Richard Barone

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Biography

Richard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida who gained attention as frontman for The Bongos . He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created major concert events at Carnegie Hall , Hollywood Bowl and New York's Central Park .

Biography

Barone began his career at age 7 as 'The Littlest DJ' on a local Tampa top-40 radio station, and later gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for The Bongos , a critically acclaimed new wave band, T. Moon, NPR , Mar. 28, 2007 at the center of the early 1980s Hoboken, New Jersey Indie music scene|music scene . After their first string of independent singles, released on the U.K.- based Fetish label and compiled for the U.S. as Drums Along the Hudson (PVC), the group signed to RCA Records . Barone has been called a "gifted pop-rock tunesmith,", Robert Palmer (writer)|Robert Palmer , The New York Times , Dec. 16, 1987 and, stepping out as a solo artist, Barone's albums have ventured into chamber pop , orchestral, and more narrative singer-songwriter territory.

Barone actually released his first solo album, Cool Blue Halo (recorded live at the Bottom Line in New York) before The Bongos' amicable breakup in 1987. Anthony DeCurtis , writing in Rolling Stone , praised Barone's "spare, elegant arrangements" and credits him with fashioning "a kind of rock chamber music.", Rolling Stone While Trouser Press described the record as "intimate but confused,", Trouser Press NPR 's Tom Moon, in a more recent assessment, called the album "a plaintive masterpiece," and credited Barone with foreshadowing Nirvana (band)|Nirvana 's Unplugged (Nirvana album)|Unplugged performance of David Bowie|David Bowie's " The Man Who Sold the World ," adding "Cool Blue Halo feels timeless, and maybe even exotic." In 2012, for the 25th Anniversary of the album, a special reunion concert was planned along with a multi-disc boxset including the remastered album, concert DVD, and many special features.
Two studio albums followed: the rock-dominated Primal Dream (MCA) in 1990, and the more acoustic-based Clouds Over Eden (WEA) in 1994, the latter dedicated to his late friend, rock journalist Nicholas Schaffner , and bearing a cover portrait by photographer Duane Michals . Trouser Press championed the "fine set of yearning love songs" on Primal Dream , while calling their production and arrangements as a "step backwards" from his debut album. But David Browne, writing in Rolling Stone , gave the album four stars and commented that "Barone is fast moving beyond the limited vocabulary of twelve strings and wimp-pop vocals." , Rolling Stone Billy Altman, in The New York Times , called his next album, Clouds Over Eden "unquestionably the most fully realized effort of Barone's career," while Trouser Press described the album as "wrenching and thoroughly worthwhile" and "the great album fans always imagined making."

In 1997, Barone released Between Heaven and Cello , an album recorded live at NYC's intimate Fez nightclub, on some songs accompanied only by cellist Jane Scarpantoni . A boxed set of his first three solo albums was released in Europe in 2000 as The Big Three . In 2004, he released a limited edition solo anthology entitled, COLLECTION: An Embarrassment of Richard, comprising personal favorites from his back catalogue.

Other projects included executive producing The Nomi Song DVD (Palm Pictures, 2005), which includes his remix of operatic New Wave countertenor Klaus Nomi 's "Total Eclipse"; musical direction and orchestration for Bright Lights, Big City (novel)|Bright Lights, Big City at the New York Theatre Workshop (with Rent (musical)|Rent director Michael Greif); as well as directing and performing in The Downtown Messiah , a modern interpretation of Handel 's baroque oratorio , broadcast annually on over 200 public radio stations nationwide for six consecutive years from 1999-2004. His songs and collaborations, including those written with singer-songwriter Jill Sobule , have been heard on several popular television programs, including The West Wing , '' Dawson's Creek , Felicity (TV series)|Felicity , and South of Nowhere ''. In 2004, Barone joined his childhood inspiration Donovan for series of the latter's Beat Café concert events, including nine performances at New York's Joe's Pub , at which he sang and read excerpts from Allen Ginsberg 's Howl . Later, in 2008, he would produce a concert for Donovan, backed by an all-star band, which was recorded and released on DVD.

In 2006, he and the original The Bongos|Bongos reunited in the studio with Moby producing, to create a new version of "The Bulrushes," an early Bongos single, and a music video for the special edition re-issue of the group's debut album. The 27-track collection, Drums Along the Hudson - Special Edition, was released by Cooking Vinyl Records in June 2007. Several Bongos reunion concerts were held, culminating with an outdoor concert in Hoboken, at which the band was honored with a Mayoral Proclamation and the Freedom of the City|keys to the city .

In September 2007, Barone's memoir, FRONTMAN: Surviving the Rock Star Myth , with a nude cover photo of the author by Mick Rock ) was published by Backbeat/ Hal Leonard Books. That same month, his complete solo catalog was re-launched at the iTunes Music Store . In late 2007, he began staging a series of 'musical readings' of FRONTMAN, both live and on radio, with excerpts of the book read by television actress Joyce DeWitt and radio personality Vin Scelsa , among others. Musical accompaniment was performed using the new Gibson Les Paul HD.6x-Pro Digital guitar (an instrument to which Barone contributed as artist consultant) in surround sound . On his birthday, October 1, 2008, he brought FRONTMAN: A Musical Reading to the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City , with "Special Guests and Legendary Friends," including Moby, Lou Reed , The Band 's Garth Hudson , Marshall Crenshaw , The Roches|Terre and Suzzy Roche , Randy Brecker , Carlos Alomar , and others as a benefit for public radio station WFUV .
In July 2009, Barone entered the recording studio to complete production work on the album he began at age 16 for performer Tiny Tim (musician)|Tiny Tim . The album, " I've Never Seen a Straight Banana - Rare Moments: Volume 1," was released in October 2009 on Collectors' Choice Music|Collector's Choice Records .

