Interview

From a career standpoint, Stephen Barncard's work over the past thirty years in various fields of the entertainment industry reads like an extensive and impressive resume of his talent and ingenuity: Disk Jockey, Record Engineer/Producer, Director of Talent Acquisition, Director of Special Effects Electronics (for New World Pictures), Hardware and Software Consultant, Remote Recording Director, Senior Engineer (A&M Studios)... A credible list if there ever was one.

He's worked in the studio with such rock luminaries as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (and many permutations thereof), The Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, and Jefferson Airplane, as well as The Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Tubes.

When David Crosby was asked for his angle on Barncard, he gave me this assessment: "Stephen Barncard is one of the best and (oddly) least known of the really great producer/engineers... He and I made what is still my favorite record of all my solo stuff ever... Probably the best recordist of acoustic guitar in the world... and a good guy."

Approximately ten weeks after arriving in California from Kansas City (where he worked in radio as a DJ and as a local studio owner/producer/engineer), Barncard was installed at Wally Heider's Studio in San Francisco in late 1969. Heider had made a name for himself as a live “remote” engineering whiz, capturing on tape many stellar jazz performances, (including Wes Montgomery's “Full House”, in 1962) before starting his own studio. After two weeks of familiarizing himself with that studio, Barncard was given the task of assisting Bill Halverson on the engineering end of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Barncard lived on Zuccini for weeks... first album as a foursome, “Deja Vu” (1970), a record of such influence that to this day still makes an impressive showing on every relevant writer's list of the “100 Greatest Rock Recordings” of all time.

For Stephen Barncard, it was just the beginning of a long, fruitful, busy career that continues to grow. Yet “Deja Vu” was only the first in a string of hugely influential recordings that he was to have a hand in getting on tape. Unsurprisingly, he branched out quickly: during this same time frame he began working with Creedence Clearwater Revival in the afternoons, with CSN&Y reserved for the evening sessions. Before long, instead of assisting, he was engineering his own sessions, including Van Morrison (1971's “Tupelo Honey”), Seals & Crofts and Steve Miller. Barncard explains:

“My big advantage at (Wally) Heider's is that I came in to be an assistant, but they knew full well that I had previous experience in recording. I had developed techniques of my own by rote, and polished them on my own sessions. I picked up a few tricks by backing Bill Halverson and Glyn Johns, but unlike many in the business, I did not have a firm set of rules that I adopted by following a strong studio owner or top mixer. I became the top mixer at Heider's in less than a year... The top guy quit and then I was the 'heavy', as Wally would put it. But Wally set no conditions for me... except to make the clients happy.”

There were still other recordings to come that were made notable with his aplomb. Later in 1970, the Grateful Dead were looking to “reinvent” their studio sound, and with Barncard's growing expertise, recorded what many consider to be their most coherent, concise, and consistent recording, “American Beauty” (1970). Meanwhile, David Crosby had decided to embark on his first “solo” effort (with much help from many friends), once again enlisting Barncard's services as engineer. Crosby was in top form artistically, and the resulting album, 1971's “If I Could Only Remember My Name” became what many audiophiles consider to be a model of recorded studio sound for its time, existing in the same sonic league with the landmark Santana album, “Abraxas” (1970) which, coincidentally, was also recorded at Wally Heider's.

For anyone in the business of recording music, this flurry of considerable activity makes for an impressive list of experience. With three of the most important and influential records in this (or any) period of rock's history under his proverbial belt, Stephen Barncard just kept going. He later worked on projects for Art Garfunkel, Crosby-Nash (including their 1975 stunner, “Wind On The Water”), David Bromberg, and a multitude of other artists. Then, in 1978, he branched out further: as head of A&R for Elektra/Asylum Records, and in the early eighties, into both the film and video game industries.

His place of career residence from 1986 to 1998 was at A&M Studios as Senior Engineer, which expanded his involvement in another long stream of projects. In 1997, with his connection to David Crosby and Graham Nash going on it's twenty-eighth year, Stephen produced (and with Nash, mixed) the much anticipated 1971 Crosby-Nash archive recording, “Another Stoney Evening”. After leaving A&M in 1998, he returned again to independent production. I asked Stephen what his take was on his own career, and what he has to offer now as a producer in the new millennium:

“I can bring to the table over 30 years of music business experience and knowledge to a music project... and bring it in on budget. I have the feeling for what's right in a project, and what's going to hurt it. I believe in the sanctity of the relationship between the songwriter and the song - they are intertwined in a myriad of ways,
and it's the job of the producer to wind his way through that relationship to find the 'essence of the song' and present it in an enjoyable way. It's a delicate balance of songs, musicians, settings, time and money. Above all, keep the songwriter/artist happy and in the (production) loop, and one will get great performances.

I also believe in the organic creation of music in 'real time'... live in the studio. I prefer interaction between the songwriter and a hand-picked backing band, and keeping the overdubs to a minimum. This also has the wonderful benefit of being quite a bit cheaper in the long run, and this technique works almost 95% of the time, if the songs are solid.”

A choice word for those in the recording business: solid. Musicians as well as “producers” need to build a strong, solid career based on honest expression and artistic advancement if they are to maintain any relevance and longevity. An artist or band seeking a producer needs someone with a solid foundation of both understanding and experience. Solid thus brings to mind strength: the ability to endure difficult times, circumstances, and the problems that are inherent in any art form or industry, while applying one's knowledge and know how appropriately to achieve the desired result. A producer with a career packed solid with all of these attributes? Stephen Barncard.

Randy
NIGHTFLY62@aol.com

Randy is a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist as well as a self-studied musicologist and freelance website contributor. He lives Northern New Jersey.

Copyright ©1999 by Lark Publishing (Randy). All rights reserved.



