How does a band remain relevant after not touring on the East Coast for four years? Or becoming DIY again after cutting ties with a major label? Or having a three year gap between record releases? Barcelona can answer all three. Singer Brian Fennell and drummer Rhett Stonelake met in college. Brian was working on a solo project before the two decided to form the band in 2005. After releasing their first record completely DIY in 2007, the band spent time touring. They signed to Universal Motown records soon after. The partnership was fairly short lived, which the guys say was a blessing in disguise. “Personally, the whole ‘biz’ side kind of bums me out,” Brian says. “We aren’t a band who needs a lot of ‘biz’ attention and we got really wrapped up in that for a while.” The guys say the transition back to DIY wasn’t easy for them. Currently they are both managing the band themselves. Producing music, writing, touring, social media — you name it, these guys are doing it on their own. For Barcelona, being DIY again is about rebuilding. “There’s a lot that’s awesome about DIY, but you really have to build that team up again,” Brian says. “I think today’s artists have to be so multi-talented, you have to be your own hype man and manage your own social networks on top of everything else,” Rhett says. The guys have had their share of road blocks upon their DIY return. They began writing their latest record, Not Quite Yours, in 2010 but it took them over a year to record and release it. “It took so long to do the record that these songs are like three and four years old to us,” Brian says. “And people are just hearing them now.” Needless to say, the band is ready and excited for their new music, but they have a positive outlook on the supposed mistakes they made leading to the record’s late release. “I don’t think it’s possible to call those mistakes,” Brian says. “Because you didn’t know. You learn, you grow and you continue to make the music that you love.” In a culture of over saturation and a constant need for updates and new music, taking two years to write and record an album could possibly end a musician’s career. Barcelona don’t see their hiatus this way. Brian says they maintain their social networking sites personally, by providing videos and updates to fans. The guys say their past touring habits have helped as well, considering their CMJ show is their first on the East Coast in about four years. “I think we toured so much after our first record that all that effort that we put out still lasts from the first record,” Brian says. “The fans have been very patient with us.” Now, the guys are already getting busy writing and demoing their new record, and this time, they boast a new sound. They describe it as slightly more minimalistic and melodic. “It’s sexier.” Rhett says, laughing. They’ll be recording come January, and their ultimate goal is to get this music to the public a lot faster and continue to continue tour. So why, of all the hundreds of CMJ artists should you stop and listen to Barcelona? For starters, these guys began at this festival. Brian says it was one of their first shows. “It’s kind of funny being back in New York at the same festival where we were in the beginning, it feels the same,” he says. Despite difficulties, the guys are proud of their work as a DIY band. Barcelona’s latest record was recorded mostly with a live, full band. It’s not polished. It’s not perfect. It’s real. You can’t get much better than that. “We are who we are,” Rhett says. “And at the end of the day, I think that means something.”
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