New Jersey based musician and songwriter Rick Barth has dedicated 25 years of his life to playing music, penning songs, and performing with an array of bands during that time.

Now, Rick is focused on his art as a solo artist and performer. His latest project, Fade, is now available on all the major music providers. I was fortunate enough to get a few moments with Rick for the following interview. We chat about the new release, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am from New Jersey, born and raised.  I would say that the music I write is in the “Americana” category.  But, while that’s a category of the overall style, my songs are influenced by what I heard growing up:  the singer/songwriters of the 70’s, the pop and hard rock of the 80’s, and the alternative sounds of the 90’s.  My songs start out as acoustic based and then go from there. What I feel is that I don’t consider myself constrained by genre.  I can pretty much do whatever style of music I want!

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I have been playing for nearly 35 years and started because of Ace Frehley and KISS.  Prior to that I was listening to whatever pop music was on the radio (when radio was awesome!).  From there, I got into the hard rock and metal of the 80’s. That’s where I really learned to play guitar and come to enjoy music.  Eventually (and probably because of the music that was played in my house growing up) I started listening to all kinds of music… country, classical, blues, pop….anything, really.

As far as continuing to do it…. Well, that is sometimes a mystery to even me!  It’s not always easy. I guess having people enjoy the music I come up with is pretty gratifying. That certainly helps.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

My last album, Hand Me Down Soul, was my first.  Listening back to it is really hard for me. While I think the songs are still good, it really shows a lot of my inexperience when it came to recording and instrumentation.  I think the songs could’ve been played better and certainly more “fleshed out”. That said, I’m still very proud of it (note: it’s available for download on all major retailers).

With Fade, I was trying to fix a lot of that.  The songs are better written, better arranged, and there is a lot of instruments (i.e. mandolin, pedal steel, violin, dobro, etc.) that made the songs so much better.  All in all, I accomplished what I set out to do.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

What was the last song you listened to?

Probably something by Butch Walker or Tesla.  I listen to a LOT of music.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I have always liked CD’s, but these days I am in the digital world.  They may not sound as good as a CD, but you can’t beat the ease and access they provide.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I like Google Music.  Not for any particular reason.  It’s included in my YouTube package!  LOL. I’m not one of those that prefer CD or vinyl over digital.  I know it “sounds better”, but you can’t beat the fact that you can carry around thousands of songs on a device no bigger than a Tic-Tac box.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

You can go to www.rickbarthnj.com to get all kinds of info about me, links to hear more music, and to see what shows I have scheduled.  I also have music on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube and on and on.

Anything else before we sign off?

Well…first, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.  I appreciate you spotlighting music that doesn’t get a lot of attention.  It’s unfortunate that more people don’t take the time to seek out new original music.

As far as what I’ll be doing…

I’m going to be playing a lot of shows all over NJ, NY, and PA to promote Fade.

I am working on a new project that I think will be a lot of fun:  I will be releasing new music more often as EP’s (five or six songs each) rather than full albums.

I’ll be recording an album with my band, Rick Barth and The Line.  It’s a little bit more of a rock album than Hand Me Down Soul or Fade.

Thanks again!