	Career Overview Of A Top Flight Producer (1969 - Present) by RANDY (NIGHTFLY62@aol.com) From a career standpoint, Stephen Barncard's work over the past thirty years in various fields of the entertainment industry reads like an extensive and impressive resume of his talent and ingenuity: Disk Jockey, Record Engineer/Producer, Director of Talent Acquisition, Director of Special Effects Electronics (for New World Pictures), Hardware and Software Consultant, Remote Recording Director, Senior Engineer (A&M Studios)... A credible list if there ever was one. He's worked in the studio with such rock luminaries as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (and many permutations thereof), The Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, and Jefferson Airplane, as well as The Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Tubes. When David Crosby was asked for his angle on Barncard, he gave me this assessment: "Stephen Barncard is one of the best and (oddly) least known of the really great producer/engineers... He and I made what is still my favorite record of all my solo stuff ever... Probably the best recordist of acoustic guitar in the world... and a good guy." Approximately ten weeks after arriving in California from Kansas City (where he worked in radio as a DJ and as a local studio owner/producer/engineer), Barncard was installed at Wally Heider's Studio in San Francisco in late 1969. Heider had made a name for himself as a live “remote” engineering whiz, capturing on tape many stellar jazz performances, (including Wes Montgomery's “Full House”, in 1962) before starting his own studio. After two weeks of familiarizing himself with that studio, Barncard was given the task of assisting Bill Halverson on the engineering end of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's first album as a foursome, “Deja Vu” (1970), a record of such influence that to this day still makes an impressive showing on every relevant writer's list of the “100 Greatest Rock Recordings” of all time. For Stephen Barncard, it was just the beginning of a long, fruitful, busy career that continues to grow. Yet “Deja Vu” was only the first in a string of hugely influential recordings that he was to have a hand in getting on tape. Unsurprisingly, he branched out quickly: during this same time frame he began working with Creedence Clearwater Revival in the afternoons, with CSN&Y reserved for the evening sessions. Before long, instead of assisting, he was engineering his own sessions, including Van Morrison (1971's “Tupelo Honey”), Seals & Crofts and Steve Miller. Barncard explains: “My big advantage at (Wally) Heider's is that I came in to be an assistant, but they knew full well that I had previous experience in recording. I had developed techniques of my own by rote, and polished them on my own sessions. I picked up a few tricks by backing Bill Halverson and Glyn Johns, but unlike many in the business, I did not have a firm set of rules that I adopted by following a strong studio owner or top mixer. I became the top mixer at Heider's in less than a year... The top guy quit and then I was the 'heavy', as Wally would put it. But Wally set no conditions for me... except to make the clients happy.” There were still other recordings to come that were made notable with his aplomb. Later in 1970, the Grateful Dead were looking to “reinvent” their studio sound, and with Barncard's growing expertise, recorded what many consider to be their most coherent, concise, and consistent recording, “American Beauty” (1970). Meanwhile, David Crosby had decided to embark on his first “solo” effort (with much help from many friends), once again enlisting Barncard's services as engineer. Crosby was in top form artistically, and the resulting album, 1971's “If I Could Only Remember My Name” became what many audiophiles consider to be a model of recorded studio sound for its time, existing in the same sonic league with the landmark Santana album, “Abraxas” (1970) which, coincidentally, was also recorded at Wally Heider's. For anyone in the business of recording music, this flurry of considerable activity makes for an impressive list of experience. With three of the most important and influential records in this (or any) period of rock's history under his proverbial belt, Stephen Barncard just kept going. He later worked on projects for Art Garfunkel, Crosby-Nash (including their 1975 stunner, “Wind On The Water”), David Bromberg, and a multitude of other artists. Then, in 1978, he branched out further: as head of A&R for Elektra/Asylum Records, and in the early eighties, into both the film and video game industries. His place of career residence from 1986 to 1998 was at A&M Studios as Senior Engineer, which expanded his involvement in another long stream of projects. In 1997, with his connection to David Crosby and Graham Nash going on it's twenty-eighth year, Stephen produced (and with Nash, mixed) the much anticipated 1971 Crosby-Nash archive recording, “Another Stoney Evening”. After leaving A&M in 1998, he returned again to independent production. I asked Stephen what his take was on his own career, and what he has to offer now as a producer in the new millennium: “I can bring to the table over 30 years of music business experience and knowledge to a music project... and bring it in on budget. I have the feeling for what's right in a project, and what's going to hurt it. I believe in the sanctity of the relationship between the songwriter and the song - they are intertwined in a myriad of ways, and it's the job of the producer to wind his way through that relationship to find the 'essence of the song' and present it in an enjoyable way. It's a delicate balance of songs, musicians, settings, time and money. Above all, keep the songwriter/artist happy and in the (production) loop, and one will get great performances. I also believe in the organic creation of music in 'real time'... live in the studio. I prefer interaction between the songwriter and a hand-picked backing band, and keeping the overdubs to a minimum. This also has the wonderful benefit of being quite a bit cheaper in the long run, and this technique works almost 95% of the time, if the songs are solid.” A choice word for those in the recording business: solid. Musicians as well as “producers” need to build a strong, solid career based on honest expression and artistic advancement if they are to maintain any relevance and longevity. An artist or band seeking a producer needs someone with a solid foundation of both understanding and experience. Solid thus brings to mind strength: the ability to endure difficult times, circumstances, and the problems that are inherent in any art form or industry, while applying one's knowledge and know how appropriately to achieve the desired result. A producer with a career packed solid with all of these attributes? Stephen Barncard. Randy NIGHTFLY62@aol.com Randy is a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist as well as a self-studied musicologist and freelance website contributor. He lives Northern New Jersey. Copyright ©1999 by Lark Publishing (Randy). All rights reserved.