Barcelona’s Brian Fennel on New Recordings, Red Rocks, and Higher Ground
by Tim Wenger
The CMB crew has been abuzz with the news that Seattle’s indie rock gods Barcelona will be headlining our Higher Ground Music Festival on August 23. Given the current trends in Denver’s scene, their tour with local celebrities The Fray and the band’s long history in Denver (they befriended Meese several years ago and began gigging with them at the Larimer Lounge and Marquis Theatre), we couldn’t think of a more fitting outfit for the role. Throw in Baywood along with a handful of top starts from this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas and we feel that we have put together a lineup that perfectly complements the amazing local talent we will be showcasing.
I caught up with Barcelona front man Brian Fennel while the band was driving to Denver for their gig at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and we spoke about their current project, The Melodrama, which is a series of three EPs the band has just recently concluded releasing, showcasing their most current material.
“It started almost as an exercise in songwriting,” says Fennel. “And then it grew fairly naturally into being what would be the new sort of season of the band, which took us all a little by surprise.” Fennel and the group originally planned to release only a few songs from the Melodrama sessions, but eventually landed on the idea of the three-part EP.
The Melodrama represents Barcelona since their departure from Universal Records. Fennel and bandmates Rhett Stonelake and Brandon Cate were nervous about becoming an independent act again but, like many modern rockers, have since come to embrace the freedom. “The feeling is a little bit scary sometimes, being the only ones steering the ship,” says Fennel. “But it’s empowering and encouraging. Being on tour and getting some of the exposure that we haven’t seen in the past with this new music has been incredible. It’s a lot of different emotions, but being able to own everything at the end of the day, we’re really proud of that.”
The new material covers the topic of love, with the three EPs being titled Love Me, Love You and Know Love. The songs draw from people Fennel knows personally and intimately. Fennel, who handles songwriting duties, does the majority of his writing while the band is home in Seattle. “My muse is typically my relationships with people,” Fennel says. “Being able to think on that and put time into that, I’m most comfortable at home. I have a studio at home and that’s where most of my songs have been written.”
“I’ve tried to write when we travel, but it’s really hard for me,” Fennel says. “When we’re on vacation somewhere and we have downtime and I can be by myself and coerce my thoughts a little bit. But when we drive places, I’m usually just looking out the window.”
The band is excited to perform at Higher Ground Music Festival and has developed a bit of an affinity for the Mile High City, having been playing here since their earlir days of touring back in 2009. “Denver’s insane for us, man,” says Fennel. The group started playing Denver with local rockers Meese and developed their following here by doing show trades with the group, bringing them to Seattle and them traveling to Denver. “We often describe Denver as being a second home to us. To be able to come through and play at a venue like Red Rocks is surreal. We started playing at Larimer Lounge and to be able to play at Red Rocks, we’re still itching ourselves a bit.”
Get your tickets to Higher Ground Music Festival and see Barcelona, Baywood, and 30+ other bands for only $20- highergroundmusicfestival.com
Online: wearebarcelona.com
Category: National News
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