabulous experiences in the past couple of years — winning songwriting awards, being chosen as Most Wanted Artist at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and having your EP Gravity placed in Amazon’s top 100 recordings of the year. Pretty heady stuff. It must be rewarding to see your hard work appreciated in a number of different ways.

Very much so. It’s a strange kind of life, with some very high hi’s and very low lo’s. Sometimes in our lowest moments we’ll receive an email, or someone will come up after a show and say how much our music means to them. Or we get a royalty check in the mail! Helps keep us going.

How many miles do you rack up per year as you travel from place to place to pay your music before new and old fans?

Since last April we’ve racked up over 40 thousand miles!

Your choice of instruments is sometimes surprising to some people who aren’t familiar with you. Becky, how and when did you start playing the harmonium?

Actually it was Nathan that introduced me to the harmonium. He grew up with one as sort of the family piano. The sound is so rich and ancient and has a sense of history to it . . . one of our friends said it sounds “like an old ship.” And since there’s usually just two of us, it helps give us a fuller sound.

Nathan, you have a degree in jazz composition and saxophone performance from Berklee. Those are two items that you don’t generally see on a “folk” musician’s resume. Do you attribute some of Barnaby Bright’s different sound to either of those two skills?

I’m sure the influences of my heroes have a place in our music . . . Ellington, Mingus, Monk, Coltrane . . . I’m sure it’s in there somewhere. But it’s a funny thing. I generally don’t like to employ jazzy sounds into our arrangements. My love of Jazz has definitely “stretched” my ear, you might say, and I do seem to gravitate to the more colorful and dissonant tones as a songwriter, but for me the two are very different styles. Like Scotch and ice cream . . . best enjoyed separately.

For more information about Barnaby Bright, check out their website. Enjoy this video for “Gravity.”

Quick Q and A with Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl
 by Kathy S-B  ·  10 September 2012

Marbleheaders are all proud to call Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl two of their own. Daring is the much heralded and influential composer of the soundtracks for John Sayles’ films. Jeanie is a renown folk and jazz singer. Both comprise the duo, Daring and Stahl. “Marblehead Morning” is the most well-known song they have recorded. It was a staple on folk radio in the 1970s. Mason and Jeanie were part of what became dubbed as The Passim All Stars. In addition to Mason and Jeanie, the All Stars included multi-instrumentalist Stuart Schulman, iconic Bill Staines and Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick.

Tell us about your most recent music soundtrack for John Sayles’ latest film, Amigo. The film takes place during the Philippine / American war of 1900. Did you have to do some research about this era and about the culture in the Philippines in order to compose music that would fit what happens on the screen?

For Amigo I listened to a ton of Philippine traditional music, particularly Randallas, which is a form of folk instrumental featuring a kind of 14-string mandolin called a Banduria — as well as a two stringed instrument called a Hegalung.

When you work on the soundtracks for films, do you go to the film location and watch some of the actual scenes being shot or do you just work with the final product?

In the case of Amigos, I went to Manila two weeks before the session and spent some time with players while I finished the writing. I usually go to the sets, but in this case it was too far away — by the time I got there, they were finished shooting.

Has there been on soundtrack project that stands out in your mind as being especially memorable?

As a rule, The Secret of Roan Inish is my most memorable score — I recorded most of it in Dublin, and it remains easily my most favorite and best selling soundtrack — I had visited the set several months earlier, and felt pretty comfortable writing traditional Irish music by the time the sessions rolled around. It looks like I’ll be recording another film with John this fall, featuring Mexican border music for a movie called Sisters he is shooting in Tijuana.

Here is a link to a lovely song from The Secret of Roan Inish.

A couple years back you recorded a solo self-titled CD. Any plans for another venture like this?

At the moment I don’t plan to record another one, but you never know.

Do you listen to much contemporary music these days? If so, do you have any favorite musicians or songs?

As far as listening to music these days, I find that mostly I listen to commercial country, or local artists, such as Roy Sludge. Other than that, I still love classical music — I may never get tired of the nineteenth century.

For more information about Mason Daring, check out his website.

You haven’t been singing and playing around as much in recent years. Do you miss being in the limelight?

