Barry Bays profile picture

Barry Bays

photo © Delta Magazine 2007 Jay Adkins

About Me

- As luck would have it, Barry Bays has performed and recorded with some of the top musicians in the world. Here are a few, in no particular order: Shawn Lane, Sean Rickman, John Mohead, Kenny Brown, The Beat Daddys, Grammy Nominee Hubert Sumlin, Bobby Rush, Colin Linden, Grammy Winner Jimbo Mathus, Kristian Dambrino (Miss Mississippi 2005), Jim Dickinson, Johnny Holiday, Stan Lassiter, Jeff Sipe, Andy Timmons, Craig Erickson, Chris Nix, Billy Branch, Sam Carr, Eugene Gales, Jeff Healey, James "T. Model" Ford, Johnny Neel, Willie Foster, multi-Grammy nominee Dorothy Moore (Misty Blue), Handy Award nominee Willie King, Handy Award winner Little Dave Thompson, St. Louis Blues artist Big George Brock, Rolling Stones/John Lennon/George Harrison/Sheryl Crow saxophonist Bobby Keys, Eric Clapton/J.J. Cale/Joe Cocker drummer Jimmy Karstein, Billy Gibson, Terry "Big T." Williams, Diunna Greenleaf, Blind Mississippi Morris, Albert King Award winner Daniel "Rev. Slick" Ballinger, Chicago Blues Diva Nora Jean Bruso, Sid Herring (The Gants), Greg Ruggiero, Cary Hudson, Bostons Blues Poet/saxophonist Dick Lourie, John Horton & Mississippi Slim, Terry Harmonica Bean, and the Bluff City Backsliders.Guitar Player Magazine (January 2004) featured a lengthy interview with Barry and Swede bassist Jonas Hellborg detailing their personal and musical relationships with the late keyboard/guitar virtuoso Shawn Lane. Barry also appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of Delta Magazine and the March/June 2004 special double issue of Living Blues Magazine entitled Mississippi Blues Today!Barry, along with P. Renee Foster, contributed to Dr. Stephen A. Kings book Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control. Since its publication, professors at recognized Research I institutions, including the University of North Carolina and Yale University, have used the book in their undergraduate and graduate courses. In addition, a number of University libraries across the country have added the book to their respective collections. The book has received highly favorable reviews from noted ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman and the 2003 Reggae Festival Guide.Barry is the Director of Ensembles at Delta State University’s Delta Music Institute in Cleveland, Mississippi, and has been the guitar & bass instructor in DSU’s Music Department since 1988.For more information please visit http://www.barrybays.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/19/2005
Band Website: barrybays.com
Influences: This is what's on my iPod at the moment: J.S. Bach, Shawn Lane, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Toy Matinee, Kevin Gilbert, Jeff Sipe, Sean Rickman, The Band, Oteil Burbridge, Jaco Pastorius, Eva Cassidy, Blue Mother Tupelo, Les Claypool, Primus, Owsley, Kai Eckhardt, Regina Spektor, Mindy Smith, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Seal, Lauryn Hill, The Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Living Colour, Todd Rundgren, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, The Doors, Jim Morrison, Van Morrison, John Mayer Trio, Ryan Adams, Bryan Adams, Patty Griffin, John Mohead, Johnny Neel, Hollie Poole, Chris Parker, Kristian Dambrino, Fergie, Willie King, Tori Amos, Charlie Worsham, Jack Johnson, Foo Fighters, J.J. Cale, The Alan Parsons Project, Alanis Morissette, Jeff Healey, Damien Rice, Bill Withers, Norbert Putnam, Jonas Hellborg, Selvaganesh, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Victor Wooten, Richard Bona, Allan Holdsworth, U.K., Bill Bruford, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bill Monroe, Earl Skruggs, Norah Jones, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Chris Cornell, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Sid Herring, R.L. Burnside, Joseph Spence, Junior Kimbrough, Al Green, Tyrone Davis, Miles Davis, Art Tatum, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Fiona Apple, Sara Evans, Flim & the B.B.'s, Yellowjackets, John Scofield, Brandi Carlile, Joss Stone, Creed, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Meshuggah, Billy Gibson, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Cash, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Monty Python, Thelonius Monk, Sviastoslav Richter, Maurizio Pollini, Cyprien Katsaris, The Willys, Angelo Badalamenti, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Bobby "Blue" Bland, The Neville Brothers, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Ivo Popasov and his Bulgarian Wedding Band, AC/DC, Green Day, Albert King, Head East, Billy Preston, Alice In Chains, Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Eddie Van Halen, The Beat Daddys, Donny Hathaway, Frank Sinatra, Paul Rogers, Bad Company, The Cars, Steve Morse, The Dixie Dregs, Bill Evans, Björk, Black Crowes, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Blake, Bonnie Raitt, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Steve Cropper, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Boston, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Brand X, Buddy Guy, Janis Joplin, Carly Simon, Carole King, Charley Patton, Chicago, Citizen Cope, Everclear, Junior Wells, D'Gary, Curtis Mayfield, Dave Matthews, Band of Gypsys, Morphine, The Doobie Brothers, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, The Eagles, Eddie Cusic, Little Dave Thompson, Elton John, Ohio Players, Elvis Presley, Ennio Morricone, Bo Diddley, Eric Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, Florence Foster