In May 2010, he produced, on behalf of Jonas Mekas , a concert to benefit Anthology Film Archives and honor avant-garde filmmaker/author Kenneth Anger . Performing on the bill were Lou Reed, Sonic Youth , The Virgins , Mekas' ensemble, Moby, M.C. Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster and a rare appearance by Anger's experimental music project, Technicolor Skull. In July 2010, Barone joined forces with Pete Seeger , producing and performing in "Reclaim The Coast: Gulf Coast Oil Spill Benefit" at City Winery in New York. In August 2010, he and co-producer Matthew Billy recorded Seeger performing aboard the Sloop Clearwater , symbol of the drive to clean up the Hudson River , which started in the 1960s. The song and video are set to coincide with the release of Seeger's next album, due out in Spring 2012 on Appleseed Records.

Glow, Barone's fifth solo album, helmed by veteran producer Tony Visconti , was released in September 2010 on Bar/None Records . Also working on the project were producers Steve Rosenthal and Steve Addabbo, songwriter Paul Williams (songwriter)|Paul Williams , engineer Leslie Ann Jones (at George Lucas ' Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California), photographer Mick Rock, and others. Also that month, Barone appeared in Rock's career retrospective photography book ''Exposed: The Faces of Rock n' Roll wearing only a white Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar, an image that was echoed in the Glow CD booklet. A tour of the U.S. and the U.K. followed, through Spring 2011.

In August 2011 Barone was named to the Board of Advisors of Anthology Film Archives . In that same month, he was named music supervisor on a feature documentary chronicling the final days of Anna Nicole Smith . Besides his own music, the score will contain music by Moby , Scissor Sisters . and others. In Fall 2011, "Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical," directed by Travis Campbell was set for release, with Barone both appearing onscreen and performing on the soundtrack. Distributed by Troma Entertainment , Inc., the film yielded a music video for Barone's performance of "Brick by Brick." Throughout the fall, he again worked closely with Gibson Guitars , demonstrating their new Firebird X guitar system in numerous retail and trade events throughout the New York area.

For the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in September 2011, Barone and frequent collaborator Matthew Billy created a special version of the 1894 song The Sidewalks of New York , which was released to excellent reviews and radio popularity. In December 2011, Barone was tapped to teach a performance workshop at the prestigious Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music|Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University . He was then appointed as a Professor in the department. That same month, he released Collection 2: Before & Afterglow, mining his back catalogue to his pre-Bongos days and including recent work such as the Sidewalks single. He closed 2011 with an appearance at the 31st Annual tribute to John Lennon in New York City, along with Steve Forbert , Bettye Lavette , and others.

In March, 2012 it was announced that Barone had contributed a new song to the Occupy This Album project, along with Yoko Ono , Patti Smith , Jackson Browne , and others. The four-disc set, to benefit the Occupy Wall Street Movement , was set for release on May 15, 2012. Richard's song, "Hey, Can I Sleep On Your Futon? " co-written once again with Matthew Billy, was a modern-day re-write of "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? " written in 1931 during the Great Depression .

Barone lives in Greenwich Village , where he is currently writing and producing for others, planning the followup to Glow , and continuing his professorship at New York University .

Discography

::''For the Bongos' discography, see The Bongos .

Collection 2: Before & Afterglow (2011), compilation (RBM Special Editions)

Glow (2010), produced by Tony Visconti , Steve Addabbo, Steve Rosenthal, and Richard Barone ( Bar/None Records )

Glow E.P. (2008), produced by Tony Visconti, and Steve Addabbo (RBM Special Editions)

Collection: An Embarrassment of Richard (2004), compilation (RBM Special Editions)

The Big Three (2000), box set (Line Records, Germany)

Between Heaven and Cello (1997), recorded live (Line Records)

Clouds over Eden (1993), produced by Hugh Jones (producer)|Hugh Jones (MESA Bluemoon/ Atlantic Records )

Primal Cuts (1991), remixes by Ben Grosse and live tracks (Line Records)

Primal Dream (1990), produced by Richard Gottehrer and Don Dixon (musician)|Don Dixon ( MCA Records )

Cool Blue Halo (1987), recorded live at the Bottom Line , New York City (Passport Records)

Nuts and Bolts (1983), with James Mastro; produced by Barone, Mastro, and Mitch Easter (Passport Records)

Publications

FRONTMAN: Surviving the Rock Star Myth, Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books, 2007, ISBN 0-87930-912-1, ISBN 978-0-87930-912-1

Copyright Citations

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1. Jill Sobule 2. Randy Brecker 3. Garth Hudson 4. Bottom Line 5. The Roches

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Richard Barone

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