Its been a while since we've had an interview up on the blog; frankly I think it's mostly my fault because I started going after people that were still in very active bands, so getting interviews with them was amazing it also meant that it'd take longer cause these guys are still touring and recording and stuff.
One of the guys that I reached out to was Keith Barney, another of my idols cause his work and huge contribution to the band Eighteen Visions (I don't need to go into what they mean to me again I don't think).
To get to interview him was awesome, though not currently in any real music-related projects, Keith now works full-time as a graphic artist and has even just started out his own business (more about that in the interview). One thing I want to say about this interview is seriously how nice Keith was, he apologized for it taking a while (which was by no means necessary) and then let me know that he had put a lot of effort and thought into the interview; and when you read it you'll see, like I did, that this is so true. As always with interviews, I've added nor have I taken away anything, I like to keep these pieces authentic and I think it even gives us an insight into them personally. Plus I do want to add that even though I have interviewed so many people and have enjoyed EVERY one, this one could be my favourite terms of actual interview format; Keith put a lot of effort into making this look and sound and feel like a proper interview.
Though being best known for having been a member of Eighteen Visions, Keith has also been a member of pretty much every other hardcore band that was worthy of salt back in the mid to late 90s, and with this becoming somewhat of a legend in the hardcore scene. After Eighteen Visions called it quits in 2007 Keith started up a few bands more in the vein of old hardcore, working with fellow 18V member Trevor Friedrich in the almost industrial band N3V3R 3NOUGH and political hardcore group Monument Of Thieves.
Though even now, there may never have been someone that holds the accomplishments in hardcore quite like the one's Keith has; he has commanded so much respect in the scene and not just as "Heavy K" the guitarist, but also the original singer for Throwdown. Keith Barney is a name that if you know anything about hardcore, you'll know and if your just getting into hardcore/metalcore and you want to start some place, start with Heavy K!
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I'm a huge fan of your music work through the years, the fact that you became somewhat of a legend in the hardcore scene during the late 90's/early 00's is awesome and the amount of bands you participated in is again super impressive!
I'm also a big fan of graphic art, and your graphic work is again super awesome, no two items are alike, each one is unique and one in its own.
Questions;
Having become a legend in the hardcore scene due to your involvement in so many of the most important bands in the scene, at what point did you begin liking hardcore music? Was it always the route you wanted to go down musically?
I got into Hardcore and Straight Edge during my freshman year of high school. A few kids on my baseball team were giving me tapes. One tape had Earth Crisis - All Out War 7", Snapcase - Comatose 7", Chorus - "Full Circle Stop" and a few others. The other tape was some local Christian hardcore stuff like Unashamed and Bloodshed. At that time a lot of shows were at local churches and that helped me convince my parents to let me go. Before I got into hardcore I was naturally drifting toward heavier stuff. I loved Metallica's Black album, Def Leppard, Led Zepplin (my fav band ever as a young kid), Nirvana, Black Flag etc. So, when I heard hardcore it was obviously way more aggressive but it was kind of a natural step. A huge part of why I fell in love with hardcore was the message and lyrics. The music was heavy and awesome but the lyrics sealed the deal. I was so excited that other kids roughly my age were writing about the world around them and trying to say something real. They sounded so passionate and I really gravitated toward that. It was something more relatable to me than all the other music i was listening to which usually consisted of songs about girls, drugs, etc. These bands were talking about politics, poverty, every daystruggles and the like.
During your musical career you have recorded a number of albums with a host of different bands, which one(s) are the closest to what you feel is your own personal ideal sound?
They're all very personal for me but I have fond memories around:
Throwdown - Beyond Repair
This record really captured the raw, simple, heaviness that we were known for. Lyrically it was the first forum that I got to say everything I wanted to say in a plain and simple way. The whole goal of that album was to connect with other hardcore kids whether they were listening or at the show and participating. It was all about dancing, singing along and all that good shit.
Eighteen Visions - Vanity
I had played guitar longer than I even knew what hardcore was and on this album I felt it was the first time I got to stretch my boundaries with writing and express all my musical creativity (as a guitar player). My favorite part of Eighteen Visions was that everything goes. We always knew we wanted to be heavy, but we always wanted to be creative and explore different sounds and styles. It was sometimes hard for people to keep up with us cause we were always trying new shit, but for the band is was a lot of fuckin fun and continuously drove us forward.
Eighteen Visions - S/T
This basically crystalized everything I ever wanted to do as a guitar player. It was also the height of any production I had ever been involved with. This record will stand the test of time for me. The songs were extremely calculated and sonically it was exactly what we sounded like in my head. I got REALLY into recording and productions stuff. That's always the trick. In your head you want to sound a certain way and the struggle of recording is to make that a reality. We nailed it with that one.
In the same vein, which songs that you’ve written are you most proud of?
Throwdown - Raise Your Fist
I had written SXE songs before this one but I was continually trying to find ways to connect with more people and get them excited about things I was passionate about. Whether you were sxe or just drug free and didn't like labels this song opened the door to more kids while still getting across the message I cared about. Raising your fist was a physical symbol of this belief and when we played it live it was fuckin crazy.
Throwdown - Unite
Simple and to the point hardcore. Heavy, fast, heavy, Sing along, done.
Adamantium - Virus
This was one of the first times i felt like i bridged the gap of heavy and melodic. It was the song that all our friends thought was cool at the time and that always meant a lot to me. The main melodic riff in the song was something I had in my head for a long time before it finally poured out into that song.
