MAY 2012

Centaur Stage features singer-songwriter Matthew Barber

Suzanne Shugar and Juno-nominated Matthew Barber chat about the music he wrote for the play and his newly minted companion album, Songs For The Haunted Hillbilly.

Matthew Barber

Suzanne ShugarHow did your collaboration with SideMart Theatrical Grocery start?

Matthew BarberI've known director Andrew Shaver for many years and I met the rest of the SideMart team through him.  Andrew approached me about being involved in the adaptation of The Haunted Hillbilly and I leapt at the opportunity because I love Hank Williams and the whole culture of old-time country music.  I also loved Derek McCormack's book.

SSYou shared a MECCA award with Joe Grass for the music in the workshop of this production. How has the music evolved over time?

MBIn the original workshop it was just myself and Joe Grass doing the music (in addition to the actors singing their songs).  Joe's haunting pedal steel has always been a huge part of the success of this show.  For the first full run at the Segal Centre we added bass player Julian Brown and he's been part of the show ever since.  For this run at Centaur we've added a fourth member - Bucky Wheaton on drums.  The workshop featured six original songs - including "Love From Above" which was written by Graham Cuthbertson with the first draft of the script - and we added six more for the Segal Centre production. In early drafts of the script, Graham would include notes about where a song might be appropriate and how the narrative could be bolstered by the lyrics.  I found this direction very helpful when it came to writing the songs.

Haunted Hillbilly production poster

DESIGN : STEVE ROSS

SSWhat was the most challenging part of writing the music and lyrics for the play?

MBThe most challenging part was making sure the songs could weave in and out of the dialogue seamlessly and help to elucidate rather than obscure the plot.  On one hand, a character's expression is limited within the structure of a song by the constraints of things like meter and rhyming schemes; on the other hand, we found that despite these limitations, sometimes a song can reveal even more to the audience about what is going on with a character than many lines of dialogue.  As soon as a character starts to sing, the moment takes on a heightened emotional intensity that can do as much work as the actual words they are singing.

SSHow does the music help move the plot along?

MBI think the songs help to define the individual characters who sing them and the transitions they go through in the story.  For example "Otherworldly Artistry" which is sung by Hyram mid-way through the show is intended to capture the idea that in one sense he is on top of the world with his fame and his new girl, yet he can't shake the feeling that dark clouds are gathering with respect to his relationship with Nudie.

SSTell us about the band and your choice of instruments.

MBWe're extremely fortunate to have such a great band!  Joe Grass really understands the style of music we're trying to capture and his amazing pedal steel, guitar and mandolin playing make us sound authentic.  Julian Brown is an old friend of mine who is the best bass player I know.  The upright bass is very warm sounding and looks great on stage too.  I'm excited to work with our new drummer Bucky who has worked with SideMart before on other theatrical productions.  I play guitar and whatever else I can get my hands on to help create atmosphere for the show.

Album Cover

SSIs Songs For The Haunted Hillbilly a cast recording?

MBNo. It features all the songs from the show but I sing them myself, backed up by the band from Haunted Hillbilly.  I've always loved singing these songs but I don't get to sing them in the show because they are sung by the various characters for which they are written.  As a recording artist, I wanted to record an album of these songs in my voice that could exist separately from the show as a sort of country concept album.

SSWhat’s next for Matthew Barber?

MBAfter this show, I will go back to my life as a touring musician with tours in Canada and Australia in the works for later this year.  I will also continue to work on writing songs for my next album, as well as recording other musicians in my studio in Toronto.

SSIt’s been a pleasure talking with you, Matthew.

Suzanne Shugar is a Montreal journalist, broadcaster and Centaur Theatre's PR and Web Writer