Arthur Barrow

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Arthur Barrow (2nd from left) and Frank Zappa with band during a concert in the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, on October 25, 1980

Arthur William Barrow (born February 28, 1952 in San Antonio , Texas ) is an American rock musician . His main instrument is the electric bass , but he also plays the electric guitar , keyboard and organ . He became known in the late 1970s through his collaboration with Frank Zappa . He later worked for other well-known artists, including The Doors , Arthur Brown , Janet Jackson , Joe Cocker , the Pointer Sisters and Billy Idol .

Life

youth

Arthur Barrow grew up in Alamo Heights, a district of San Antonio, in a musical family. Both father and grandfather played the piano and organ, with Grandfather Barrow being a strict teacher. At the age of 13, Arthur Barrow had saved so much money by washing his car in the neighborhood that he was able to buy his first electric guitar and amplifier. He taught himself to play the guitar by playing pieces that he liked - first surf songs from the Ventures , later pieces by Jimi Hendrix and even later Zappa songs. His musical talent helped him play in several groups of local importance during school.

education

In 1970 Arthur Barrow began studying music. At the "North Texas State University" in Denton / Texas he took the subjects of composition and organ. While still a student, he taught himself to play the bass guitar. He also used the opportunities at the university to acquire knowledge of the modular Moog synthesizers available in the electronic music laboratory . Inevitably he came into contact with the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen , Béla Bartók , John Carter and John Coltrane at the university . "The years at music school have expanded the range of my musical awareness considerably and are still influencing my thinking today," says Barrow, looking back. In 1975 he passed his Bachelor of Music degree “cum laude” in the subjects of composition and electronic music.

First steps as a professional musician

After completing his education, Arthur Barrow moved to Los Angeles. He wanted to become a professional musician there, and he had decided to play in Frank Zappa's band. Nevertheless, in order to be able to make music at all and to stay in practice, he first had to accept all kinds of engagements. He played with top 40 bands in night clubs, at weddings, school parties and at sessions. In response to an advertisement, he applied for an audition one day and learned by chance that the former Mothers keyboard player Don Preston was also trying to get into that band. Barrows was hired. Through Preston he got to know the Fowler brothers - also former Mothers musicians - and the Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger . With the Doors he recorded the album An American Prayer , which was released in 1978. In the late 1970s he formed a jazz band called "Loose Connection" together with Don Preston and Bruce Fowler . The ensemble made some appearances in the Los Angeles area and met in Echo Park, a district of Los Angeles, to record in a recording studio. Further studio sessions were created in December 1978 in Hollywood, this time with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta . 

Engagement with Frank Zappa

Shortly before, in the summer of 1978, Arthur Barrow received a tip from a friend that Frank Zappa was looking for a new bass player. He applied for an audition date, which he got. The foreplay stretched over several days, after which Barrow was hired. Shortly after returning from the first tour with Zappa, Zappa gave him the task of “clone master” in 1979 - this is what Zappa called the musical director who had to lead the band's rehearsals during his absence. At the end of 1980, Barrow left the live band, with which he had previously been on tour five times. Nevertheless, he stayed with Zappa for a few years, leading the band rehearsals and playing guitar and keyboards in addition to the bass during the studio sessions. Arthur Barrow was involved in a total of 20 Zappa albums. 

Further career

In the early 1980s, Barrow refreshed his contacts with Robbie Krieger. With this he founded a live band called "Red Shift", which subsequently had several appearances in the Los Angeles area. Above all, he spent his time composing and recording pieces at home with sparse equipment. He recorded the album Late One Night (1982) with Captain Beefheart drummer Robert Williams, and with Robbie Krieger he recorded Versions (1983). He was also in the studio with singers Irene Cara ( What a Feelin ' , 1983) and Janet Jackson ( Dream Street , 1984) and appeared on two debut albums in 1985: on Pictures for Pleasure by the then 16-year-old guitarist and Songwriters Charlie Sexton and on Wild Child the singer and actress EG Daily . He was also involved in the recording of the music for the film The Breakfast Club . 

In January 1985, Barrow opened his "Lotek" recording studio in Mar Vista near Los Angeles. At around the same time he recorded the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder (1985) with the Human League lead singer Phil Oakey and the film music composer and music producer Giorgio Moroder . The collaboration with Moroder turned out to be fruitful. “I learned a lot from Moroder about the practice of commercial music production and about film music,” says Barrow on his homepage. Although he composed only one film score - the soundtrack to the horror comedy Beverly Hills Body Snatchers (German title: Flotte Jungs auf Zombiejagd ) - he was involved in a large number of film scores. Among other things, he contributed to the soundtracks of Scarface , Topgun , The Doors , Electric Dreams , DC Cab ( chaotic clique ), Quicksilver , The Never Ending Story ( Neverending Story ), Iron Eagle ( The Steel Eagle ), The Twilight Zone , Heavenly Bodies ( heavenly bodies ) and Waxworks II - Lost in Time ( Spaceshift ). He wrote the scores for the new dubbing of the silent films Torrent (with Greta Garbo, 1926, re-dubbed 2001), The Boob ( Tölpel , with Joan Crawford, 1926, re-dubbed 2003) and The Cameraman ( The Cameraman , with Buster Keaton, 1928, newly set to music in 2003). He was also involved in the setting of several television productions, including The Great Eclipse , Saviors of the Forest , Fast Times and Misfits of Science . 

