The Barr Brothers, Brad and Andrew, report the following at their Web site, among other facts:
- They hail from Providence, RI.
- They “discovered rock ‘n’ roll” in 1983.
- Their “spirited, improv-based rock trio, The Slip” toured the country for around ten years.
- “In his first apartment in [Montreal], Brad shared an adjoining wall with Sarah Page, a classically trained harpist from Montreal with a propensity for the experimental… a friendship developed and the brothers, with Sarah, began recording and performing around Montreal. Soon, their friend and multi-instrumentalist Andres Vial was brought in to lend his wide array of expertise to the outfit, playing keyboards, bass, vibes, percussion, and singing.”
The foursome just released their first (self-titled) album a couple weeks ago. It’s eerily mature, feeling almost like some other band’s third or fourth outing. For one single, “Beggar in the Morning,” they had some help from Swiss-Canadian artist and lighting designer Stephan Bircher; its video features a visual storyline which transforms all four band members into slightly creepy marionettes, crafted by Bircher from [pause for sting of organ music] the bones of small animals:
(See more of Bircher’s Corpse Bride-ish work at his own site.)
Lyrics:
Beggar in the Morning
(The Barr Brothers)Steady woman won’t you come on down
I need you right here on the ground
I’ve walked the outskirts of this town
Been terrorized by what I’ve found
I saw a standing virgin bride
Where holy Dionysus died
She tore the heart out of his side
And laid it dead and there she criedOh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
She said hello I’m a monster too
What poisons me is what poisons you
To these animals we grew
But when we were young our eyes were blueI take my medicine on my knees
Twice a day, but lately three
It keeps the devil from my door
It makes me rich and it makes me poorI’m a beggar in the morning
I’m a king at night
When my belt is loose
And my trigger is tightMay come without warning
At the speed of light
Make it shine so pretty
Make it shine so brightIt seems I’ve come a long long way
To sit before you here today
they’re yours and yours the songs I play
To take with you to throw awayOh oh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Oh I want an angel to wipe my tears
I want my dreams, my hopes, desires and fears
We may capsize but we won’t drown
Hold each other as the sun goes downI’m a beggar in the morning
I’m a king at night
When my belt is loose and my trigger is tight
May come without warning
At the speed of light
Make it shine so pretty make it shine so bright
“I’m a beggar in the morning/I’m a king at night”: that couplet alone is gold. Has the sound of a fairy tale, doesn’t it? I’ve looked around the Web, though, and can’t match the line up with anything other than this song (and of course recast in other words, most obviously The Prince and the Pauper). “Beggar in the Morning” alone would make a great name for a children’s game — one handed down from the Middle Ages, and involving a certain amount of role-playing and -reversal: Tag, you’re poor, and tag, I’m not.
Brad Barr recently stopped in at Guitar World to demonstrate a guitar made from a fishing-tackle box:
…Barr also employs a unique string bow technique, where individual threads are attached to guitar strings and pulled through his fingers to create a static, quivering sound.
The Guitar World article features a video of Barr demonstrating this technique, and a photo slide show of the instrument itself (crafted by a firm called Hobo Nation).
Nance says
Middle Ages…yep, there you go, that’s the music of Beggar, but the visual is Dark Ages. The music is perfectly beautiful…haunting…but the whole is creepy. I thought, Halloween this year is going to be very hallow-ful, because we are all so haunted today. It’ll be harder to find the humor beneath it. The wolves are at the door.
John says
Do you know Joni Mitchell’s “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” on the Night Ride Home album (1991)? (Lyrics here. It’s a recasting, in musical form, of Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming.”) And it’s a dark, dark song, as befits the subject: one which it’s tempting to reach for these days.
But actually, I prefer the tone of the also Biblical, also political “Passion Play,” from the same album. (Lyrics here.)
[Below, click Play button to begin Passion Play. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left — a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 5:25 long.]
Warnings can take many forms, and some of them are bi-directional: reflecting back on their subjects as well as their ostensible objects. And what the wolves find when the door is thrown open may not be the passive meat they’d hoped for.
…Wow. Now I’m suddenly feeling the need for something musically light and frothy! :)
Jayne says
There is some hauntingly pretty music coming out of Providence these days. The Low Anthem is another local band that is producing sounds that are rich in instrumentation, and hard to plunk into a specific genre. I’m so happy to see the music scene thrive around here!
For some reason I find Bircher’s skeleton puppets charming, not creepy at all. Maybe it’s the way they dance and spin about. And the craftsmanship is pure genius.
Love the visual of Brad, ear to wall, listening to Sarah’s harp.That is just a great beginning!
John says
I think I remember reading that the Barrs had done some work with the Low Anthem (whom I also like). Would’ve been disappointed if you hadn’t twigged to the “little Rhody” reference. :)
The puppets, agreed: creepy-charming.
The artist mentions at his site that he powers the movements with bits of old scavenged electrical motors. For some reason this cheers me greatly!
jules says
Wow to “Sarah Through the Wall”!
John says
Isn’t that cool? (Actually, I like the story behind it at least as much as the song and performance itself. :))