"Hmmm - how to make myself sound really cool. Ah, never mind...."
Music
John was born in the midwest but moved to southern California at age twelve. He began playing guitar at fourteen and soon after started writing songs. After high school, he attended Cal State University Long Beach and earned a couple of non-music degrees ("I'm proud of my education - but mentioning it seems so uncool in the music world. It's kind of sad."). John received a songwriting contract for his catalog of songs from his first CD "Stay the Night" in 1999. After taking a break from music for awhile, John formed his latest band, The Eleventh Floor, in 2004, culminating with his 2nd CD "Best of Days." John was fortunate to play live with songwriter and musician extraordinairre Luther Tatum in 2007. He recorded and released his 3rd CD, "Blood on the Trees," in 2010. Currently, John is teamed up with bassist/vocalist Marshall Davis for a new CD and live project. John Barney lives in California with his wife Amie and two children.
John Barney is a storyteller. “I think songs are more interesting if there is a narrative rope to climb,” he states. And I love the Tall Tale - I mean, who didn't like Paul Bunyan." On “Best of Days," John’s second CD, he combines the power of his lyrics with roots/pop/blues-oriented music to produce lively examples of good songwriting. While John claims all the songwriting, producing, and musical performance credits, he teams up with vocalists Lew Kerns and Reina Sanchez to provide the voice of his musical journey. “I’ve known Lew a long time – we’ve been guitar jamming partners for years, and he has a distinctive voice. Reina I met through work – and her more polished vocals add a nice contrast to Lew.” John does sing on one song, though – the fiery “Waiting for the Sun” where he gets a chance to tear up his guitar in a throwback to the guitar-demon songs of some well-known southern rock bands.
On his new CD "Blood on the Trees," John explores some new musical territory, using more keyboards and unique rhythmic patterns and arrangements. In addition, he handles the lead vocal chores himself. "Obviously, I'm not a great singer - kinda halfway between Bob Dylan and Keith Richards - but fortunately I had former "Floor" members Lew Kerns and Eric Barnes to help me out." The song "Blood on the Trees" is a reflection of John's concern for the environment. "You can argue global warming all you want, but common sense would say that putting a zillion tons of garbage in the air is going to impact the natural cycle of life on earth. But we're seeing a lot of progress in both technology and awareness - so I'm hopeful."
John claims many influences, from Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher and Johnny Winter to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Counting Crows, CSNY, Tori Amos, John Prine, Steve Earle and many others. Unlike many of his peers, he distances himself somewhat from the “classic rock” that he was brought up on. “I still like that stuff but there is a lot of good music happening today that is interesting. Life is too short not to explore.” Recent note: "OK, I'm back to listening to a lot of my 'roots" music of the 60's and 70's - man, there was some great stuff."
He isn’t afraid of tackling controversial subjects like contemporary religion. “The hypocrisy and profiteering in religious circles provides so much fodder for song material – how can I not write about it." “Bible Blues” is a good example of this – although strangely it was chosen to be included in the soundtrack of a Japanese DVD about car audio – go figure!
ART
John began painting relatively recently after having been a "fan" of art for many years. A passion of his has been visiting local art galleries wherever he travels. His painting style reflects what he's learned to enjoy about the many styles he's observed as a fan. Most of his paintings have a medium texture to them - having been applied with a painting knife. John believes that "texture often adds to the emotional impact" of a painting. He currently uses acrylic paints "since I don't have the patience to wait months for the darn things to dry." His subject matter combines abstract expressionism with touches of surrealism to encourage individual interpretation of each of his pieces. John uses wide swatches of color - allowing each painting to make a statement in whatever home or office setting it ends up.
