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Mainstream Music with a Positive Attitude
Music Spotlight Interview with Barry Russo, These Are
the Days
By Lisa M. Hendey
I
live with a fourteen year old who loves to spend his
spare time playing his electric guitar and has begun to
work on his own original compositions. As a parent and
one who spends a lot of time in the car listening to
music with my kids, I was thrilled to discover the music
of Barry Russo, and particularly his CD
These Are the Days.
Barry, along with being an accomplished musician and
composer, is a liturgical musician and music teacher.
For this, his debut CD, he’s chosen a mainstream
approach, recording great tunes with broad appeal. The
project is a blast, one parents and their teens can and
should enjoy together. This is the kind of musical role
model our families need – one who lets the essence of
his soul shine through with a fun and positive message.
I had
a chance to catch up with Barry Russo and to chat with
him about his music, his plans, and that elusive
question – how to get your kids to sing in church! I’m
pleased to share Barry’s answers, his music, and his
great personality with you.
Q:
Barry, please start off by telling us a bit about
yourself and your music.
A: I
lived my entire life in the tiny little state of Rhode
Island…and have been a musician since my grammar school
years. I’ve worked professionally as a musician since
the age of 16. I went to college, figuring I’d do the
whole “get a degree to fall back on” thing, and was a
psychology major- but it was funny….as all of the other
students were nearing graduation and planning graduate
school and all that, they would ask me “what are you
going to do after you get your degree?”…and my answer
would always be, “Be a musician, like I’ve always been.”
But
I’m happy that I did complete school. I feel that the
more experiences that you have in life, it really
helps…as a person…..in everyday life - and definitely as
a musician. You have more to draw from.
And
praise God, I’ve been blessed in that I’ve never had to
do something else to “fall back on.” I have worked
steadily both as a liturgical musician and also in the
mainstream “gigging” music scene.
I
feel that, like anyone, my music draws heavily on the
influences I had growing up. I studied classical
piano. My favorite material was always the very
melodic, “happy sounding” stuff, like the Baroque-era
compositions of Bach and Handel and such. I also really
liked pop music, especially, once again, very melodic
songs, especially when those songs combined catchy
rhythms too.
If I
was to start naming specific artists and groups that I
liked both while growing up and also today we’d be here
all day. But basically, in my music and lyrics, I try
to capture the themes that influence my life and
thinking, as well as the struggles that I have
encountered and do encounter. And just as in my
everyday life, I try to put a spin of hope in there,
because one big thing that my faith journey has taught
me is that there is hope. Yeah, I’ll be the first to
admit that there are days when that hope seems a million
miles away, but I feel that deep inside, I am
optimistic- and I try to portray that in my music.
Q:
As a Catholic musician, have you made a conscious
decision to go the "pop"/secular route with this first
CD, These Are the Days and if so what motivated
that decision?
A:
Yes, I do feel that the decision to go “mainstream” on
These Are the Days was intentional. I have
written both specifically Christian songs, as well as
other material. However, it is important to have a
cohesive direction on a project…. So for this project, I
chose to record a CD of my more mainstream pop
material. I tend to kind of write in that borderline
area between Christian and “mainstream,” so a lot of the
material that is on my CD still very much comes from a
spiritual background. And I was really interested in
the idea of being a positive voice in the mainstream
music industry, which is so often sending out negative
messages.
Q:
Without a doubt, as a former "valley girl", my favorite
song on the CD was the totally awesome "Child of the
80's" - what was the inspiration behind this song and
what kind of a reception are you getting when you
perform it?
A: I
have always been a huge “80s freak”…..I love the music
of that era…when I was in Nashville co-writing with Shay
Watson (my friend and producer on the project), he
brought up a song idea that a friend of his (Joe
Simpson-another co-writer on the song) had once had for
an 80s tribute song….Joe pretty much had the chorus in
place…Shay felt that if there ever was an artist who
would be right for that song, it was me. I was so
influenced by that and all. Shay called Joe to get his
ok, and then we took it and collaborated with Michael
Elsner on the music, and then sat down and had a blast
coming up with all those 80s images and references…..in
the studio was where we had the idea to do the whole 80s
style English sounding vocal thing on the verses… 
Of
course, this was all before Bowling For Soup came out
with “1985.” That song sort of beat us to the punch…but
“Child of the 80s” is very different in that it actually
parodies the production styles of the era, and also in
places pays tribute to three big 80s hits.
When
I perform the song live, it generally gets a big
reception…of course, it’s one of those songs that you
either “get” or “don’t get” and I have at times gotten
some funny looks from people.
Q:
As a musician, how does your faith shine through when
you are writing and performing?
A:
I want to portray something positive in my music and its
message….hope, optimism, life…..all aspects that are
contrary to the “Culture of Death” that Pope John Paul
II spoke of…and believe me….the “Culture of Death” is
huge in a lot of today’s pop music!
Q:
Which song on the CD is your personal favorite and why?
A:
Picture a father of twelve children. Now ask him who
his favorite child is. Those songs are like
children…each unique and special in their own way.
Q:
Who are some of your musical influences? What have you
learned from them?
A:
Uh oh……you went there! I’ll try to sum this up…… OK, in
the classical world, I’d say many of the Baroque
composers, like Bach, Handel, Clementi, etc. Why?
Because I love the melodic style…also, the music “moves”
and is uplifting. I’m not into dreary-sounding music.