Jenkins, Frank Zappa, Freddie King, James Jamerson, The Funk Brothers, Bootsie Collins, George Clinton, Funkadelic, Parliament Funkadelic, Bernard Odum, Glenn Gould, Jackson Browne, James Brown, Jascha Heifetz, Jeff Berlin, Joe Pass, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Joe Zawinul, Weather Report, Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, John McLaughlin, Journey, Kansas, Steve Walsh, Kiss, Mark King, Level 42, .38 Special, Offspring, Koko Taylor, Linda Rondstadt, Marvin Gaye, The Meters, Mike Stern, Muddy Waters, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Oscar Peterson, Otis Redding, Pat Metheny, Paula Cole, Jewel, Paul Simon, Paul Young, Eddie Money, Phineas Newborn Jr., Pink Floyd, David Gilmore, The Police, Queen, Rage Against The Machine, Gin Blossoms, North Mississippi Allstars, Patrick Smith Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea, Cheech & Chong, Shakti, Little Walter Jacobs, Richard Johnston, Robben Ford, Robert Johnson, Jeffrey Steele, Sacred Steel, Robert Randolph, Terry "Big T." Williams, Abie "Boogaloo" Ames, The Rolling Stones, The Wallflowers, Ross Rice, Human Radio, Rush, L. Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Salamat & Nazakat Ali, Santana, Scorpions, Ulrich Roth, Zakkir Hussein, Scott Henderson, Gary Willis, Tribal Tech, Alain Caron, Uzeb, Marcus Miller, Sheryl Crow, Wesley Willis, Grover Washington Jr., Sly & the Family Stone, Larry Graham, Graham Central Station, Soggy Bottom Boys, Steely Dan, Steve Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stevie Wonder, Stone Temple Pilots, Susan Tedeschi, Taj Mahal, Talking Heads, Delbert McClinton, David Bowie, Earth Wind & Fire, Ted Greene, Temple of the Dog, Andy Johns, The Temptations, Tom Petty, Tool, Rocco Prestia, David Garibaldi, Tower of Power, Trilok Gurtu, U. Srinivas, War, Weezer, Wes Montgomery, Whiskeytown, The Who, Wilco, Wild Cherry, Wilson Pickett, Styx, Yes
Sounds Like: Here is a selected list of some of the people that I have been lucky enough to work with:Bill Abel, Airegin, Chad Anderson, Steve Azar, Ron Bailey, Daniel Slick Ballinger and the Soul Blues Boys, Terry Harmonica Bean, The Beat Daddys, Dan Bell, Johnnie Billington, Rod Bland, Todd Bobo, Bordeaux Blues Connection (Julian Brunetaud, Anthony Stelmaszack, Fabrice Bessouat, Yvan Aucouturier), Billy Branch, Eden Brent, Jessica Brent, Janice Briggs, Big George Brock, Dannette Brown, Kenny Brown, Nora Jean Bruso, Mojo Buford, Cedric Burnside, The Business, Cadillac John and the Shoplifters, Sam Carr, Scott Coopwood, Chris Cotton, Bill Crowder, Joey Cummings, Eddie Cusic, Angela Czamanske, Kristian Dambrino, Ray Davis (P-Funk), The Deep Cuts, Vincent de Frank, Delta Grass, Jim Dickinson (Rolling Stones, Big Star), Butch Dixon (Son of Willy Dixon), David Lee Durham & Ladies' Choice Band, Steve Ebe, Electric Tater (Wiley Mr. Tater Foster - The Music Maker), Mike Ellis, Caleb Emphrey, Jr., The Famous Unknowns, Little Willie Farmer, James T. Model Ford, Willie Foster, Morgan Freeman, Freestyle, Burt French, The Frustrations, Daniel Gales, Eric Gales, Eugene Gales, Giant Steps, Billy Gibson, Jacqueline Gooch Nassar, Prentis Goodwin, The Gospel Notes, Donald Grant, Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy, Larry Grisham, Jay Harrington, Jeff Healey, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Jimmy Henderson (Black Oak Arkansas), Sid Herring (The Gants), Don Hickman, Michael Holloway, Walter "Mississippi Slim" Horn, John Horton, The Hurricane Horns, Calvin Jackson (R.L. Burnside), Washboard Jackson, Roland Janes (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis), Wesley Jefferson Band, Andy Johns (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Joni Mitchell), Big Daddy Johnson, Big Jack Johnson, Richard Johnston, Monroe Jones, Paul "Wine" Jones, Roland Jordan, Joyful Noise with Christopher Dixon, Jimmy Karstein (J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton), Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones, John Lennon, George Harrison, Sheryl Crow), Kenny Malone Kimbrough, David Kimbrough, Chris Thomas King, Willie King and the Liberators, Jay Kirgis, Randy Kling, Danny Lancaster, Shawn Lane, George Lawrence, Pat LeBlanc, The Lions Of Winter, Tom Lonardo, Miranda Louise, Dick Lourie, Papa Mali, Jimmy Junior Markham (J.J. Cale), Alex Maryol, Masque, James Mathus Knockdown Society (Jimbo Mathus), Britt Meacham, The Fish Michie Quartet, Jake Mitchell, John Mohead, Dorothy Moore, Blind Mississippi Morris, Olga, Kenny Neal, Johnny Neel, None of the Above, Outcast not them!), Casey Son Phillips, Hollie Poole, Michael Powers, Jessie Primer, III, Skeeter Provis, Denny Purcell, Norbert Putnam, Walfredo Reyes, Jr., Ross Rice, Sean Rickman, Joe Ringold, Mickey Rodgers, Greg Ruggiero, Jeff Scott Rust, Doug Scarborough, Ed Shaughnessy, Anthony Sherard, Steve Smith (Journey, Vital Information), South Main, Jim Spake, Ssipp, Gerald Stephens, Michael Jefry Stevens, Josh "Razorblade" Stewart, Strict Middling, Keith Sykes, Greg Fingers Taylor, Otis Taylor, Sharde Thomas (Otha Turner), The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, James Son Thomas, David "Little Dave" Thompson, Three Legged Dog, Time Bandits with Shawn Lane, Ed Townsend (Marvin Gaye), Troy Turner, Allen Vizzutti, Bil Vorndick (Bela Fleck), Little Bill Wallace, Patrick Weathers, Steve Weist, Bobby Whitlock (Eric Clapton), Joey Williams (The Blind Boys of Alabama), K.M. Williams, Terry Big T. Williams, Ron Wilkins, Keith Wood, Nannette Workman, Charlie Worsham, YYZ, Zirconia
Record Label: Go ahead
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

