Barney Bentall

September 20, 2008

with Kim Koren

"Barney Bentall's Gift Horse is reflective and pensive, a well-played and produced soft rock album influenced more by western and mountain folk traditions than overt country music influences... this is a nice, laid-back addition to your collection that will ring true and clear."

Laurie Mercer - All Music Guide (Sep 10, 2006)

barney by barneY

I first picked up a guitar when I was in grade nine. I took a few lessons from a guy named Cowboy Slim and I started walking down a long, twisty and infinitely interesting road. I listened constantly to my records and tried to learn the songs. Drop the needle and you entered a rebellious, sexually charged, funny and dangerous world. I couldn't get enough of that world. I was growing up in Calgary in the 1970s and I didn't really entertain the idea of a career in music because it didn't seem like that was an option in those days.

So I attended university for a while, played in folk clubs, started a barbwire fence building company, traveled but as time went by it became clear to me that I didn't fancy doing anything else near as much as music. When I turned 21, I moved to Vancouver. I was following a girl I'd met and pursuing my dreams of rock and roll. After 2 or 3 years I was married and we'd had our first child.

We were scraping by but I was still playing music. I had a band and we put out a couple of independent records in what was becoming an interesting scene: The Pointed Sticks, DOA, The Payolas, 54-40 and KD Lang among others. There were studios where you could record cheaply late at night and venues where you could play original music. One tried to avoid the hinterland in those days where you were likely to get your ass kicked for singing your own songs decked out in some Sally-Ann new-wave ensemble.

The scene was diverse and a bit desperate. It was also a competitive time because we were all trying to get a record deal, and it didn't seem like there were all that many to go around. It didn't have the same supportive feel that I sense in the independent scene in Vancouver today. That may be naïve, but that's my impression. Somehow, we managed to get signed to A&M records in 1980, but we were too green and got dropped from the label. We licked our wounds and kept working hard for the next 5 or 6 years, writing songs, playing live and taking our lumps. By this time I had four kids and things were a little lean...