Warren Barfield on starting over...
03-23-2006
by Brenten Gilbert

Nicodemus once asked Jesus what it means to be born again. Having taken the analogy literally, Nicodemus couldn't understand the concept as it was presented to him. As Jesus explained, when we are born, we are born in flesh, with a life based on fleshly desires - a life built on the sands of the world. When we are saved, we are offered a chance to start over and build our life on the rock of God.

For all intents and purposes, Warren Barfield thought he had lost everything when his world came crashing down around him. Bouncing from record label to record label and watching his hard work go unused, he didn't expect to ever record again. Now, three years after the release of his acclaimed debut self-titled release, Warren Barfield is back with a brand new album and a whole new outlook on life. CMCentral.com caught up with Warren on his way to a show and discussed the new album, the last three years, and a whole lot more. That conversation follows:

CMCentral.com (brenten gilbert): The first thing I have to ask is are you really the same Warren Barfield as the guy who recorded the album in 2003?

(laughs)

Warren Barfield: No, man. Actually that guy was my twin brother. He got sick of the business and he's out selling peaches at some roadside stand in South Carolina now and I'm taking over.

The reason I say that is because I was just listening to the album and I just got to say "Wow!" It's really hot man.

Thanks brother. It's been three years, you know? In a lot of ways I learned to sing over the last three years. I learned how to write songs and more about who I was and what I wanted to say. I think that when I recorded the first record, I was a kid in more ways than one and I was just in a new world, overwhelmed by the music business and all of these people who I was just amazed to be working with. So, I was just like "Okay, I'll do whatever you want me to do." It was exciting and new and I was just as green as they come.

The last three years have been full of life. You know, the kind of life that can happen and that can change you completely in just three years. And sometimes life just comes at us hard. I think the last three years for me have just been hard. A lot of stuff that I wasn't expecting just came at me, forced me to grow up and really ask some serious questions, you know? Like, Who am I? And what do I want to do with my life? And what do I believe in? And what do I want to express to others? And Reach, this new record, came out of all of that.

That's great. I can definitely see the growth. I even went back and listened to the first record this morning and you can see that the pieces all there, but it seems like you're just finally putting them all together.

That's cool to hear it that way. I've heard people sort of hint around at saying it that way but I really like the way you said it. I get the same thing. I can listen to it and say, "Yeah, the songwriting and the lyrics are there, I just wasn't doing it as well." I think I was trying to say too much on the first record. By doing so, I was cramming all of those lyrics in and losing the listeners to an extent. This time around, I learned my lesson in a lot of ways, as far as lyrical content goes. Also, the way I sang it and the way I went about it. Maybe I was trying too hard on the first record. Trying too hard to be liked and fit into the world that I was in. This time around it was different - again, some pretty amazing stuff had happened in those three years. Because of the labels crashing and all of that other stuff that happened, I wasn't even sure that the record was even going to come out. So, I really wasn't trying to please anybody anymore. I was just doing it because it was in me to do. It's cool. I really like that, "the pieces were there, but they finally come together."

well I am a writer so. . .

(laughs)

So we may as well address this right up front. . .

Okay. . .

People are going to say that you are trying to sound like Gavin DeGraw. What is your reply to that?

My reply to that is, "Okay."

(laughs)

I really don't have a problem with that. I think Gavin DeGraw inspired me to be a lot more free when I sing. I think if people are going to say that I sound like Gavin DeGraw, it's going to be in the vocals. I don't think they are going to say that about the song structure or anything like that, just the way I vocally approached the songs. When I was a kid, my dad was a Pentecostal preacher. So, I grew up influenced by my dad standing on the pew and singing until the blood vessels in his neck were popping out. He was singing with everything he had. And when I was first starting singing, that's how I sang. Even when I was like 18 years old and I started traveling around singing at churches and stuff, I sang until I just about blew my voice out. I just sang with everything that was in me. But as I got older, I started singing in front of more and more people and I learned to try to sing pretty, to not sing so raw, to try to be contained. Even when I got to the studio in Nashville, when I finally made it to Nashville, I had all of these brilliant people who have sold millions of records working with me and everyone was encouraging me to not sing so hard. "Try to be controlled and sing better," they'd say. And so I did.

Okay. So who would you like people to compare your style and sound to?

