SHOOTIN’ w/ Barney Cortez (2021) : New Album “Hullabaloo” Out Now

This was our very first shot at what is slowly being realized and improved into a solid video interview series known as Shootin’ w/ The City Root.

Every episode has yielded great conversation and the first installment was certainly no different.

If you’re not already familiar… you’ll meet Barney Cortez.

Singer / Songwriter extraordinaire exploring all indie / folk / glamour rock n’ roll.

We dove into songwriting, spotify algorithms, Barney being recruited by Anthony Kiedis for a side band, drinkin’ fuckin’ hard, and of course, the Philly music scene and its local, bicoastal, and international acclaim.

Thank you Barney for your patience and for dropping some awesome music since we talked so long ago.

“Star Kids” was easily one of my favorite tracks from the past year.

But of course…

“HullaBaloo” Out Now

The new album “Hullabaloo” is out now on all streaming services. You can also check out his cool merch here.

Hullabaloo bounces around rock n’ roll sub-genres, as his music tends to do. As mentioned in the interview, one of my favorite things about Barney Cortez is that, project-to-project, even song-to-song, you’ll get a different sound, vibe, message, and feeling almost every time.

My favorite example of this on Hullabaloo is the transition from the heavy guitar and punk derivative of “Dead End Summer” to the space rock exploration of “Into the Void,” and then into the simple, piano-driven, go-lucky comforting arms of “Happy”.

The title track is probably the most fun song on the album. “Shit River” is a fantastic follow-up single, but my undercover favorite song on the album is “Forked Road.” The marching drum and anthemic cadence of the lyrics makes me want to embark on a quest of some kind. What should I do where should I go? I don’t know but I’ll decide at the fork in the road playing me some Barney Cortez.

“Star Kids” single

Easily, one of my favorite songs of 2021. It was on the EP, Mother Sun, released in the Summer.

It’s Bowie meets Zevon.

He made a raw and earthy jam that jams in space. I realize earthy jam in space makes no sense, but somehow it does on this song.

The acoustic guitar is catchy as ever, as is the chain-breaking chorus, both of which are backed by a soft, extraterrestrial electric guitar that gets its own say on the matter with a kick ass solo towards the end of the song.

We’re big fans of Barney’s here, and not just because he was our first Shootin’ guest.

This interview was done before its release and as “Star Kids” indicates, it’s no surprise he mentions Zevon and Bowie as inspirations. Dylan, too. All iconoclasts of their craft, carving their own path in sound.

Anyway, it was a good chat. Enjoyed the tangents.

We had some fun with the edits. You’ll probably notice it was our first stab at it—different banners, old logos.

It’s fun figuring it out, making dumb jokes with iMovie animation.

Special Thanks to Chris Kennedy for his editing work and bringing some stupid ideas to life, like Chameleon Barney.

Follow him on the gram: @chris_kennedy_13

By Casper Elliot below:

Another standout tune, discussed on Shootin’ is "Melt"… which he opens with:

I gotta get out, out of the gloom

Pay at the door, stuffed in a room

Smell of the sweat, you can't even move

There's so much bass, you can't hear the tune

Released during quarantine, it felt like an homage to the past, when we could actually do that. Or is it a friendly reminder that being packed like sardines on a bar's nasty ass dancefloor actually kinda sucks?

You’ll have to decide for yourself.

Regardless, it’s a beaut of a tune. The chorus delivers some serious 80s vibes, and the song pairs perfectly with the other Doll City songs, like “Candy Crush,” which offers just as much nostalgia but ties in the 21st century by comparing Cortez’s muse to the popular mobile game of the same name.

Here he is doing the damn thing on CVZ sessions, all electric:

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