Ahead of his performance at the third annual edition of Blood Brothers we catch up with Garth Barnes discussing his lengthy career in music, the next CrashCarBurn album, and what to expect at Blood Brothers
You’ve been involved in the local music industry for almost 20 years. What would you say are the key differences between starting a band then and starting a band now?
Hmmm… Technology! Back when I was getting started (137 years ago) there was no internet. Imagine being in a band with no Facebook, No Youtube No Twitter or Instagram and even crazier… People used to actually buy CD’s!
Which new local acts excite you and who do you hope to see on the Blood Brothers line-up in another couple of years?
Made for Broadway, Crimson House and Veladraco are my current new favourites. They’re just really exciting bands writing good songs and performing with vigor! In terms of new Blood Brothers additions? How about something crazy like a hip hop artist. Kwesta or AKA lol? That qould be interesting! Also, Laudo Liebenberg from Aking. What a legend!
The latest release from CrashCarBurn is a music video for the track titled ‘Juliet’. Tell us more about the track and how the concept for it and the music video came about.
This was a bit of a return to our roots. Ironic since the album coming out in February is a massive DEPARTURE from our roots. Spoiler alert. ‘Juliet’ is just a fun, flat out pop-punk tune about girls!
The video for ‘Juliet’ is not available for viewing on your YouTube channel anymore. Does that have anything to do with it being selected for two international film festivals? Can we expect more tracks from CrashCarBurn this year?
Haha! Funny (or tragic) story. This guy approaches us via email and tells us he wants to make us an animated video. We check out his work and are like ‘wow the kid is good, let’s do it!’ We pay him and he makes this super rad video which we share far and wide! The kid even enters it into a bunch of festivals and they are loving his styles! Then we get a message from an animator friend of ours with some bad news. Long story short, the guy had stolen a bunch of backgrounds from a famous Disney animation series. Of course, as musicians, we take copyright very, very seriously so we told him to take the video down and pull it from the festivals. So, for like 3 days, yes there was a video. Now it only exists on the dark-net. Very disappointing.
Before CrashCarBurn there was Tweak and you guys are bringing the band back together again for a reunion tour. What in your opinion is important for longevity in a tough local scene and why do you think fans are still so interested in Tweak?
That is an excellent question and I have no idea what the answer is! To be honest we were pretty worried when we did the 10-year reunion in 2015. I mean, that’s a whole new generation. Would anyone even remember us and come to the shows? The response we received was just amazing though. Every single show was sold out and it was just such a treat to pretend like we were teenagers again. So, I have no idea why people have hung onto Tweak. But I’m glad and grateful that they have.
For Blood Brothers, you are collaborating with veterans in their own right. What has been most the most difficult challenge during rehearsals and who of the artists were you most excited to work with?
So far it’s been nothing but a pleasure working with the guys. No egos, no divas, no drama. I think when you have been doing it as long as these guys, you learn that having a shitty rockstar attitude gets you nowhere. Hard work and compromise are the tickets to success in the long term and these guys have that in spades. I can’t single out specific artists (cause then if they read this they will give me a hard time). They are all legends. That’s why they are on the bill! It’s a privilege to be sharing a stage with every single Blood Brother. I cannot wait.
What can fans expect from the 3-hour Blood Brothers set? Any chance we’ll hear some of our Tweak or CrashCarBurn favourites?
All that… and a bag of chips!
Blood Brothers takes place on the 30th of September at The Good Luck Bar in Johannesburg. Get your tickets here. For all updates on Blood Brothers keep up to date with the hashtag #TenUnite and Follow Blood Brothers on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
