CD Release

THE SPIN DOCTORS FRONT MAN CHRIS BARRON RELEASES DEBUT CD

By Rob Nagy

For Spin Doctors front man Chris Barron it has been a career filled with great success, lots of surprises and an appreciation for how blessed he is to still be performing. It has now been almost two decades since Barron first lead this New York based foursome from the ranks of playing college frat parties to the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and beyond. The Spin Doctors became one of the prognosticators of the early nineties “Jam band movement” building a huge cult following that carried them well into the remainder of the decade earning the band multiple hit records, national television appearances and honors bestowed to a select few. As with any artist the ever predictable music climate and window of opportunity ran its course as the Spin Doctors popularity gradually declined. Airplay became less frequent as did the demand for the band to perform live. While the Spin Doctors have never really officially disbanded band members have moved on to pursue individual projects while doing the occassional concert date together as a band. performing recording and working on individual projects. Barron has endured professional and personal struggles coming out the other side intact and better than ever as he is about to release his solo CD debut “Pancho and the Kid””.



It has been almost twenty years since the Spin Doctors united to become one of rocks premiere jam bands joining artists like Phish, Blues Traveler and Widespread Panic. Creating a buzz on college campuses and radio stations the Spin Doctors took their first step toward international prominence signing with Epic Records in 1990. Their debut EP “Up For Grabs…Live” was released the following year giving fans and converts a taste of just how great a Spin Doctors concert was, showcasing their marathon jam sessions that had quickly become a concert trademark for the band. In the summer of 1991 they released their highly anticipated studio debut “Pocket Full of Kryptonite”. While the album at first did not achieve commercial success, heavy touring cultivated a growing allegiance of hardcore fans. Capitalizing on their newfound fame the Spin Doctors were enlisted to be a part of the inaugural line-up for the H.O.R.D.E festival sharing the bill with Blues Traveler, Phish and Widespread Panic. The bands exhaustive efforts to spread their music finally caught the attention of the mass media gaining lots of airplay on radio and video rotation on MTV. Their first two hits “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princess” catapulted “Pocket Full of Kryptonite” to Gold status by the fall of 1992. (Following the bands debut on “Saturday Night Live”.) The singles “What Time Is It”, “How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?”) and “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues” continued the bands momentum on mainstream radio and MTV with the release of more videos and much deserved praise. The album went onto sell over ten million copies worldwide earning an American Music Award nomination for favorite pop/ rock album and a Grammy Award nomination for best vocal performance. While the bands 1994 sophomore release “Turn It Upside” Down” didn't reach the heights of their debut, it did manage to sell a million copies yielding back to back platinum releases for the band. The band had caught the attention of rock legends the Rolling Stones serving as their opening act on the Voo Doo Lounge Tour exposing the Spin Doctors to millions of rock fans they would otherwise have been unable to reach on their own. Subsequent releases, 1996's “You've Got To Believe In Something” and 1999's “Here Comes The Bride”, did not reach the success the Spin Doctors had come to expect. It was during this time that Barron faced a potentially life altering situation when he awoke one morning, while on tour, to find that he could barely speak or sing. Barron was diagnosed with paralyzed vocal chords with a fifty-fifty chance of ever speaking with a normal voice. “It was a pivotal moment for me”, says Barron. “It kind of forced me to reassess myself as a human being. I had always equated myself with my job. The person and the singer that I am are kind of the same thing. I had some really painful soul-searching, asking 'Who am I if I'm not a singer?'. It was an extremely dark time for me. I think in the end it made me a better writer and a better person.” Barron's voice eventually returned sounding better than ever. He picked up right where he had left off hitting the road and eventually the studio with the Spin Doctors. By 2001 they had peaked commercially with band members opting to take a hiatus to pursue individual solo efforts with the idea that they would always work together when they felt the urge or the demand would be there. With this in mind Barron continued his individual songwriting efforts as well as through collaborations with a few of his contemporaries. In the fall of 2001 the original line-up of the Spin Doctors reunited, the first time since 1994, for a benefit concert to support the impending closing of the legendary New York City venue Wetlands. With renewed interest from the band and their fans, the Spin Doctors spent the next three years touring culminating with the completion of a new studio album “Nice Talking To Me” in 2005. The album was received well by music critics but failed to do anything commercially when their label folded.



Barron has most recently completed his long anticipated solo “Pancho and the Kid” which is to be released on April 8th . A collaboration with fellow musician Jeff Cohen, the CD Features twelve new songs that touch on a variety of musical influences and styles, creating a very real and touching CD that is hard not to listen to over and over again. “I would describe it as rootsy rock and roll”, says Barron, “Americana with a country aftertaste, it runs the whole gammet musically. The thing I really like about this record is I did it on purpose Jeff and I co-wrote and co-produced the entire record. We made a concsious decision that we will have the final word on everything. We're not going to listen to anyone's input. Once it was finished we started giving it to people and we got such great reaction.” Songs that particularly standout are “Brokenhearted Serenade”, “Heartbreak Boulevard”, “Can't Kick The Habit”, “Why Must The Show Go On” and “Pretty As A Picture”, one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in long time.

While Barron is anything but arrogant when it comes to his music he is very much in touch with his abilities as an artist. “I’ve been lucky”, says Barron. “I think I’ve always been able to write stuff that hits a lot of different people. When I write a song I don’t set out to write something catchy, the stuff that I write just happens to touch a lot of people and get stuck in people’s heads.” While Barron is incredibly proud of “Pancho and the Kid” he has no great expectations commercially. “I don’t know if some major record company is going to take a punt on me at this stage in my career? I seriously doubt it. I’ve done the record company thing and I’ve see both faces. Right now my solo stuff is my first priority. My goal is to keep singing songs for rooms full of people.” Barron is a realist when talking about starting over musically as a solo artist. “If you’re willing to sit in a van for like nine hours several days a week”, says Barron, “And get no sleep and you have the inner fortitude after that to get up on stage in front of fifteen people and throw down a show that’s going to blow their minds and reach deep into your heart and sing your god damn guts out every night you’re going to end up with a following. I feel very lucky to still be doing what I do.”



For more info on Chris Barron go to www.myspace.com/thechrisbarron

Posted by
Rob Nagy