City Heat Magazine (June 1990)

KRISTEN BERRY

by Jeff Lageson

Some performers defy simple classification. They refuse to allow themselves to be packaged oh so neat and tidy into a convenient category. Marketing people don't know what to do, clubs don't know who to bill them with for shows, and they simply don't fit in to radio station formats.

Kristen Barry is that type of performer. And she's that type of person as well.

After seeing her perform last spring at the Central and having listened to a tape of her music (more on that later), I wasn't sure what type of person to expect. I felt sure that she would be an easy going and personable person without pretentions and false faces. What you see is what you get, so to speak.

I was right.

The first impression you get when you listen to her music is that she is expressing her own feelings through her music. She's not looking for the catchy jingle that will mean nothing to anyone. Her music catches you attention in a different way. You find that you want to sing along to the words for the feel. You want to feel and experience the song. Songs like Cannot Take My Pride and Sitting in a Room are emotional songs that convey different meanings depending on your mood. The lyrical range is such that there is often subtle meanings that may only catch your attention when something similar happens to you.

She also has the benefit of a solid band around her. The musicianship of the "Barryonettes" is tight and professional, but not mechanical. The keyboards is where Barry does most of her writing, but she doesn't come into the rehearsals and just tell the band, to play it her way. The writing process just doesn't work that way and Barry herself doesn't work that way. Each band member is able to interpret the song their own way. It keeps the music personal to Barry's vision of the song, yet also to the band's. "I think that's the reason these guys stay with me," Barry said. "I didn't just say it's going to be like this. Because if you do it can limit all these other things that may come up. I want the people who work with me to want to be there more than anything. Imagine the difference between somebody playing from the heart and somebody playing like a mechanical robot."

The "band" has been together for about a year now. It consists of people she knew who were musicians (Chris Friel - drums, also of Jangletown, Alan Thompkins - bass, Tommy Martin - guitar, also of Bam Bam, Jim Tilman - guitar, also of Love Battery & Icky Joey, Tyler Stone - keyboards, and Krisha Augerot - vocals). Although most members have other projects which rehearsals must be worked around, the commitment to the "band" is strong. If the word "band" is appropriate. Barry thinks, "The word band is restricting because I just like to leave it at the music and not all the other bullshit. I want people who are playing this music and are getting into it."

She has a strong rapport with the audience when on stage. Her presence is confident and is such that she can sing a serious, moody song and then laugh and joke with the crowd. She moves about to the music and then the audience is drawn in to her sincerity.

Her audience is often as diverse as her music. When she first began performing it was difficult for anyone to figure out who to bill her with. As a result she's played shows with acts ranging from metal to alternative and she's been exposed to a broader audience. Although this would hinder many performers, the music's diversity has brought people to her shows from all the different groups of fans. And even with people regularly going to her shows, "the thought of people actively going through the process (of paying attention to when she's playing) is strange. I think it will be at least another year before I'm comfortable with people going through that thought process." she said.

Barry has recorded a tape of four songs which should be familiar to those who have experienced her live shows. As yet, the tape is not being sold in local stores and there is not a current plan to do so. Although the tape has been sent around to some labels. "When it was appropriate," Barry said, it hasn't been sent out en masse. And, although it has generated some interest, "Talk is just talk. You have to have something in the hand before it's anything more than just talk," she said.

The past few years have ben a period of "progression" (it's an overused cliche so I'll put it in quotes) for Barry. After leaving her previous band and working more on her own music she became more aware that this is what she really wanted to do. She had always been into music, and had performed for a number of years, but it was a slow realization that this is what she could do and have it be her sole work. There doesn't seem to be any master plan of getting a song on the radio, making the big splash, and being the next overnight sensation.

Not to say she isn't interested in success. She's confident that "success" (define that one for yourself fearless reader) will keep coming her way. As such, she has continued recording and working with her "band". Rehearsing several days a week and working on new material.

In the meantime, clubs will continue to book her with a variety of performers. Nobody will be left out or miss out because they would never see her perform because they only go to see certain types of music. We'll all benefit.