Eighteen Visions - Prelude to an Epic
I was always into instrumental tracks. Lyrics can tell a story or explain an issue or whatever, but pure music with no vocals just becomes raw emotion. There isn't anything too technical about the song but every time we played it, it was like pure emotion coming straight out of my heart.
Eighteen Visions - Pretty Suicide
I loved to write really heavy hard rock riffs. When we played this song live I felt like I turned into a different person. It therapeutically helped me release so much fuckin aggression. It really set me off and was so fun. Took me to a different place for like 4 minutes. I also did screaming on this one so live I just lost my mind.
Though having been in many different bands during your musical career, you’re probably most famous for being the guitarist for Eighteen Visions. You didn’t officially join until the recording of ‘Until The Ink Runs Out’, however you had been close and even contributed during the ‘No Time For Love’ EP. What did you see in the band during these early days and what made you ultimately join them?
I had been following Eighteen Visions from their earliest days and we had already been friends for a long time. I always respected what they were trying to do musically. They always wanted to be a little outside of the box while staying true to who they were. They got a lot of drama shit from a lot of hardcore kids for being different and I loved how they didn't give a fuck. I totally related to it. No matter what anyone said, they just said fuck off and did their own thing. That drama never went away and we dealt with it until our last days. I had always respected them and they always respected me. After I quit Adamantium I joined 18v within like 2 months maybe. It was super fast and mutual.
Earlier in the Summer I was actually lucky enough to get an interview with James Hart and he mentioned that recently you two had actually worked together on a “heavy” track. Can you give us any details on this? Will it ever see the light of day?
Ya we did. I actually wrote 5 songs and the James and I recorded the vocals for 1 of them. It came out awesome. It really kinda sound like of you took every record we made and threw it in a blender. I have no idea what will happen with the song (or the others) but it felt good to make it.
After 18V had disbanded in early 2007 you formed Monument Of Thieves, which were a very politically driven band. Was this an avenue that you had always wanted to explore musically?
Yes. The band basically started the same week the economy crashed. I had always been interested in the world and what was going on but it had really hit a peak at this time. Around this time I had read the book Confessions of an Economic Hitman and it blew me away. I've always loved political bands like Downcast, Struggle, Rage Against the Machine, Earth Crisis, etc. and I always wanted to do something like Monument. It was the perfect opportunity cause everyone involved was totally open to letting me completely speak my mind and I felt like I was old enough to comprehend what was happening and say it in a meaningful way.
Back in the day it was common for bands to share members, with many guys being in two, sometimes three bands at the one time. It made the entire scene feel like a family, which is clearly still a bond that many of you guys hold; is this step of member-sharing something that’s overlooked in today’s hardcore scene?
This is just something that happened. We were a big group of kids that just plain loved music and we literally couldn't get enough. When you're in a band you get this really special bond between friends. Personally I just wanted to form as many bonds as possible and enjoy being creative together. I found myself in Throwdown, Adamantium and Death By Stereo all at the same time but it was this totally natural progression. They didn't all start at the same time. I just couldn't get enough. I lived for band practice and shows.
As well as your accomplishments in music, you’re also a very talented graphic artist. Has this always been an interest of yours?
Yes definitely. There are a few things that took me down this path I think. I'm a huge geek about a lot of things and the things I find interesting I obsess over. One of my biggest obsessions is movies. I can watch a new movie everyday of my life. It's usually how I end my day to help get my mind off everything and just zone out. Also, early on in hardcore I made a zine. My dad has always been a really great photographer and I picked up on some of that. So i was always taking pictures at shows and putting them in my zines. My zine was called Endless Tradition and it's basically Graphic Design before I even know what that was. As a kid I was constantly drawing and creating things.
The first time I ever recorded anything was with Adamantium and at Paul Minor's house I saw him use Photoshop making the cover for the record. It totally blew my mind and I thought he was doing magic or something. From there I started to notice design in everything especially tshirt and album designs. So I got a copy of photoshop and lost a shitload of sleep haha.
(Hatebreed poster designed by Keith)
Lastly, with your experience in music, and now your work as a graphic artist, are there any bands that you’d like to work with on artistic projects?
To be honest, I've gotten that out of my system now. I don't feel the need to work with specific people, bands, artists, etc. I just want to create my own things. I have a need to express myself and have it someway be shareable. At the moment I'm not doing much musically and very focused on Design. I was playing in a band with some friends from South Orange County but I told them I had to stop. Like I said i get kind of obsessive. (Notice the 18v record "Obsession") Not like dangerous obsessive haha but more like productive obsessive. I believe that in order to anything great you have to totally shut out the noise and focus your energy. I've gone weeks without seeing friends because I'm working toward a goal. I hate noise and distractions. When it's time to get things done I'm really good at turning off the world.
So as of 2 months ago I've started my own business with 2 friends (also SXE hardcore dudes) called "The Core". We are just getting off the ground and currently working on 3 web products. My wife is in Hygiene school and I'm the only one currently making money for us so I'm really trying to make it count.
With that said, I will def be back with music at some point. It may be very introverted and local but loving music and especially hardcore will never go away.
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So yeah, I feel super professional now haha, all thanks to Keith taking so much time to do this, its so appreciated and I absolutely loved doing it. Like I've said so many times, Eighteen Visions changed me and to not only get to tell 4/5 members what their music has meant to me but also get to interview them (though not an interview, I was lucky enough to have a small email conversation with Mick last Christmas time) it's literally a dream come true.
Hope y'all enjoyed it, and as always, if you have any suggestions for future interviews, hit me up either in the comments or the Facebook page (which has a lot more updates and news than this tbh).
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