Jim Barber, Author at Music Life Magazine

Suzie Ungerleider Digs Deep into the Detailed Heart of Familial Relationships on New Album: AMONG THE EVERGREENS

May 19, 2025 Jim Barber Comments Off

By Jim Barber There has always been a deep wellspring of authenticity, reality and strikingly honest self-exposition in the [,,,]

Casper Skulls Hitting Their Creative Stride with new album KIT-CAT

May 18, 2025 Jim Barber Comments Off

By Jim Barber Sometimes it takes a while for a band to find its voice – the essence of what [,,,]

Barrie’s AAWKS Return With Powerful Psychedelic-Doom Metal Masterwork – ON THROUGH THE SKY MAZE

May 15, 2025 Jim Barber Comments Off

By Jim Barber Steeped in mythology, drawing on influences that harken back to the late 1970s heavy, doom-laden musical tomes [,,,]

An Epically Tumultuous 2023 Leads to BE KIND. REWIND. – A Creative Highpoint for The Royal Foundry

May 10, 2025 Jim Barber Comments Off

By Jim Barber With a house filled with visiting family, enjoying the warmth of a northern Alberta July, all seemed [,,,]

TERRIBLE HUMAN Sees Vivienne Wilder Exploring Life’s Complexity Through A Cast Of Cool Characters

May 7, 2025 Jim Barber Comments Off

By Jim Barber An exercise in critical self-examination coupled with a keen observer’s exposition of the human condition at street [,,,]

Foreigner Raising Funds to Help Their Devoted Crew Through Tough Pandemic Times

January 18, 2021 Jim Barber 1

If you’ve been to see legendary classic rock band Foreigner over the past 16 or so years, you know that [,,,]

Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith Has Readers ‘Hooked’ With Fascinating, Fishing-oriented Autobiography

January 14, 2021 Jim Barber Comments Off

Full of intricate dissertations about the best gear, the best locations to perform, and joyful annunciations of successful treks to [,,,]

Peck says newest Death Dealer album, Conquered Lands, The Tip of the Creative Iceberg for Metal Band

January 14, 2021 Jim Barber Comments Off

Metal music is a wonderful way to blast away the Covid-19 blues, and the newest album by heavy metal supergroup [,,,]

Loverboy Marks 40th Anniversary of Smash Hit Debut with Vinyl Re-release

January 7, 2021 Jim Barber Comments Off

They knew they had amazing on-stage chemistry, amazing musicianship and songs that resonated with all who heard them. But like [,,,]

Lee Aaron Gives the Gift of Music for Christmas Present and Future With ‘Almost Christmas’

December 22, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Lee Aaron has launched herself into the Christmas music arena, with a palpably positive, highly entertaining new album, loaded with [,,,]

Jeff Scott Soto Returns with Dynamic New Solo Album – Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)

December 17, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

One of the most versatile and recognizable voices in rock music today, the prodigiously talented, prolific and highly productive American [,,,]

Lawrence Gowan Teams with Stuck on Planet Earth for Timely New Christmas Tune

December 17, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

One of Canada’s most respected and beloved rock singer/songwriter/piano playing Strange Animals has teamed up with up-and-coming rock sensations, Stuck [,,,]

Martin Barre Offers Tull Fans His Uniquely Compelling Take on Band’s Repertoire with 50th Anniversary Album

December 6, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

As a way of not only commemorating the music of legendary British band Jethro Tull, but also to solidify his [,,,]

Riley-led L.A. Guns Release Gritty New Album – Renegades

December 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Renegades is a gritty, blazing, ballsy return to rock and roll glory for L.A. Guns. The quintessential Los Angeles band [,,,]

Reb Beach Digs Deep for New Solo Instrumental Album – A View From the Inside

December 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

A co-founder and axe man supreme for melodic rock band Winger, Reb Beach carved out his guitar hero bona fides [,,,]

Inspired by Her Dad, Emm Gryner Releases Evocative, Celebratory First Jazz Album – Just For You

December 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

A rocker at heart. Canadian singer/songwriter Emm Gryner has nonetheless consistently demonstrated an amazing ability to craft songs that draw [,,,]

Black Stone Cherry Release Insistently Compelling New Album – The Human Condition

December 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Although they have been labelled by some within the music industry as a modern version of a southern rock band, [,,,]

Leaves’ Eyes Release Epic Norse Story of ‘The Last Viking’

October 30, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Who needs fictional television shows or movies about Vikings when the real-life tales and the characters that inhabit the annals [,,,]

Cuban-American Rockers Sweet Lizzy Project Release Upbeat Single – Sticky Situations

October 30, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Like all musicians and bands, Sweet Lizzy Project’s plans were completely derailed by the onset of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. [,,,]

Canadian Rockers Coney Hatch Play Online Show at Revitalized El Mocambo in Toronto Oct. 3

October 2, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

A stalwart band of the Canadian rock scene of the 1980s is doing its part to try and blow away [,,,]

Talented Texan Whitmore Takes On Important Issues On Powerful New Album – Last Will & Testament

October 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Best described as a roots or Americana artist, Austin, Texas’ Bonnie Whitmore is a veteran musician who has trod the [,,,]

Frontman/Songwriter Clay Rose Doesn’t Hold Back on New Gasoline Lollipops Album – All The Misery Money Can Buy

October 1, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

It’s the perfect album for our times. All The Misery Money Can Buy, released Sept. 11 from Boulder, Colorado-based quintet [,,,]

Janet Gardner and Justin James Bring ‘Synergy’ To Their Lives and Their Music on New Album

September 24, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

It’s melodic hard rock at its memorable and infections best. Synergy, the new album by Gardner/James was released to great [,,,]

‘Abyss’ Sees Canada’s Unleash the Archers Return With Epic Conclusion To The Immortal/Matriarch War

September 24, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Melding the best elements of a host of different metal styles, British Columbia metal quintet Unleash The Archers is hitting [,,,]

Talented Young California Rockers Red Voodoo Release First Music

September 23, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

In the music business, as with many walks of life, it’s always beneficial to have boosters, patrons and mentors who [,,,]

Honeymoon Suite’s Dee Talks Longevity, New Music, And Returning to the Charts

September 23, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Through the ups and downs, through good times and bad, Canadian rock band Honeymoon Suite has soldiered on, enduring many [,,,]

Karen Emeny Examines What You Learn from ‘The Right Mistakes’ On Latest EP

September 11, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

We all make mistakes. In life, in love, in our careers, in our relationships, in our day-to-day existences, mistakes happen. [,,,]

Dukes of the Orient Return With Powerhouse Second Album – Freakshow

September 11, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Dukes of Orient are back with their new album, Freakshow, a compelling concoction of melodic rock tracks that ably bridges [,,,]

Ottawa Blues Master JW Jones Gets Adventurous on New Release – Sonic Departures

September 11, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

Since bursting onto the scene as a precocious but eminently talented 18-year-old sensation from the nation’s capital, blues musician/songwriter/recording artist [,,,]

Ellefson and Pals Record Rock Favourites for new ‘No Cover’ Album

September 10, 2020 Jim Barber Comments Off

What do you do when you’re a prolific, talented, hard working musician, songwriter and record label owner, stuck at home [,,,]