Denver based quartet Barbara have been making waves in the Colorado indie scene for the last few years and their latest album “So This Is Living” is a welcoming addition to the bands consistently growing discography.
I caught up with band members Camilla Vaitaitis (vocals, guitar, keys, synth), Anna Panella (drums, trombone) and Bridget Hartman (bass, saxophone) to talk about their early musical influences, how they started playing music and the making of the new album.
CMM: What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Camilla: My earliest musical memories are listening to the Beatles and Louis Prima. The Beatles never really left me, and were always at the core of my musical taste. Other important ones growing up were Radiohead and Elliott Smith.
Anna: I grew up on my parents favorites: America, Sting & the Police, ACDC. The first artist I really fell in love with was JJ Johnson– I listened to The Eminent JJ Johnson on CD probably 80000 times
Bridget: Honestly the only CD my parents really played growing up was the Magic Flute and then NPR if nothing else was on. I was kind of left to discover music on my own terms, and I mostly listened to old jazz CD’s, the one that sticks out the clearest is Dexter Gordon’s Sophisticated Giant, I really loved all the arrangements and the way it felt like a movie.
CMM: When did you all first start playing music and creating your own songs?
Camilla: I started playing piano at age 4 and quickly started composing my own songs. I picked up guitar around middle school and that just helped me expand my songwriting palette. The first documented composition of mine is called “Sunrise Sunset” which I wrote when I was seven. I still have the handwritten sheet music haha.
Anna: I first started playing the trombone when I was 10. I didn’t start writing my own actual songs until I was 22.
Bridget: I started playing the saxophone when I was 11 and mostly just learned standards and other songs until I was 18 and moved to Denver. I finally found myself in a community where I could experiment with composition and arrangement. It wasn’t until Barbara started that I really fell in love with the process.
CMM: The band recently released a new record called “So This Is Living”. What was the writing and recording process like? Any particular gear and instruments you used during the recording sessions that helped inspire you? How did the sessions and overall process differ from your previous work?
Camilla: We recorded the album over the course of a year with Connor Birch at Post Haus in Denver. Many of the songs were written in the basement of the house we all used to live in together, and some were written at Camilla’s parents’ cabin in Fairplay, CO during a concentrated songwriting retreat. In the studio, we experimented with upright bass, nylon string guitar, and percussion. Those core sounds really helped shape the album. Connor’s deep knowledge of synths also gave so much character to all the songs. This process was much longer than how we’ve recorded in the past. The previous album was tracked in 3 days, but with SO THIS IS LIVING, we really took our time and allowed ideas to develop and evolve.
CMM: If the band could create a score for any film director who would it be and what would the film be about?
Everyone: Miyazaki! The film would be about two dogs and a cat. Basically Homeward Bound but Miyazaki style.
CMM: What do you have coming up next? Any new recordings or shows?
Camilla: We have a bunch of festivals coming up this summer – most of which we can’t announce just yet. We are also planning a west coast tour for the fall and are stoked to be playing Levitt Pavilion with our good friend Andy Frasco in August.
