Dave Barnes may have the musical chops that have brought John Mayer, Vince Gill and Amy Grant into his fan base, but he’s no classic country musician.
If you go
Dave Barnes CD release party with Steve Moakler
Where: Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna
When: 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday
Info: $18, all standing; 703-255-1566; jamminjava.com
Although the Mississippi-bred, Nashville, Tenn.-based singer-songwriter has followed the same path of constant touring and reaching out to fans — as do the Nashville greats — Barnes’ sound is more in keeping with R&B, blues and rock greats. “The thing I try to provide is a good time,” said Barnes, whose latest album, “What We Want, What We Get,” was released last month. “I want to provide more than just your typical guy playing songs, kissing babies and leaving. … I want people to get to know me a little bit.”
Since he began to tour in 2002, Barnes has developed a comedic storytelling that has become so popular, some YouTube videos of it have gained 100,000-plus viewings. Add to that Barnes’ relentless study of music (everyone from Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan) and his constant experimentation with chords and lyrics, and you have the recipe to attract music industry insiders.
“This is the first record in my career — out of the four full lengths I have done — that I paid a lot more attention to songwriting for this record,” Barnes said. “I wanted to write songs that are viable in the marketplace while keeping my fingerprint [on it]. It was fun but really arduous writing three choruses of a song, working on something else, coming back, working on it again. … I was very passionate about it.”
The work shows as critics give double thumbs up to the songs that move from the R&B-infused title track to the more Christian-oriented “God Gave Me You,” to “Little Lies” and other tunes that are fresh and lively pop tracks to boost the album to No. 3 on iTunes’ pop chart listing. The smattering of formats puts one in mind of classic Billy Joel and Elton John albums that also spanned formats while keeping the artists’ signature sounds.
“I do think [if] you take the whole record it sounds like somebody dared me to write a song for each different format,” Barnes said. “It’s just how songs [develop] for me … and I do think each of them are some of the best versions of the songs I could have done.”
Perhaps another difference between Barnes and some of his contemporaries is personal perspective.
“I am such a huge music fan myself, that I try to think what I would think was cool as a fan,” Barnes said. “I think about what I’d like to hear played or how much I like hearing [musicians] talk from the stage; that really helps me [develop my show]. … I really like doing records that have something for everybody.”
