Bobby Bare Jr.

Robert Joseph Bare Jr. (born June 28, 1966)[1] is an American singer-songwriter and musician.[2]

Bobby Bare Jr.
Bare in NYC
Bare in NYC
Background information
Birth nameRobert Joseph Bare Jr.[1]
Born (1966-06-28) June 28, 1966
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
GenresAmericana, alternative country, rock
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1974–present
LabelsImmortal, Epic, Virgin, Bloodshot, 30 Tigers/Naked Albino
Websitewww.bobbybarejr.com

Early life

Bare was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of singer Jeannie Bare (née Sterling) and country musician Bobby Bare, Sr.[3] His parents met in 1963, when his father hired Bare's mother to join his act as a singer.[4] Bare's mother, Jeannie, was a shopkeeper in Nashville.[5]

Bare has a younger brother, Shannon, and a younger sister, Angela. His older sister Cari Jean (Jeannie's daughter by an earlier marriage) died suddenly at age 15 from complications after surgery.[4]

Bare grew up in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a half an hour northeast of Nashville, where his family lived next door to Tammy Wynette and George Jones.[6]

Career

"[My dad] is three times the singer I am," says Bare Jr. "Once the audience sees him perform they'll realize I'm only using 10 percent of my genetic potential. I'll be exposed for my slacker attitude."

Bobby Bare Jr.[7]

In 1974, when Bobby was only eight, he and his father were both nominated for a Grammy for the song "Daddy What If", which was written by Shel Silverstein.[8] Bare's daughter Isabella did a version of the song,[9] which was featured on Twistable Turnable Man, a tribute album to Shel Silverstein which was co-produced by Bare and his father. He and his siblings also appeared on the TV show Hee Haw when he was a kid, to provide the witch scream on Bobby Bare, Sr.'s song "Marie Laveau".[5]

He began playing guitar and songwriting, and started as a professional musician when he was about 30.[10] Bare has said that he is someone who avoided "working a real job at any cost." He worked as a member of the road crew and as a light technician. Once he started writing and performing, he was offered contracts with Immortal Records and Lost Highway.[11]

Bare Jr.

In the 1990s, he led the roots rock outfit Bare Jr., which was signed to Immortal Records, at that time the home of Korn and Incubus.[12] They released two major label records, 1998's Boo-Tay and 2000's Brainwasher.[13] They had a minor radio hit with "You Blew Me Off," which was featured in the movie Cruel Intentions and its soundtrack. The song was also performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on March 3, 1999.[14]

Young Criminals Starvation League

He has performed with his band, the Young Criminals Starvation League, an ever-changing group of musicians, including members of Lambchop, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and My Morning Jacket. They have released three studio albums, an EP, and a live album.

Solo work
Bobby Bare Jr.
Ballard Seafood Fest 2013

His CD, Storm – A Tree – My Mother's Head, was self-released through Bare's licensing company, 30 Tigers/Naked Albino Recordings, in 2010. The title of the record was inspired by a January 2008 storm in Nashville that injured his mother. "Mom was sitting on the couch, the last day of January in 2008, and there was a big, windy storm outside. And a big branch broke off halfway up the tree. It fell on the house, and literally split the house in two and landed exactly on top of her."[15] Another song on the record, "The Sky Is The Ground," is about a bicycle accident his son had when he was two.[11]

Bare regularly performs in house concerts,[16] often accompanied by the vocals of singer Carey Kotsionis.[17]

Shame on Me, a 2-song 7-inch vinyl record will be released by Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum Records in early 2014.

