Interview: 5 questions with CHRIS BARRON

Chris Barron has been making music for over thirty years, writing the Spin Doctors' hit "Two Princes" when he was 19 (and performing it on Sesame Street with Elmo, Telly, and Zoe in 1995). He has also explored Norwegian fjords by boat, regularly commemorates #Caturday, and released his most recent solo album three years ago, which I reviewed yesterday:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/04/album-review-angels-and-one-armed.html

Chris recently answered a few questions for me via e-mail.

Angels and One-Armed Jugglers will be three years old in October, and I have been reading things you said about it at that time. You referred to "the cocktail party at the apocalypse", which in retrospect seems overly optimistic. How are you feeling now?

That comment seems pretty prophetic now in light of the covid pandemic. I hate it when I’m right.

You also mentioned the responsibility of the artist to give some consolation, and I think it really does. Is there comfort you realize you provided now without recognizing it at the time?

You know, I write and I leave a little Easter eggs of hope and bright spots but I never really know what people are going to pick up on.

What other artists inspire you?

I grew up listening to Paul Simon and Bob Marley and the Beatles and the Rolling Stones but I also like to read Homer and Shakespeare and nerdy stuff like that. I’m a big Tolkien fan. I like to take inspiration from stuff outside of rock ‘n’ roll like painting and nature (and cats). Rock ‘n’ roll comes from the blues so you really have to know your way around the blues, I think.

What makes cats great?

Cats are utterly authentic. They brazenly do whatever they want to do. If they like you it’s a big compliment because they really don’t give a shit.

Please tell us a little about your Sesame Street appearance.

That was the pinnacle of my career so far. Those Muppets are very talented. (Haha) When you first get on the set, you can see all the sudden that they’re made out of felt and ping-pong balls and feathers and stuff but before you know it their eyebrows are going up and down and they’re making jokes and getting inside of your personal space and they just turn into these very real, very personal presences.

To keep up with Chris Barron, you can visit his web site at http://thechrisbarron.com/. For cat content, there's more on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thechrisbarron