For those of you who are familiar with the dirt-ridden underbelly of American rock and roll, you will no doubt have flirted with the music of raucous soul-screamer Barrence Whitfield, and his very ‘savage’ league of merry men.
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages rose from seemingly nowhere in 1984 with their self-titled debut LP. These rockers were not amateurs, however. Barrence had been playing for years in local rock and roll bands, only to be discovered by none other than Peter Greensberg who at the time was playing for The Lyres. These two powerhouse performers, along with other previous members of The Lyres, joined forces and enjoyed years of making music—all the while achieving masses of critical acclaim for their wild stage shows—before going their separate ways but a few years after the release their debut record.
After a long and lonely twenty or so years, Barrence Whitfield and The Savages have finally had a long-awaited reunion, and will be hitting Australian shores for Bluesfest and Cherry Rock, as well as playing a slew of shows around the local club scene. Ella Jackson caught up with Barrence after he landed in Melbourne to talk music, his band’s reunion, Ding Dong Lounge and Cherry Rock011.
On the reunion, Barrence explains that the idea came about when Ace Records in the UK reissued their debut LP Barrence Whitfield & The Savages. Guitarist Peter Greenberg remastered the record, and when he and Barrence got together to do this, the nostalgia got to them in full force, making a reunion seem inevitable.
“Something just struck both of us at the same time, like, we should do this again … we need to reintroduce rock and roll to the people who have the headsets on their iPhones in and aren’t doing anything … it’s time for them to take [their headsets] out and get back into rock and roll.”
The new album that he and The Savages are working on is due out next month. As Barrence prattles on about the new record, it’s obvious that he is extremely proud of it. Fittingly titled Savage Kings, it was recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Home of the great King Records,” Barrence adds, with a more than a glimmer of excitement in his voice.
As Barrence smashes through his set at Cherry Rock, Bluesfest and his exclusive club show at Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne this Friday, he won’t be playing any of his new tunes; rather reintroducing his fans to his old ones, he explains. Being contracted to play only the Big Day Out shows when he was here in 2009 touring with the RockWiz musicians, Barrence didn’t get the chance to play any smaller club venues. Just seeing him perform in that sort of environment will kind of be like seeing him for the first time, he asserts. “It’ll be an introduction of Barrence Whitfield to Australia.”
While Barrence was unable to play any sideshows in 2009, that certainly didn’t stop him from getting out and seeing a lot of the venues, as well as seeing a bit of the country on the side. He may never have played at the iconic Cherry Bar, but Barrence is certainly no stranger to it, having hung out there on previous visits to Melbourne. He gives it his stamp of approval, stating:
“[I]t’s a cool venue. Last time I was here I met some very beautiful women that were dancing on the dance floor like nothing I’ve seen in many, many years.”
But like a lot of other visiting rock stars, the coolest thing, he says; is that “it’s on AC/DC Lane”.
Barrence isn’t too familiar, he confesses, with the musicians and bands he’ll be playing alongside at Cherry Rock, but he’s looking forward to sampling what bands Australia has to offer. Being a fan of other Australian acts such as The Easybeats, Hoodoo Gurus, The Saints and Radio Birdman, he knows that the Australian music scene is not one it would be wise to underestimate.
As well as looking forward to getting to know some great Australian bands, Barrence is also looking forward to playing gigs in new venues. In his long career in the music industry, he has seen it all, and is interested to see if there’s anything else to see.
“I’ve played in some of the seediest places in America that I wouldn’t even take my mother to … If I took you on a date there, you’d probably run in the opposite direction.”
Having been in Melbourne for over a week now, Barrence has been re-accustoming himself to the nightlife, playing DJ sets and gigs around the traps, as well as soaking up some of the local bands. One gig in particular that he was looking forward to checking out was Los Lobos at the Prince Bandroom, which it was later determined that he would be DJing for. [Indeed music fans, we’ve just heard a rumour he may join them on stage – no promises, it’s just a rumour].
Whitfield’s DJ sets promise to be eclectic to say the least. His personal vinyl collection is a melting pot of all kinds of genres and artists, ranging from his heroes Otis Redding, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Sam Cook, to artists he listened to growing up, such as Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and Funkadelic; to more recent acts such as The Black Keys and The Jim Jones Revue. While Barrence loves music in any format, he just can’t resist listening to vinyl. “A friend of mine calls it ‘black meat’,” he says with a chuckle.
Despite his fetish for vinyl, a friend of Barrence’s had no luck whatsoever converting him to Lady Gaga fandom by tying him to a chair and having him listen to one of her records, in what sounds like something that would be too extreme for the prisoners of Guantanamo Bay.
“Someone one night tied me to a chair and forcedly made me listen to Lady Gaga, and I was saying ‘No! No! Not again! Please, no!’,” but uh, I did end up listening to one of her records. I’m glad I got that out of my system.”
As Whitfield prepares to hit the stage at Ding Dong Lounge this Good Friday 22nd April with special guests Fireballs and The Level Spirits, not to mention playing one of the headline spots at CherryRock011 on Sunday 1st May after he gets back from Bluesfest; one thing is for sure. No rock n’ roll fans coming to his shows in Melbourne will be hearing any Lady Gaga songs before, during and after his shows. Guaranteed.
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages play Ding Dong Lounge this Friday 22 April with special guests Fireballs and The Level Spirits. Tix from www.dingdong.oztix.com.au
He also joins the headliners at CherryRock011 in AC/DC Lane in Melbourne on Sunday 1st May – last remaining tickets from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=19927