Arthur Barrow worked for many musicians as an executive musician, author or co-author, arranger, sound engineer or producer. In addition to the aforementioned Robbie Krieger and Robert Williams, with whom he worked several times, the most famous are the British rhythm and blues singer Joe Cocker, the American rock singer Eddie Money , the former Zappa lead singer Ike Willis , the singer and Songwriter Kenny Loggins , rock singer Billy Idol, Randy California's rock band Spirit , synthesizer specialist Don Preston, the Pointer Sisters , soul and pop singer Diana Ross , keyboardist Keith Emerson , the American new wave group The Motels , the German Singer Nina Hagen and the pop band Berlin . 

Several recordings by the band From Utopia were produced in Arthur Barrow's studio in the mid-1990s. The group, in which several former Zappa musicians were gathered, played mainly Zappa songs and released a total of three albums and one DVD by 2002. Barrow was involved in all of the recordings; He was on tour with the group that later renamed itself "Banned From Utopia" in 1998, 2000 and 2014.

Discography

solo

  • In the Mood - 1985, single
  • Music for Listening - 1991
  • Eyebrow Razor - 1995
  • AB3 - 1999
  • On Time - 2003

With other musicians

  • The Doors : American Prayer - 1978
  • Robert Williams : Buy My Record - 1981 (EP)
  • Noisuf: Noisuf - 1981, not yet published
  • Robert Williams: Late One Night - 1982
  • Arthur Brown : Requiem - 1982
  • Acid Casualties: Panic Station - 1982
  • Robbie Krieger : Versions - 1983
  • Irene Cara : What a Feelin ' - 1983
  • Heavenly Bodies: Heavenly Bodies - 1984
  • Janet Jackson : Dream Street - 1984
  • Metropolis: Metropolis - 1984
  • Philip Oakey : Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder - 1985
  • EG Daily: Wild Child - 1985
  • The Motels: Shock - 1985
  • Charlie Sexton: Pictures for Pleasure - 1985
  • The Breakfast Club : The Breakfast Club - 1985
  • Joe Cocker : Joe Cocker - 1986
  • Eddie Money : Can't Hold Back - 1986
  • Ike Willis : Should'a Gone Before I Left - 1988
  • New Frontier: New Frontier - 1988
  • Kenny Loggins : Back to Avalon - 1988
  • Robbie Krieger: No Habla - 1988
  • Billy Idol : Charmed Life - 1989
  • Spirit : Chronicles (1967-1992) - 1991
  • Mona Lisa Overdrive : Mona Lisa Overdrive - 1993
  • Don Preston : Vile Foamy Ectoplasm - 1993
  • Joe Cocker: Best of Joe Cocker - 1993
  • Pointer Sisters : Only Sisters Can Do That - 1993
  • The Band From Utopia: A Tribute to the Music of Frank Zappa - Live Vol.1 & 2 - 1994
  • The Band From Utopia: The Band From Utopia - 1995
  • Neglected Orphans: Dances With Weasels - 1996
  • Robbie Krieger: Versions / Robbie Krieger - 1996
  • Robert Williams: Date With The Devil's Daughter - 1998
  • Thom Teresi: Street Smart - 1998
  • Various Artists: Eyeinhand Sampler Volume 1 - 2001
  • Zoogz Rift: Born in the Wrong Universe - 2001
  • The Band From Utopia: A Tribute to the Music of Frank Zappa - 2001
  • The Banned From Utopia: So Yuh don't like Modern Art - 2002

With Frank Zappa

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Arthur Barrow biography (as of November 7, 2006)
  2. ↑ a b Cooperation with Frank Zappa (as of November 7, 2006)
  3. ↑ Last tour with Zappa (as of June 7, 2008)
  4. ↑ The Breakfast Club (Soundtrack) (as of November 19, 2006)
  5. ↑ a b Working with other musicians (as of November 7, 2006)
  6. ↑ The Band From Utopia (as of November 19, 2006)
  7. ↑ Discography (as of November 7, 2006)
personal data
SURNAME Barrow, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barrow, Arthur William (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rock musician, bass player
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH San Antonio , Texas