In
the pop world, many groups and artists of past and
present. Survivor, Duran Duran, The Hooters, Aha,
Howard Jones, Phil Collins, Erasure, Men Without Hats,
Men At Work, The Human League, Styx, Toto, Billy Joel,
Breathe, Def Leppard, Matchbox 20, The Corrs, Enrique
Iglesias, Vanessa Carlton, Gary Barlow, Savage Garden,
Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Clay Aiken….I can go on and
on……
I
also love the music of a lot of today’s contemporary
Christian groups and artists, such as Mercy Me, Rebecca
St. James, Kutless, Rich Mullins, Shaun Groves, Rita
Springer, David Crowder…. once again, the list goes on
and on……
I’ve
probably forgotten a million here. What do all of the
very varied artists share in common? Strong melody and
rhythm, strong pop songwriting, great production…It has
all influenced me.
Q:
I'm going to ask you to put on your music teacher hat
for a moment here. It seems to me, as a mother of two
elementary school aged sons, that kids stop singing in
Mass when they hit a certain age. What can parents and
teachers do to encourage participation in the musical
aspects of our liturgy without nagging?
A:
Well, I can only speculate based on my own experience,
but I’d say that this is a common situation. The
children at my parish school are the same way. The
little children sing their hearts out…then they hit
around fifth or sixth grade…and it’s like they lose
their voice or something…
The
common complaint that I get from the children I teach is
that the music at mass is “boring”…that it sounds like
“opera”, or “classical”, and they don’t like organ, etc.
What
I try to employ is an approach from two directions
simultaneously. There is a lot of GREAT Christian music
out there that we as Catholics, especially here in the
Northeast, are not often exposed to. I mean, I recorded
These Are the Days in Nashville, where they have
some pretty popular FM Christian music stations, playing
music that sounds just like the various styles of
today’s rock, pop, hip-hop, and rap. I have been to
services in some evangelical Christian churches where
the bands and music will simply amaze you….it’s very
lively and very good, as well as quite inspiring!
Anyhow, I try to expose the kids to music like
this…last week I had a class of fifth graders, and I
played them a Praise and Worship song by Kutless, and
they really enjoyed it. It definitely creates and
environment where then, we can discuss the lyrics and
talk about God and faith.
I definitely also teach them the
foundations of our Catholic music tradition…..when doing
so, I try to explain the history and why we do things
the way we do…..I teach them traditional hymns, and even
some Latin…last Lent I had them singing the “Agnus Dei”
instead of the English “Lamb of God.”
Another important thing to remember is that no matter
what style of music we employ at mass, we must also
remember and instill in the children that praising and
worshiping God is about just that…and not about our own
personal level of entertainment. It’s one thing to
enjoy different styles that we find inspiring…however,
at the same time, I don’t feel that mass is the place
for a full blown concert event….save that for the actual
concert time…..this applies to whether the musician is
playing classical or contemporary, or whatever.
So
it’s kind of like walking a fine line….playing music
that is inspiring and supports the liturgy without
turning it into something that distracts from the
sacredness of the liturgy. It’s something that I feel
that musicians of all styles and genres have to pay
attention to in regards to music at mass.
I am
by no means saying that I am successful in getting
through to all of them….I will never know if I made any
difference….. I don’t think that we should just throw
away our 2000 years of musical tradition…but at the same
time, I don’t think we should close our minds to
incorporating very contemporary styles of music…even if
we can’t do it at every liturgy……
It’s my hope with the kids at my church that somehow,
the fact that they enjoy some of the music that I
introduce them too, that it will encourage them to be
more open-minded with me when approaching the more
traditional.
Also,
one last very important thought……we must remember that
we teach by example. In many parishes, there are a
large number of adults who also never pick up a hymnal!
Q:
For parents who have kids demonstrating an interest in
playing rock music, should this be encouraged in our
young Catholic kids? How can we help gently lead them
toward using the gift of music for positive and
uplifting purposes?
A:
Yes, yes, and yes!!!! In my music career, I have
encountered a variety of musical situations and
musicians. Being classically trained myself and
sometimes playing in church has at times put me around
the “snobbish” classical musician who thinks that rock
and pop are nothing but noise. Two big things I teach
our kids at St. Peter’s are “respect” and “opinions”. I
teach them that even if they don’t enjoy listening to
classical, they at least need to respect it’s intricacy
and educational value! I tell them that if they play an
instrument, that it is incredibly valuable to study
classical and jazz too! At the same time, I feel that
it is wrong for the classical or jazz purists to dismiss
the other styles. Everybody’s got an opinion and
taste…that’s what makes the world go ‘round!
There
is nothing harmful about rock music provided that the
spirit that it is written in is a positive one, and that
the lyrics do not promote anything contrary to God. If
a person grows to be in a positive place in their life
and is a musician, then the music that flows out of them
will likewise be that way and used for good purposes.
For some, this will happen at 16. For others, 36. For
others, perhaps never.
We
must never stop trying to lead them in the right
direction in all aspects of life.
Q:
What's next? Do you have plans to tour or record a new
project?
A:
Yes, I am planning on extending my performances for
These Are the Days, and also am in the process
of writing towards an EP of three specifically Christian
songs, to hopefully be released sometime early 2006.
For
more information about Barry Russo and his CD
visit
http://www.catholicmusicnetwork.com/cmn_cd_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=50581&REFERER=183
Lisa
M. Hendey is webmaster of
www.CatholicMom.com and
www.christiancoloring.com, a wife and mother of two
and a Christian music fan and supporter. Visit her at
www.LisaHendey.com for more information
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