Jeremy Barnes | |
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Three members of A Hawk and a Hacksaw performing at the Dionysus Club. From left to right: Mark Weaver, tuba; Heather Trost, violin; Jeremy Barnes, accordion and percussion
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Background information | |
Born |
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States |
September 18, 1976
Origin | Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA |
Genres | Folk, Balkan, Mariachi |
Occupation(s) | Accordionist, musician |
Instruments | Accordion, drums, piano, santur, davul |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | The Leaf Label, L.M. Dupli-cation |
Associated acts | A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, Bablicon, The Gerbils |
Website | ahawkandahacksaw |
Jeremy Barnes (born September 18, 1976) is an American musician. He plays accordion, percussion and other instruments. He has been a member of the bands Neutral Milk Hotel and A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and is a co-creator of the record label L.M. Dupli-cation. Influences on his work include music from Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus.
Barnes was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of a local businessman. In 1995 he moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University but left his studies in January 1996, aged 19. He joined Neutral Milk Hotel, which was a part of the Athens, Georgia-based Elephant 6 music collective. Neutral Milk Hotel disbanded in 1998 and Barnes spent time traveling in Europe and working as a postman. He also played with Broadcast, The Gerbils and Bablicon.
Barnes cites his initial introduction to Eastern European music as having been in 1999 while on tour. After being introduced to Bulgarian music, he lived in a predominantly Ukrainian Chicago neighborhood and developed an interest in Romanian music.
"I was kind of at a dead end in what I was listening to, and it just opened up a whole new world for me," he said in a 2011 interview with Noise Narcs. "That was in 1999. For a while it affected the way I looked at my music, but I was still playing drums in bands, and it didn’t seem like something I should pursue. You go through these fads or trends as a listener, where you’re really into something for a month and then it changes. But with this music, it’s been now twelve years or more, and it gradually seeped into everything that I do."