Barbara K. | |
---|---|
Genres | Folk rock, Americana, folk, alternative country |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1984–present |
Website | Official Website |
Barbara Kooyman (also known as by her stage name Barbara K and formerly Barbara K. MacDonald [1] ) (born October 4, 1958 in Wausau, Wisconsin) is an American singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. In the 1980s, she, her then-husband Pat MacDonald, and a drum machine formed the recording act Timbuk 3 whose 1986 signature song was "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades". [2] The duo did road work with Bob Dylan, Sting, and Jackson Browne. [3] They once appeared on Saturday Night Live [4] and were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. [5]
After divorcing MacDonald in 1995, Kooyman remained in Austin, raising the couple's son, taking the name Barbara K, and pursuing a solo career. She became entrenched in the city's rich musical community and recorded three solo albums, two of which featured her original songs and one filled with her own interpretations of the songs of Timbuk3 (all three albums released on her own label Sparrows Wheel).[ citation needed ]
As an independent recording artist, Kooyman saw a need in the music industry for strengthening alliances between artists and media outlets. She and co-founders Wolfgang Pracht and Ben Bright conceived and created Artists For Media Diversity, or A4MD. [2] [3] The 501(c)(3) charitable organization was formed to protect freedom of speech through the funding of services for alternative non-commercial media sources, to foster independent media voices, and to promote musical and cultural diversity. [6]
One of the projects the organization has underway for empowering independent artists and community radio stations is a live music archive that artists and stations can contribute live performance tracks and from which other stations can access recordings for their own broadcast purposes.[ citation needed ]
Kooyman's work, both musical and organizational, is rooted in social activism and responsibility.[ citation needed ] After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, Barbara K and Wolfgang Pracht wrote a reflection on the ominous environmental implications of such a disaster: "Swimming In Blackwater." The video features Kooyman and her frequent musical collaborator Richard Bowden. [7]
Roland Stephen Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music executive, film maker, assistant professor, and actor. A figure in what has come to be known as Christian alternative rock, Taylor enjoyed a successful solo career during the 1980s, and also served in the short-lived group Chagall Guevara. In contrast to many Christian musical artists, his songs have often taken aim at other Christians with the use of satirical, sardonic lyrics. In 1997, he founded the record label Squint Entertainment, which fueled the careers of artists such as Sixpence None the Richer, Chevelle, and Burlap to Cashmere. Despite this success, Taylor was ousted from the label by its parent, Word Entertainment, in 2001. He has produced and written for numerous musical acts, one of the most consistent being Newsboys. As a film-maker, Taylor co-wrote, directed, and produced the feature films Down Under the Big Top, The Second Chance, and Blue Like Jazz. After a decade and a half of hiatus, Taylor returned to performing music in 2010 as the front-man for Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil, a supergroup he founded with Peter Furler, Jimmy Abegg, and John Mark Painter. Along with a university residency and continued filmmaking, Taylor would resume work on unfinished Chagall Guevara material into the 2020s.
Melissa Manchester is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and alternative rock artists, including R.E.M., The Go-Go's, Wall of Voodoo, and Fine Young Cannibals. Currently the label is distributed by parent company Universal Music Group.
Timbuk 3, stylized TIMBUK3, was an American rock band which released six original studio albums between 1986 and 1995. They are best known for their Top 20 single "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades". The band's music has been featured on more than 20 compilation and soundtrack albums.
Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group.
Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ band, and other musicians.
Shannon Maureen McNally is an American singer and songwriter.
Steve Green is an American Christian music singer.
Greetings from Timbuk3 is the debut album by American band Timbuk 3, released in 1986. The album contains their only charting single, "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades", which reached number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Patrick Lee "Pat" MacDonald is an American musician and songwriter. He was the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk 3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. He formed the duo with his wife, Barbara K. MacDonald, in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1984 before moving to Austin, Texas, that same year. Their breakup in 1995 spurred a solo career that has steadily produced releases in both Europe and the US. "MacDonald is long known for his playful, edgy songs," says Guitar Player magazine.
Big Shot in the Dark is the fourth album by the American band Timbuk 3, released in 1991. "Mudflap Girl" was released as a single.
A Hundred Lovers is the final album by the American band Timbuk 3. It was released in 1995. The title track was a minor radio hit.
The 35th Annual GMA Music Awards were held on April 28, 2004 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2003. The show was held at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Deion Sanders and Yolanda Adams.
Brittany Nicole Waddell, better known by her stage name Britt Nicole is an American vocalist, songwriter and recording artist. She has mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 found her debut mainstream single, "Gold", and, in 2013, "Ready or Not", in the Mainstream Top 40. Her fourth studio album, Gold, was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. She is signed to Sparrow and Capitol Records.
"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" is a song by Timbuk 3. It is the opening track from their debut album, Greetings from Timbuk3. Released as the album's first single in 1986, it was the band's only significant mainstream hit.
Maya Azucena is an American singer-songwriter and cultural ambassador from Brooklyn, New York City. She is a multiple award-winning singer, recording artist and humanitarian. She is also a cultural ambassador focusing on women's & youth empowerment and domestic/sexual violence.
The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard.
Audrey Nicole Assad is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums and four EPs.
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is a Brooklyn, New York-based seven-piece soul/rock band. The band is led by singer Arleigh Kincheloe, with Jackson Kincheloe on harmonica, Josh Myers on bass, Dan Boyden on drums, Phil Rodriguez on trumpet, and Brian Graham on baritone and tenor saxophones.
Edge of Allegiance is the third album by the American band Timbuk 3, released in 1989.
Barbara is one of the founders of Artists For Media Diversity, an organization that empowers artists with an opportunity to provide renewable, sustainable support for community radio stations... her band Timbuk3...supporting acts for Bob Dylan, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and others
Artists for Media Diversity (A4MD), a Texas based nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization, is organized to foster awareness of the need for independent media voices in America, to provide assistance to emerging community-based or public media outlets and to promote musical and cultural diversity.