Spring 2014 saw the release of a new record on Bloodshot Records called Undefeated, and will feature a full band.[18] The first single off the record, "The Big Time," was released as a preview before the official April 15 record launch.[19] Bare recorded the album with Mark Nevers (Lambchop) and Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Alicia Keys, the Dixie Chicks, Buddy Guy).[20]

On the theme of the album: Bare "wrote the album about the end of his relationship with the mother of his youngest child, who is 3. The 10 rootsy Americana-style rock songs are at once poignant and shot through with mordant wit, which Bare said is a coping mechanism." Bare opened for Guided By Voices in June 2014.[20]

With Guided by Voices

In February 2016, Bare joined a new touring lineup of Robert Pollard's band, Guided by Voices, as guitarist along with Doug Gillard also on guitar, bassist Mark Shue and drummer Kevin March.[21][22] Bare played guitar on Guided by Voices albums August by Cake (2017), How Do You Spell Heaven (2017), Space Gun (2018), Zeppelin Over China (2019), Warp and Woof (2019), Sweating the Plague (2019), Surrender Your Poppy Fields (2020), Mirrored Aztec (2020), Styles We Paid For (2020), Earth Man Blues (2021), It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021), Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022), Tremblers And Goggles By Rank (2022), La La Land (2023), and Welshpool Frillies (2023), as well as participating in two releases by a GBV alter-ego, Cub Scout Bowling Pins - Heaven Beats Iowa (2021) and Clang Clang Ho (2021) - as well as several releases by another alter-ego, Cash Rivers And The Sinners - She Laughed I left (2017), Blue Balls Lincoln (2018), Do Not Try To Adjust Your Set (2018 - featuring a cameo from Bobby Bare Sr), Loose Shoes (2019), and Bad Side Of The Coin (2020).

Musical style and influences
Bobby Bare Jr.
Wall of Sound Festival, Ft. Worth, TX
September 22, 2007

Many of Bare's songs incorporate a lot of humor and references to popular culture.[23] His writing has been characterized as "inventive and melodic."[24] Shel Silverstein was a huge influence in his approach to songwriting. Bare describes it as writing poems and turning them into songs, which was very similar to what Silverstein did.[15]

Personal life

Bare has three children: daughter Isabella Bare, son Beckham Bare (from his first wife) and son Shelby Booker Bare (from his girlfriend).[15][11]

He has a degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee.

Discography

Studio albums
Year Album
1998 Boo-tay (As Bare Jr.)
2000 Brainwasher (As Bare Jr.)
2002 Young Criminals' Starvation League
2004 From the End of Your Leash
2006 Live: Nick Nacks & Paddy Whacks
The Longest Meow
2010 A Storm, A Tree, My Mother's Head
2014 Undefeated

with Guided by Voices
2017 August by Cake
How Do You Spell Heaven
2018 Space Gun
2019 Zeppelin Over China
Warp and Woof
Sweating the Plague

EPs and singles
Year Album
1974 Daddy, What If With his father Bobby Bare, Sr.
2003 OK – I'm Sorry... (EP)
2009 American Bread (EP)
2010 A Storm, A Tree, My Mother's Head (EP) 5 acoustic demos of the album
2011 UNRELEASED and FREE (EP)
2014 Shame on Me (7" vinyl/digital download) (1,000 limited run)

Charted singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US Country US US Alt.[25] CAN Country CAN CAN AC
1973 "Daddy What If" (with Bobby Bare) 2 41 — 5 53 19 Lullabys, Legends and Lies (Bobby Bare album)
1974 "Where'd I Come From" (with Jeannie Bare) 41 — — — — — Singin' in the Kitchen (Bobby Bare album)
1999 "You Blew Me Off" — — 40 — — — Boo-tay (Bare Jr. album)

Other work

Documentary

A documentary that follows Bare's struggles as a touring musician[26] is called Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost): A Film About Bobby Bare, Jr. William Miller, the documentary's director, and Lee Baker, the documentary's producer, joined Bare on the road for four months while touring in support of his 2010 release, A Storm – A Tree – My Mother's Head.[26]

Musicians appearing in the film include My Morning Jacket, Justin Townes Earle, Hayes Carll, David Vandervelde, Blue Giant, Duane Denison and Bobby Bare Sr.[27] The documentary was photographed on several formats, including Super 16mm, 16mm, Super 8, and HD[28] and had its East Coast premiere at the CBGB Film Festival[29] in October 2013.[30]