Oh man, I don't know. Everybody I've ever listened to, I guess. I don't mind people telling me that I sound like "so and so." If you listen to my music from any angle, you can hear different influences from different people. Right now, I'm a big fan of Johnny Lang and I think that I probably sound like anybody I currently like. As long as they don't compare me to the likes of Barry Manilow, I'm really cool with that. It's not going to offend me for someone to say that this album sounds like Gavin DeGraw because I like Gavin DeGraw. I'd put myself in that category of passionate singers. And I love writing. I think of myself as a writer, first and foremost. I enjoy writing so much and I think of myself as an average musician who loves singing. I just really enjoy getting behind a microphone and singing. So, if you compare me to anybody who can hold a note, I think I'm going to be fine with that. Probably the biggest compliment would be to compare me to my dad. He is such a passionate singer and he believes in what he does and he's a preacher. He preaches and sings with everything, such passion and vigor. So that's a big part of who I am as well.

Cool. So, a lot's been going on in the last three years. Can you tell us a little bit of what has been going on behind the scenes?

Well. when the first record came out and all this stuff was going on everything was going really well. Things were moving along pretty well and I was out on some big tours, playing a lot of shows. I got off of the Third Day tour and did another tour after that. When it was time to go back in the studio and work on the second record, I went in and had about three songs done when I got a phone call telling me that the label was going under. So, I sort of got put on hold while they tried to figure out what was going on. They were still holding my contract, so I was contractually bound to them. They started in negotiations with some other companies and six months later, my contract was with another label. I went into the studio again with that label and then, because something to do with some lawyers - some attorney stuff that I still don't even understand - all that mess didn't happen. So I got stopped again. And I waited another six months for the contractual stuff to get figured out. Finally, I landed at Provident Label Group, on Essential Records, which is where I am now.

At that point, I had already started and stopped the record twice and I was sort of frustrated and confused. I guess I just faced the reality that this thing was not mine. These people could take it away from me. This realization was interesting because, for six years, I had just done it independently and sang wherever and whenever I wanted. Back then, it was just about writing the song and going to sing it. Now, it was about business and all of these business people making decisions. It was a difficult thing for me to grasp. Ultimately though, I had landed at Provident and everything turned out cool. They wanted me to start over on the record and since so much was going on, I went out to LA to take a month and a half to get away from everything. I used that time to just concentrate on taking a snapshot of my life. To express what was happening in my heart and in my soul. I feel like we did a good job in communicating that.

Yeah. So what would say that God's taught you over that time period?

He's taught me that nothing on this earth is secure. We build all of these false securities around things, thinking that we have to have them or that we need them to define us or give us stability. I don't know. I find myself in that place a lot when I'm looking around me to find "the answer." You know, that thing that is going to fill me and make me feel like everything is okay. I think what God has taught me is that everything, anything on this earth, can be taken away from us. It's all fragile. It's all temporary. But, no one can take our belief in Him away from us. No one can take away my faith. If my being is grounded on the hope that I have in Jesus Christ, then I can't be shaken. I think that God shook me down to the core so that I could start my foundation again. So that I could rebuild it again on Him. And It's hard. It's hard having everything in your life sort of get knocked down or torn down. But ultimately, what I have come to realize is that He was doing that just to build it back stronger. It's not easy when it's happening, when all of those things that you feel like you need and want start getting ripped away from you. It's not easy to let it just fall. But I honestly believe now that it was God and that He was involved in it to build me a stronger foundation. And because it's grounded in Him, my faith is strengthened and I know better what I'm standing on and believing in.

That's great. So now that you are on the bigger label and since Provident is partnered with Sony, should we expect a cross over?

(laughs) No man, I don't think so at all. First of all, I think the lyrical content of my record is too straightforward Christian to be accepted as a crossover in this world unless some "freak of nature" thing happens. For example, "I Can Only Imagine" is one of the most straightforward Christian songs in the world, but mainstream radio played it. That's not a goal of mine at all. I've never even thought that was a possibility for me to be honest. I think that my spot, my place is encouraging people with songs and probably more in a Christian environment.

I'm not against it. I don't have a problem with it. I'm not one of those people who say that if you did cross over, you'd be a sell out. I'm a big fan of Switchfoot and Mercy Me - anybody that's ever done that. I think it's really cool that they can take such a positive message over to a larger audience, but I think if it happened for me, it would be because it just happened, not because it was something I pursued.

Alright. You did really well on the radio with your debut album. Are you concerned at all that radio play may suffer because this album is a little more aggressive?