I really don’t miss being in the limelight. What I miss is spending more time on music and the fun of playing and performing and seeing friends and acquaintances when we play at area gigs.

Is there a music project that you dream about and would like to tackle some day?

There’s no project at the moment, but I would like to continue writing songs and maybe recording some of them or have others perform and record them. I haven’t written much in a long time, but have started again recently and it’s been rewarding spending more time on music.

A song that you co-wrote called “Beyond Appearances” was covered by Santana. How did that come about?

Ha! That’s one on me. I’ve never heard of the song and I don’t know of anything that Santana recorded of mine. Is there another Jeanie Stahl?

[Note: All Music cites this composition. Thought it seemed it a little odd but very cool.]

If you could collaborate with one or two musicians (living or dead), who would they be and what kind of music would you conjure up together?

Well, I’ve been lucky to already have collaborated with two that are high on my list — Mason and Harriet Reisen, the lyricist I worked with. And, of course, there are the Passim All Stars. We have collaborated in different ways. Decades ago, Stuart Schulman, Bill Novick and I had a jazz band called One Sings the Others Don’t. Then Guy Van Duser on guitar helped me out for a year or so when I performed solo and was limited physically in how much I could play guitar. And singing harmony on some of Bill Staines’ records has always been a joy. But to really answer your question, I would love to sing in a band with Emmy Lou Harris or Lyle Lovett. And I wouldn’t mind doing a duet with Tony Bennett — everyone else has!

Do you have any special memories of Passim All Star appearances with Mason Daring, Bill Staines, Stuart Schulman, and Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick?

One of the memories for all of us were the snowstorms that happened in the early years of our doing the All Star performances at Passim. They were always in January — a slow time for the Club, so we were able to boost attendance for them during a down period. And our wonderful fans came out even in the snowstorms! Many of the storms were magical — white and fluffy snow. People were lined up down the block waiting to get in and still in a good mood. It made for some special and cozy performances while the snow swirled outside. And, of course, there is the camaraderie of playing with a group of friends and talented musicians. It’s fun for us and we want it to be fun for the audience as well.

Quick Q and A with Addy and Julia
 by Kathy S-B  ·  10 September 2012

Addy & Julia (Addy Sleeman and Julia Taliesin) have created quite a buzz here in the quiet town of Marblehead. Those who live here know that the town is filled with creative people of all kinds so here are two more talented young women who have “only just begun” and we intend to keep a close eye on them as their musical vision matures and changes. Some of you may have been witness to the powerful renditions of a couple Beatles standards at the annual Beatles Benefit at the UU Church of Marblehead. It’s not often you get to hear two young women sing “Come Together” which is perhaps one of the grittiest songs that the Fab Four ever recorded.

Check out Addy & Julia’s website. And here’s a link to their spectacular “Come Together” from earlier this summer.

How long have both known each other?

We’ve known each other for about two years but we had met once before at Festival Choir at Old North Church.

I understand that you are in different a cappella groups in high school. What have you learned singing in a chorus and how has that translated to singing as a duo?

Yes, both of us are in the a cappella groups at our school, Luminescence and Jewel Tones. It has taught us a lot about being able to balance each other and blend our voices well. We’ve also learned elements of songwriting and arranging that have helped us become more creative with the cover songs we perform as well as our original music.

How would you describe your original music?

We define our music as pop but there are also elements of country and soft rock. We are still experimenting with different styles and have found we don’t fit into a specific genre. One thing we always try to do is tell a story and show growth throughout the song.

What do you look for in a cover song? What makes it appealing?

We are drawn to many types of songs, but we enjoy working with songs that we can put a different twist on. We also like songs that we can have fun performing. We’ve performed songs by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj just for the fun of changing them to fit our style.

Do you have any favorite musicians? Tell us about them and what you like about them.

Ed Sheeran, Karmin, Sara Bareilles, The Script, and Andy Grammer, to name a few. All of these artists worked their way up from almost nothing and went on to be extremely successful musicians. They are all incredibly talented songwriters and gifted performers.

What are your short-term and long-term music goals?

We hope that our EP Someday receives a good response. We are writing a lot more and hope to produce a full-length album this year. We are in the beginning stages of making a music video, as well. As for long-term, we hope to have a successful career in music and become bazillionaires.

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