![]() “Not For Years” takes on a classic ’60s vibe with a cool “She’s a Woman” cadence leading the charge. “Everybody’s a Rock Star Tonight” is an anthemic pop-rocker which takes a few punches at the MP3 generation of musicians who dream of their 15 minutes of fame via the Internet. As for the rest of the album, the real Spiv chooses to stand up. If you’re up for a little Flaming Lips, then you’ll love the spacey, echo-laden “Because I’m in Love”. And then there is the acoustically-driven “Seedy Release”, which is a real beauty, but without question is White Album-era Paul McCartney. II-period XTC complete with Andy Partridge-styled vocals. For instance, as infectious as “Beatley” is, it’s a dead ringer for Jason Falkner, while “When We Woke Up” wreaks of Apple Venus Vol. Half of Don’tcha Know sounds as if Spiv had crafted these numbers in the style of his favorite artists. But the one thing that this album isn’t is original. Don’tcha Know is replete with its share catchy moments, superb pop songcraft, high energy and Spiv’s own tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. He followed this up with two EPs, Junior and Everybody’s a Rock Star Tonight which featured the production prowess of Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.).įor Spiv’s latest effort Don’tcha Know, he again teams up with Stringfellow who not only produces, but plays on the record as well. ![]() Spiv’s debut album By Definition was released in October of 1999 and received national airplay. Spiv traded in his decidedly punk-rock past for a more melody-based pop path which resulted in deal with Pop Sweatshop in 1999. With the name change came a change in musical direction as well. ![]() As legend has it, he grabbed an unabridged Webster’s dictionary, closed his eyes and dropped his finger on a page which landed on the word, “spiv”, which translated means “one who lives by his wits”. After releasing two records with his band Riddlehouse (the second which featured Cream drummer Ginger Baker and son Kofi), Barber decided it was time for a change. Barber, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, played in a variety of punk-rock outfits and continued to do so into the early ’90s while attending Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where he played along side the likes of Nirvana and Bikini Kill. It’s just not quite as effective.Īpparently, Chris Barber saw the writing on the wall and decided upon a name/image change of his own. ![]() And how freaky and over-the-top sounding would Marilyn Manson be if Marilyn choose to go by his given name of Brian Warner. and the Stooges, or Frank Castelluccio and the Four Seasons. Imagine buying hit records by artists like Reginald Dwight (Elton John), Annie Mae Bullock (Tina Turner), Eileen Edwards (Shania Twain), Patricia Andrejewski (Pat Benatar), Steveland Morris (Stevie Wonder), or jammin’ to the likes of Sylvester Stewart and the Family Stone, Rufus featuring Yvette Marie Stevens, Hugh Cregg and the News, James Osterberg, Jr. In others, the change was probably not a bad idea after all. In most instances, artists will leave well enough alone and go with the name given to them by mom and dad. It has never been uncommon in popular music that an artist may choose to change from their uncool, unhip given name to one that is more representative of who they are personally, or the alter-ego they wish to portray professionally.
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