Spawned from his own busker revolution in the late 80's, in which he became the self-appointed leader of the Coalition for the Advancement of Street Art (C.A.S.A.), this singer/songwriter was happy playing for change on the CTA, so long as he was able to share his songs. Blessed with a Macy Gray-type rasp, capable of traversing through his affinity for soul, blues, folk and jazz, Barron grew up on Sam Cooke and Al Green records—but he obsessed over Bob Dylan lyrics and B.B. King chops. Coupled with his own street-performing soul, he writes lofty acoustic rock with the weight of a bluesman.
For many years Barron cut records with mostly jazz-minded Chicago artists, as on 88’s instrumental-heavy Nicholas Barron & Waymon Davis, and later with a project called Swimmer, that saw horn sections by trumpet virtuoso Peven Everett. It wasn’t until the new millennium that he started channeling Nick Drake in his solo effort Get Down With Nicholas Barron.
Soon Barron was right back in the jazz game, cutting a string of LPs with all-star production crews—including Dave Way (Macy Gray) and Peven Everett—and Memphis Horn stalwarts with Elvis, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding credits under their belt.
Barron’s latest ventures cemented his spot in the limelight, '07’s I’m Not Superman and his second solo effort As I Am. The former packed with a title-track that garnered accolades from James Taylor as part of the New York Times Emergent Artist Series, Taylor called the record “Undeniable!” While the new solo effort is his most bluesy effort to date, stocked with lonesome tales of loss and tribulations, I’m Not Superman is basically a passing of the adult contemporary torch that a band like Train used to hold, Barron sharing on radio power hours, “I’m not Superman / I’m just me / A regular Joe in my galaxy.”
For more information, visit their website: http://www.myspace.com/nicholasbarron
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