See also

References
  1. "Bobby Bare Jr". Discogs. Retrieved October 4, 2013. Real name: Robert Joseph Bare Jr.
  2. Petrusich, Amanda (August 1, 2009). It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music. Macmillan. pp. 98–. ISBN 9780865479043. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  3. Ratliff, Ben (October 25, 2005). "A Country Singer Returns to What Made Him a Star". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  4. McCall, Cheryl (August 23, 1982). "To Hold His C&W Audience, Bobby Bare Is Usually 500 Miles Away from Home—or More". People Magazine. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  5. Boehm, Mike (November 11, 1998). "In the Cave of the Clan Bare: Raucous Bobby Jr. and Smooth Bobby Sr. Work in Different Worlds but Enjoy a Closeness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  6. "Bobby Bare Jr. – About". BobbyBareJr.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  7. Downing, Andy (May 26, 2006). "Bobby Bare Sr. and son tackle uncharted country". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  8. Pandolfi, Elizabeth (April 24, 2013). "Bobby Bare Jr. carries on Shel Silverstein's legacy: Bare in there". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  9. "Bobby Bare Jr. & Isabella Bare – Daddy, What If". YouTube. June 24, 2010.
  10. Kopet, Jeri (September 12, 2013). "Grin and Bare It". Anchorage Press. Arts & Entertainment > Music. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  11. Dunham, Nancy (September 2, 2010). "Bobby Bare Jr. Finds Humor in Unlikely Places Read More: Bobby Bare Jr. Finds Humor in Unlikely Places". The Boot. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  12. Riemenschneider, Chris (February 7, 2013). "Bobby Bare Jr. bares all". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  13. Fortunato, John. "Bare Jr.'s 'Brainwasher' Turn Heads". beermelodies: For Beer Geeks And Rock Freaks. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  14. "Bare Jr. Live on Conan O'Brien - You Blew Me Off (1998) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  15. Blackstock, Peter (August 30, 2010). "Interview: Bobby Bare Jr". emusic Q&A. emusic.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  16. "Bobby Bare Jr. – House Concerts". BobbyBareJr.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  17. Feldman, Dave (January 20, 2011). "Live in JC: Bobby Bare Jr. Gets Intimate at Jersey City Apartment Show". Jersey City Independent. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  18. "Bobby Bare Jr.: A Nashville Heir Charts His Own Path". WNYC Soundcheck. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  19. Portman, Jed (April 3, 2014). "Southern Sounds – First Listen: Bobby Bare Jr". Garden & Gun. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  20. Danton, Eric R. (April 8, 2014). "Bobby Bare Jr. Sorts Through 'Scary Stuff' on 'Undefeated' (Album Premiere)". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  21. Gold, Adam (February 9, 2016). "Tweet of the Week: Bobby Bare Jr. Joins Rebooted Guided by Voices". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  22. Minsker, Evan (February 9, 2016). "Guided By Voices Are Back in Action: Pollard playing every instrument on new LP, but there's a new live lineup". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  23. Jacobson, Alan (2010). "A Soul Bared: Bobby Bare Jr. is at the End of His Leash". Third Coast Press. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  24. Ochs, Meredith (November 20, 2006). "Bobby Bare Jr.'s Music Falls Far from the Tree". NPR Music – All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved October 4, 2013. ...Bare's music manages to be both inventive and melodic, from his unpredictable arrangements to the deliberate phrasing that defines his singing style.
  25. "Bare Jr. – Chart history | Billboard Alternative". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  26. "Bobby Bare Jr., Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost), Interview — Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost): The Dynamic of Bobby Bare Jr". The Nashional. April 28, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  27. "Why make a film on Bobby Bare Jr?". Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost). Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  28. "About". Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost) Film blog. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  29. "CBGB Festival: Film Screenings". Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost). CBGB Festival. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  30. "Dont Follow Me Im Lost – Sunshine – CBGB Film Festival". Brown Paper Tickets. Landmark's Sunshine Cinema, New York, NY. October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
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