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US and Canadian Open Mikes - by musicians, for musicians

User profile: Barkin' Barney

Details:

barkinbarney.com

Barney started playing the guitar at age 14. He has played actively in a variety of bands with different styles of music since the age of 18. He now writes his own songs in his makeshift studio at home, but gets his ideas from both the exciting and the most mundane tasks involved in daily living; marriage, parenthood, working, driving in traffic, waiting in line at stores, and just observing people and the environment surrounding him. He writes from true feelings of his heart and soul, and occasionally, random, if not sometimes quirky, thoughts.

Listeners relate very well to the lyrics of Barney's songs. The songs are not geared towards intellectuals' views of what may be deemed poetry, but to the general public and their trials and tribulations. His fans find they can really identify with his music.

Barney has been performing for over 20 years, playing cover songs for the most part, but started writing his own material two years ago. He plays his songs live, anxiously awaiting feedback, whether positive or negative, until he feels the song has reached it's maximum potential before he actually records it. Even then, he often will continue to fine tune it to his own critical expectations. His early inspirations were legends such as Kris Krisstofferson, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zant, and Steve Earle.