Listen to the full interview with BJ Barham.
North Carolina country rockers American Aquarium, headed by singer/songwriter BJ Barham, have been tearing through the nation playing packed shows since the release of the band’s newest record Wolves in February of this year. Their next stop—and the group’s Santa Barbara County debut—is at Standing Sun Wines in Buellton on Aug. 17, where the group will perform cuts off the new album.
Wolves almost didn’t happen as the group’s previous release in 2012, Burn.Flicker.Die., was meant as a farewell record.
“Our last record, Burn.Flicker.Die., was supposed to be it, and then that record caught fire and really made it to where we could actually make a living touring as musicians,” he said. “After two years of really doing well on that last record, it came time to make another record, and we said, ‘What the hell, we’re doing pretty good, let’s try it again.’”
The band spent nearly a decade on the road, playing bars and music halls, sometimes to scant audiences. That all changed after Burn.Flicker.Die., when American Aquarium’s following and audiences swelled, Barham explained.
It also changed the way Barham went about writing songs for Wolves, which includes gritty lyrics and a newer sound for the group, he explained.
“This record is probably the most personal record I’ve ever written to date, as far as the songwriting goes,” he said. “And the musicianship—the boys really pushed it hard—we really set out to make something completely different than anything we’ve done before.”
The opening track on Wolves reveals the new sound immediately, with syncopated rhythm and an unpredictable bass line reminiscent of Pink Floyd, only if Pink Floyd had spent more time in a country bar. The track keeps a steady thrum with fuzzed out rhythm guitar and biting lead accompanying Barham’s smoky vocals.
The lyrics plumb deeper as well, like in the song “The Man I’m Supposed to Be,” which explores themes of identity, blazing a trail in art, and staying true to oneself in the midst of it. The song is somber in tonality, with instrumentation that enters like a sunrise, and a pedal steel part that shines with passionate heartache. The combined elements result in authentic music, a far cry from the electro pop that dominates the charts. Expect to hear real drums, acoustic guitars, and tube amps blending harmoniously.
“It’s honest; people want something they can relate to,” Barham said. “You can only relate so much to the synthesized party anthems that we hear on the radio.
“Everyone can relate to the broken-hearted love songs and the acoustic guitar and the pedal steel guitar,” he continued. “For lack of a better term, that is Americana, you know, average Joes writing songs about everyday life.”
The album pushes American Aquarium out of the parlance of simple Southern rock and makes a strong statement in the alternative indie sphere. Rolling Stone magazine took note of the band this year, naming them a top group to pay attention to, Barham said. This is despite the fact that the last track on Wolves, “Who Needs a Song,” dismisses the magazine’s coveted cover along with other shallow indicators of success in the music industry.
For Barham and his crew, success was never magazine covers or limo rides, he explained.
“Ever since day one, the goal was just making a living playing music, doing the things we love doing, and we’re there, we’re successful,” he said. “None of us have jobs, all we do is play music, and we can survive comfortably. As far as I’m concerned, every night we get to play in front of a couple hundred people who give a shit about what we do—that’s success.”
That kind of success does come at a price though. American Aquarium is on tour over 200 nights a year, Barham said, and the late-night party scene that follows rock shows has been a part of his life for longer than the decade the band has been together.
The title track of the album, “Wolves,” addresses the ravenous demons that accompany the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle but don’t necessarily have to define it, Barham said.
“As of a few days ago I became 11 months sober,” he said. “So many people fall into those kinds of vices on the road—whether it be the women, or the drinking, or the drugs—and in my 20s I dabbled in all of that, so this record has been kind of like a head-clearing for me just about getting sober.
“It’s one of those things that you’re told you need but you really don’t, you can still be a rock ’n’ roller,” he said. “We put on a rock ’n’ roll show every night without booze or drugs, and it’s great.”
American Aquarium performs as part of Standing Sun Live, the winery’s concert series, on Aug. 17. Doors open at 7 p.m. Get your tickets now, because there’s no saying how quickly the show will sell out, as American Aquarium concerts are wont to do.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 13-20, 2015.
