Barbarian Horde

It all started in late 2001 with a quartet of disgruntled music students fresh out their practice room realities at NYU and the Eastman School of Music. Tony Barba, tenor saxophonist and songwriter, had the brave idea of putting a quartet together which had the goal of stressing the fun and audacity of live performance over the attitude of introspection and self-involvement which was given to him along with his Jazz Performance degree. So the close knit group of friends and musicians, which included an instrumentation of trumpet, saxophone, electric bass, drums, vocals, beatbox, and the occasional melodica, set off on their agenda to bring the joy back into contemporary jazz music. The early version of the band named itself the Barbarians, at once a groan inducing pun on Barba’s last name, but also an accurate description of the bands general attitude. The formative years saw some rowdy shows at such NYC haunts as the Knitting Factory, Tonic, and the now defunct C-Note. With signature dance moves, silly vocal taunts from the bass player Rob Jost, appearances in all kinds of different outfits (including drag, sweat suits, tweed blazers and pocket protectors, black suits, and even a nod to Chevy Chase in the “Fletch” movie legacy), the guys forged ahead in some new directions that “modern jazz” performance could have never dreamed of.
The first recordings came quickly in a two year period of time, surfacing in late 2001 and late 2003. “A Fine Time,” the Barbarians first attempt, was recorded in the Ishlab music studio located in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. This album exclusively featured the songwriting of Barba, which at the time was heavily influenced by a 50/50 mix of John Zorn and Sly and the Family Stone. The band was exploring elements of pop and funk music, but still had a heavy leaning toward progressive and free jazz, with tricky rhythms and esoteric improvising abounding. While the audiences at the Barbarians’ live shows loved the band’s on-stage exuberance (especially exemplified by trumpeter Eric Biondo’s beat boxing, dancing, and occasional stripping), they were still a bit alienated by the complicated harmonies and jagged rhythms, which were not altogether danceable or catchy. This led to a complete overhaul in the band’s repertoire, with new songwriting coming from all members (including drummer Brook Martinez’s Latin influenced numbers “Hot Tamale” and “La Fiesta”) that focused on these elements that were lacking. The band even started to experiment with cover songs such as “Maneater” by Hall and Oates, Heart’s ‘Barracuda,” and Loverboy’s “Working For the Weekend.”
With these new forays into pop’s chewy center, the Barbarians went back into the studio Super Bowl Sunday of 2003, recording their second self-titled album in one night at the famed Right Track studio in midtown Manhattan. With the release of the “orange” album, the band played key shows on the east coast and received critical acclaim from local NYC based critics and websites. The Barbarians continued to play shows for a couple more years in and around the five boroughs of New York, but were soon feeling like they were exhausting the sonic capabilities of a quartet without the help of harmonic instruments or percussion. After all, their goal at this point was to get people up and dancing, and that goal could not be realized without the help of some other key players. So in late 2005, Barba recruited the help of a whole gaggle of his friends and fellow musicians, expanding the band to an outfit of eleven members. Now the band was fronting a 6 piece horn section along with guitar and two percussionists. Barba decided to rename the ensemble the Barbarian Horde after some very successful shows at the Knitting Factory and Galapagos, which is located in the uber-trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. The possibilities seemed limitless.
In late 2006, the Horde finally went back into the studio to record the third Barbarians record, “Your Pleasure Is Our Business,” which features raw rock and funk tunes from Barba and Jost. The record was recorded all in one tiny room in ITS studios, which coincidentally happened to be in the same DUMBO building that “A Fine Time” was recorded in. That afternoon produced some magical moments that were captured in the new record, which was released in the beginning of 2007. Currently, the Horde is working on putting together a fall US tour, playing monster shows around the NYC area, and distributing the new goods to the masses.

The Horde is:
Eric Biondo-trumpet
Jesse Neuman-trumpet
Tony Barba-tenor sax
Zach Lucas-alto sax
Ryan Keberle-trombone
Alex Hamlin-bari sax
Mike Gamble-guitar
Rob Jost-bass
Brook Martinez-drums
Shawn Trail-congas/percussion
Robert DiPietro-percussion