The role of the conduit tends to be a righteous one. The trailblazer might gain satisfaction in leading the way but it's usually an unlikely predecessor who reaps the major rewards. Luckily for us less adventurous types there are selfless vanguards like Jeremy Barnes who are more willing to share their findings rather than keep them locked away in a dungeon of self-obsession.
There is no denying that Barnes has a discerning appetite for exotic sounds from unlikely corners of the world, particularly gypsy music from the Carpathian region. Banes has done his homework. I can only imagine to what extent he has traveled in order to satiate his desire for authenticity. Surely Barnes has ventured to many mother countries to observe the masters at work. For at times you must let down your safeguards and insert yourself directly into the game in order achieve true knowledge. Firsthand heavenly states are far more valuable than any book learned compliance.
Barnes' love for the traditional arcane has culminated into the musical project A Hawk and a Hacksaw, which is a collaboration with his violinist wife Heather Trost. Their developed approach to songs can not be easily bagged and tagged. Rather it's a patchwork of dexterous ethic jamming mixed with tasteful touches of modern composition. Basically everything and anything beyond the confides of the Western scale played intuitively, with humility, and with the brilliance of mastered musicianship. It's gritty and it's academic yet somehow neither overpowers the other. Banes' music experience will never bore you, only inspire you to join the journey. So let the Tuica flow and the glissandi glide on.
- Preferred instrument for songwriting?
I enjoy going over rhythms in my head, and attaching melodies to them.
- Can you approximate how many songs you're written in your life thus far?
Hmmmm. I suppose it would be over a hundred, under two hundred.
- Is songwriting a spontaneous affair or do you have a ritual for conjuring ideas?
It helps to have more than one approach. Singing in my head is one, and then there is sitting at the table and playing accordion for hours... or playing drums and singing in my head. One of the best approaches which is sadly hard to control, is walking around and having a melody pop in the head, and then going home and working out chords to it.
- Can you chronicle or explain the typical process in which you go about transforming a spark of an idea into a complete song?
Recording rough versions, playing it live, messing with multiple arrangements, sometimes changing the rhythms completely.
- Do you feel your music is a refection of true self or an extension of a fictional entity you wish to be?
In some ways it is both. As a musician, my true self is based in rhythm, so it is only natural for me to work with rhythm as the basis for a song. I am not as interested in song lyrics or modulation or interesting chord changes... that all comes later. But then there is the "extension of a fictional entity" as you say, and music can become an escape from the self... the idea of losing yourself in music is very attractive.
- What qualifies as an accomplished song?
I don't need to see progress in my songwriting to feel that I have succeeded, and sometimes the easiest songs to write are the best. But I believe first in the process, and that is the important part. The doing is the accomplishment.
- Songs are like children and it's hard to play favorites. However is there a certain song that you are particularly proud of? Why?
The first song on the first AHAAH record, "Maremaillette" was a breakthrough for my rhythmically and melodically. It is not my favorite song that I have written but I learned quite a bit while working on it.
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