Fun music

Caught Matt Barber yesterday at Spirit Winds.

How do I describe this guy? Schmaltzy? Unadulterated kitsch? Is he goofing on us? I mean, here's this 17-year-old kid traveling the country in his PT Cruiser singing songs that, although pleasant to the ear, might find a better audience in a nursing home. And I don't mean that disrecpectfully. Really, I don't. I talked with Matt between sets and he comes off as a genuine romantic who believes what he's doing. If we had more folks like him, our crazy world might be made a little saner. So who am I to criticize his music? I hope he takes off and becomes a huge success. He's living his dream, which is more than most of us can say. And, hey, he did play one song I really liked, "Wichita Lineman". I gave that record to my girlfriend when I was in college. Guess that's why she married me. Hmmm, maybe there's something to Matt's music after all.

Go for it, dude!

The Official Matt Barber Internet Site

Thursday's Las Cruces Sun-News Pulse story on Matt is below.

Matt Barber: Back to a simpler place in time
By Lucas Peerman/Pulse Editor
Jul 20, 2005, 17:31
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So, what did you do for your high school graduation?
Courtesy photo
Musician Matt Barber, 17, dedicated an album — “Let’s Keep In Touch” — to his fellow graduates and is on a cross-country tour, by himself, promoting the album, his fourth.

From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight, he’ll be at Spirit Winds, 2260 Locust St., to sing his brand of kitschy vocals and keyboard described on his Web site biography as a “unique blend of easy listening, soft rock and lounge style”

If you feel unaccomplished compared to Barber, don’t. Feeling bad is far from the impression he wants his music to leave on his fans.

“When I perform, I hope to bring some happiness to people and make their evening a little more enjoyable,” he states on his bio.

Performing music is something Barber said he’s wanted to do since he was a kid hanging around with his dad, a radio deejay in Peoria, Ill.

And while most kids his age were watching MTV, Barber was listening to the oldies, taking queues from such acts as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Barry Manilow.

He started performing at age 9 and released his debut, “Easy Autumn,” in 2003 and followed that up with two records in 2004 — “Peaches and Cream”
and a Holiday EP single, “Merry Christmas To You.”

Any criticism he receives for performing a kinder, gentler sound is just brushed aside. “I just feel very passionate about not letting people stop me from doing what I want to do,” he said by phone Monday in Albuquerque, where he was spending an off-day.

Barber said he’s enjoying his tour, which is taking him to smaller cities between stops in Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Fransisco.
“I’m really enjoying the mountains in Colorado and New Mexico right now,” he said.

Barber said he likes to perform in smaller venues such as coffee houses and nursing homes. His set-up is small — just him and his keyboard. He sings originals that he and a close friend wrote, as well as covers. He said while on tour he’s looking for musicians to fill out a band, which would allow him to focus on vocals.

And while he’s driving from town to town in his PT Cruiser, Barber said he dreams of one day performing for much larger crowds.

“Sometimes you just gotta go after your dreams,” he said, “because you can’t get anywhere just sitting at home.”

Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com
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