A Major Merger Shakes Up the Rock World - By NEIL STRAUSS

A Major Merger Shakes Up the Rock WorldBy NEIL STRAUSSNew York Times Monday, December 21, 1998 Right now is not a good time to be in a rock band. The reason is Seagram's$10.4 billion acquisition of P...
Posted by Barry Bays on Sat, 09 Dec 2006 12:20:00 PST

Dear Mr. Bandleader

Dear Mr. Bandleader:My wife and I look forward to you providing music at our daughter's wedding. We have a list of songs we would like you to play.Don't worry if you don't know all of them.Any Chick C...
Posted by Barry Bays on Fri, 18 Aug 2006 03:07:00 PST

Fretless Bass modification

If you are interested in fretless bass you MUST give this cat Harris Thor a shout. He just put an epoxy coating on my Fender Jazz that makes it sing! It looks & feels like glass and is hard as rock. ...
Posted by Barry Bays on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 09:12:00 PST

The Lost Book of Gig - Chapter Two

The Book of Gig     Chapter Two   And so in the dark of night the Lord awoke Noah, and spoke to him.  "Noah, awake and heed my words!"  And Noah, being sore afraid and disorie...
Posted by Barry Bays on Wed, 25 Jan 2006 02:07:00 PST

Bass Infractions

NAME OF OFFENDER (Bass Player)______________________INFRACTION DATE___________________________ MUSICAL OFFENSES( ) Playing loudly during warm up - $10( ) Sound-checking amp with funk slapping - $25( )...
Posted by Barry Bays on Wed, 25 Jan 2006 01:54:00 PST

Great Lies of the Music Business

Great Lies of the Music Business(This list was found rolled up in a half-empty Heineken bottle backstage at CBGB's in New York) 1. The booking is definite2. Your check is in the mail3. We can fix it i...
Posted by Barry Bays on Wed, 25 Jan 2006 01:47:00 PST

The Problem with Music - by Steve Albini

The Problem with Music by Steve Albini   Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about fo...
Posted by Barry Bays on Tue, 24 Jan 2006 09:40:00 PST

"Shawn Lane - Requiem for a Master" by Art Thompson

Shawn LaneRequiem for a MasterBy Art Thompson Guitar Player Magazine  January 2004 http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/0104/0104_Features3.htm Its an accepted fact among musicians that talent and s...
Posted by Barry Bays on Tue, 24 Jan 2006 09:22:00 PST