James Bar Bowen & Friends-Live @ Binnenpret-Anarcho Folk Fest-06.07.2013-Amsterdam NL-Pt 2. - Video
PUBLISHED:  Aug 31, 2013
DESCRIPTION:
James 'Bar' Bowen is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, raconteur and all round good bloke. He has performed his original folky/punky/acoustic songs all over the world, as well as hosting gigs and festivals in his own house, doing performance and songwriting workshops, regularly standing in as punkrock radio DJ on Phoenix FM in Halifax, doing DIY recordings for friends and himself, reviewing CDs and gigs, translating German punk songs and brewing huge quantities of very drinkable homebrew. His songs and performance are urgent, relevant, caustic, optimistic, poetic, original and sometimes even beautiful. They have reduced audiences to tears for both positive and negative reasons! 2009 was a year of festivals as well as gigs, including appearances at Nice'n'Sleazy in Morecambe, Rebellion in Blackpool, Blyth Power's Ashes Festival in Derbyshire, y-not in Derbyshire (as stage manager and impromptu performer) and Raise Your Banners in Bradford (from which he emerged as 'an award-winning songwriter' of course). 2010 has seen a steady trickle of gigs (pubs, festivals and beyond), as well as a European Tour in the frozen wastes of February (see below). In October 2008 he, along with fellow acoustic-folk-ska-protest punk singer-songwriter Jim Sputnig, headed off to Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands for a mini-tour of vegan cafes, punk rock pubs, squat-venues and even a squatted freestate in Amsterdam. They played with Dusty Awe in Aalborg and an oud player in Amsterdam, flogged a few of their marvellous new split CD ('Still Revolting' and only available in hand-made cloth covers!) and generally had a whale of a time. These CDs (four songs each by Bar and Jim Sputnig) are still available - email for details! So successful was this, that Bar went and did it all again in February 2010, taking in an additional trip to Stoned in Leipzig on the way, where the punters were even dancing on the bar during his set! Jim made it fro the Dutch leg of the tour. In his tour of New Zealand (2006), Bar took the main urban centres (and a couple of villages) by storm, and was interviewed extensively in the local media, including an hour on Radio NZ. En route, he sold some copies of his first home-recorded solo CD 'Uneconomic Migrant'. His work has been acclaimed as 'a bunch of great and original songs'. Live is of course the best way to enjoy Bar's songs, but he also recorded and released a CD specifically for his Boston trip (Nov 2007) - see below - ('A New England EP'), of which a few copies are still available. Bar can also be heard on Huddersfield agit-folk band Bar the Shouting's recordings, most notably on '...strangelove...' (UNLaBELLED). He played some gigs in Boston, Mass. in November '07, in his first foray into North America, being particularly well received at TJ Scallywaggle's Vegan House of Pizza and Subs. Always writing from an unusual perspective, Bar seeks to provoke strong emotions and moves audiences with his political and yet deeply personal songs. His winning of the Raise Your Banners festival songwriting competition in November 2009 has given him some much deserved recognition for his powerfully crafted songs with a strong political relevance for today. A consummate performer, the stories he tells are as entertaining as the songs he sings. With political lyrics (anti-racist, anti-war, freedom and love are popular themes) and stories of crazy drunken nights, fantasy stalkers and cricketing innuendo, an evening with James 'Bar' Bowen is not to be missed. In terms of celebrity endorsement, Tracey Curtis described Bar's music (and cooking): "Intelligent, thoughtful lyrics with original and tuneful melodies. Oh and the best vegan breakfast in Huddersfield!" This has since been modified ..."the best vegan breakfast in Western Europe!" Livespace in Hebden Bridge declared him a "legendary singer-songwriter." Most famous people are too up their own arses to have bothered listening to James Bar Bowen or to have commented on his music! James 'Bar' Bowen is promoted by Bright Red Marker and can be contacted at here on myspace or email brightredmarker@hotmail.com
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