A Conversation with The Bongos’ Richard Barone – HuffPost 12.27.13

Mike Ragogna: Richard, when did your Bongos album go missing and who found it where?

Richard Barone: [laughs] Well… it was kind of ship-wrecked in the Bahamas and found decades later, in a million pieces, in the West Village of Manhattan. No one can figure out how it made its way here!

MR: Can you take us on a tour of the Phantom Train album, like its history, what your personal highlights are and how the material was created?

RB: Sure. The Bongos had been touring and recording for over five years straight when we found ourselves recording Phantom Train, primarily at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. I was writing songs in the back of the tour bus during our “Beat Hotel” tour that year, and a couple of songs in Woodstock with James (Mastro), and we knew we had a solid batch of tunes. Our co-producer this time around was Eric (E.T.) Thorngren, whose albums for Talking Heads and Robert Palmer we had loved, so we were feeling good for sure. The songs came to life in the studio in a new way for us, because we were able to combine the spontaneity of the “Drums Along The Hudson” sessions we had done in the U.K. with the new technology and studio options now at our disposal. It was fun that AC/DC and Julio Iglesias were both recording at Compass Point at the same time. I guess we were somewhere between the two (laughs). Without a real deadline we continued to record and mix endlessly, leaving us with something like forty reels of tape, way too much for any of us to deal with. I can only really speak for myself, but the excesses being on the road had continued in the studio, and mentally I was in a place that can be best described as… ambiguous. By the time we headed back to the states, I was fried, and needed a change of pace. We all needed a break. So the tapes sat on a shelf while we each pursued different projects. We were still doing Bongos concerts. But I put together a little acoustic combo, played clubs, recorded a live album (“cool blue halo”, 1987), then went on tour as a solo artist. So “Phantom Train” languished. Everyone in the group starting doing other things.

MR: Why do you think this album is significant?

RB: I’m not sure if that’s mine to say. But I can say that “Phantom Train” was and is a unique musical expression. It captures a moment – both in (at times) the 80s-larger-than-life production style and a moment of time personally: Lyrically it is a coming-of-age album full of questions and confusion, and yet with a good share of realizations and declarations. “I Belong To Me.” The lyrics to the title track. The dark mood of “Roman Circus.” And the mixed emotions of “Tangled In Your Web.” We played and sang our asses off on that album. Hearing it now as we assembled it all these years later was a real emotional experience. Like visiting a part of my past I had nearly forgotten. And, as far as the catalogue of my songwriting, this has been a missing link, bridging the more abstract lyrics of the early Bongos with a more narrative style of my solo stuff. When we were recording “Phantom Train” our listening audience was at its peak, and we had things to say. And how often to do you come across an 80s album that nobody’s ever heard before (laughs)?

MR: How has your creative process changed since those days?

RB: My creative process changes all the time. It can even change during the course of writing one song, even in mid-sentence! Basically, I just try to be open to ideas, like a photographer has to be open to capture that great shot. Things happen, feelings are felt, and if you want a song you have to catch it before it vanishes. Like a picture, it’s all about how you frame it and compose it, the contrast of light and dark, etc. The main thing that may have changed for me is that I’m now maybe a little more aware of the process. But I try not to let that knowledge get in the way!

MR: Why do you think The Bongos have remained a favorite among so many?

RB: Because The Bongos were and are a good band. Because The Bongos were and are real, and always true to themselves. Because The Bongos never tried to repeat themselves for the sake of a hit; but mostly because The Bongos have a lot of love and respect for their audience. They want to give the audience everything, and never cheat them. And we make you wanna dance.

MR: You’ve worked on many projects beyond The Bongos, what are some of your favorites among those and why?

RB: I’ve been so lucky. I have worked and still work with some of the true greats. Lou Reed was always particularly special for me. I’d met him when I was quite young and we stayed in touch a long time. I got to work with him on some amazing shows, and he was truly, truly supportive of my work. He was a true artist though-and-through whose presence will be missed by me and many, many others. It was an honor working with Pete Seeger in the past few years as well. And a blast singing with Beach Boy Al Jardine this summer. Basically, I treasure all these opportunities to work with people I admire so much.

MR: Did your career in music start in a small radio station outside of Peoria like so many others?

RB: It started in a small AM radio station in Tampa, Florida, WALT 1110. I was seven years old and on the radio every Sunday on a show called “Beach Party” spinning the Top 40. I was called “The Littlest DJ.”

MR: What do you think of current music trends and recordings?

RB: I love a lot of the current sounds. I’ve always been a sucker for a good hook, I like a lot of the EMD-flavored sounds, I love the massive pop choruses people are coming up with, and I think in general there is a lot of cool stuff out there. I like Chvrches for one, Daft Punk is cool, there’s a lot.

MR: What would you name your love child with Lady Gaga?

RB: “Little Bastard,” after James Dean’s Porsche.

MR: What does the future bring?

RB: What does Yoda say? “Hard to see. Always in motion the future is.” Something like that. For me, it’s always finding that next song, that next act or project to produce, that next technique to show to my performance class at NYU, the next big concert to stage. The details are always in motion, but I get glimpses of the moving parts. I predict I’ll do some recording in Sweden. I predict a new vinyl edition of “Drums Along The Hudson” next year. I predict sunny days and cloudy skies. Like Cole Porter said, “Anything Goes.”

MR: What advice do you have for new artists?

RB: This never changes… Be true to yourself. Record labels, websites, magazines, trends — they all come and go. The only constant is you. Your creativity. We will always need artists — real artists. They are the content providers that every music app and website needs, exists, and lives for. If you try to change to fit in you’ll find that by the time your change is ready, the trend has already shifted. The way to succeed is to be 100% yourself, 100% of the time. You can’t go wrong if you do that.