That's one of the things I had to completely block out. I think that's one of the reasons this album sounds so free and has such a unique sound about it. So much time had passed between when I was in that world of being concerned about radio, the industry and all that stuff. I really, honest to God, thought that all those things were over. So much had happened with the labels and I kept getting moved around so I didn't really think I would ever have a chance. I thought it was done. I went back into the studio with reckless abandon since I had nothing else to lose. My mindset was, "I'm going to sing it, give it everything I've got, try to serve the song and let that be that." I don't think that I worried about anything, not once. I used a producer and musicians who knew nothing about Christian radio or the Christian industry because I didn't want that to be part of it. I didn't want to go in there and try to guess what everybody wanted. In Nashville, a lot of times, you are in the studio trying to record a song and everything is about trying to guess what the Christian music industry wants. You wind up just creating something that's already been created. You're trying to fit a mold. To me I just wanted to be free and serve the song and serve what was on my heart and not think about it. I still can't really let myself think about it. Who knows? Who can guess what is going to work and what's not going to work? I try my best not to be consumed by it. That's another thing that God has taught me over these last three years. I can't change that. I can't do anything about whether or not the radio plays my song. I can't do anything about making my songs a hit. All I can do is focus on my relationship with Christ, my relationship with the people around me and allow the rest of it to just take care of itself and be content with whatever it is.

Yeah man, I'm excited about it.

I wish I lived on the west coast for a little bit to see it.

I wish we were playing all over the place with it. Maybe if it goes really well we will prolong it a little bit.

So how did you two get paired up?

When I got done with the record, we started talking about touring options and what I wanted to do. I got a list of some of the people going out in the spring and Shawn was one of them and I just pursued it. I called and left him a message on his phone and said "Hey man, call me back. I'd love to talk to you about this thing." It all worked out for me to do it. It was just something I really wanted to do, so I pursued it and luckily, it worked out. Shawn is a really cool guy. I met him 2 years ago and we hit it off a little bit. I'm really looking forward to going out and hanging out with him a little bit. I've never really spent that much time with him. We've just talked to him on the phone a few times and seen him in passing at festivals or whatever as we played the same festivals together but I'm really pumped about the tour together. I think it is going to be great.

So, we can wrap things up with a couple of light questions if that works for you. I don't want to keep you too much longer, you've got your sound check going on soon.

Yeah.

Let's say I'm walking through the zoo and I'm looking at all the animals and I come up to your cage. What animal am I looking at?

Monkey dude, no doubt.

(laughs)

Up in a tree chewing on something, probably a little stick or something. I'm just chilling. I've always been fascinated by the monkeys. Do you ever go? Do you really ever go to the zoo and just stare at the monkeys? I can sit there all day long and stare at them. They are just so humanlike it's so unbelievable.

I think the last time that we went to the zoo, we had lunch right outside of a monkey cage and they were just going nuts.

They stink, which wouldn't be me because I smell great all the time.

(laughs)

Otherwise, that sort of blank look that stares at you asking, "What are you doing?" That's probably me.

As a kid, what kind of car did you always want to drive when you grew up?

I'm not even sure. . . something red I'm sure. When I was a kid everything I wanted was red. I don't know if I ever wanted any, I don't have an answer for that, I really don't. I'm not a very mechanical kind of guy, like I don't know much about cars. I can't even change my own oil. I don't know anything about cars whatsoever. I can put air in my tires. That is about it.

(laughs)

I've just never been into that whole thing. I probably wanted a guitar when I was a kid and everybody else had dreams of stuff they wanted I just wanted a guitar.

Fair enough. It worked out. So what was your biggest GRAMMY disappointment this year?

Oh, I was out, I didn't even watch a second of it, but I read something about it. This is my biggest disappointment - maybe I'm going to get slapped for this - but I think Mary J. Blige is the most overrated artist in the world.

(laughs)

okay. . .

I read about what a great job she did and how record sales went up significantly after she sang with U2. And I'm just thinking, "overrated." I'm sure she's brilliant. I'm sure she's a pleasant wonderful lady but overrated.

You think it was just U2 fans that went out and bought the album because . ..

I don't know. I can't imagine. I'm a U2 fan and I'm not a Mary J. Blige fan, so I don't know, it's crazy. I think the label rigged that. The label just did it to have something to write about in Billboard magazine.

(laughs)

Alright, you need to get going, but where can we find out more about you and your music?

WarrenBarfield.com. It's just all Warren, all the time.

Great and you've got a song download on there now, right?

Yeah man, you can get a free download of "Unleashed," which is jamming.

Cool. Anything else you want to share before I let you go?

Thank you for sharing my stories and my songs with your CMCentral.com readers. I appreciate you helping me spread the word about Reach. It's been three years and I've got a lot of stuff on my heart. I just want to get out and share that with people. I'm excited about the opportunity to do it and grateful for everybody who's willing to come out and help. Thanks.