Barry has been playing in bands through out the Washington,
D.C. area since he was 15. During the 1970s while a member of
various rock and blues bands he played the college bar and concert
circuit through out the entire Washington metropolitan area. He paid
his early musical dues in bands by often sharing the bill with then
unknowns Emmylou Harris, legendary guitarists Danny Gatton & Roy
Buchanan, The Nighthawks, Bill & Taffy Danoff (later to form
the Starland Vocal Band), and Nils Lofgren (of the Bruce Springsteen
band). His acoustic guitar playing was featured in The Fast Flying
Vestibule Band (a traditional old time music band later to become the
Irish group Celtic Thunder) and he has performed twice at The Old
Time Fiddler’s Convention held in Union Grove, North Carolina.
After
relocating to pursue academic studies in New Jersey in the 1980s he
played with several rock and “hard core country” groups, and later
became a member of country artist Willie Samples’ touring band;
sometimes sharing the bill with Don Williams, Eddie Rabbit, Jack
Greene, Jennie Seeley, and Red Sovine.
Prior to joining Allegheny Uprising Barry played bass guitar
and acoustic guitar as a member of singer-songwriter Steve Warner’s
Rolling Coyotes Band.
Equally at home playing the guitar or bass, Barry is presently
playing a new C.F. Martin acoustic-electric bass guitar with
Allegheny Uprising which is a departure from the vintage instruments
that he usually performs on. Other instruments that he may bring to
the stage often include a 30-year-old C.F. Martin D35 acoustic
guitar, a pair of vintage Fender Precision & Jazz basses, and a 48-year-old Fender Telecaster guitar.
When not playing music you will often find Barry out and about
in his pickup truck tending his collection of beehives found through
out the Jefferson County countryside. A well-known West Virginia
Beekeeper, Barry is the owner of the Harpers Ferry Honey Farm and
wholesales natural honey to stores through out the state. Barry’s
other “don’t quit your day job” finds him working for The Home Depot,
where he is employed as a “Millwork Specialist.”
