Notice: Undefined variable: paywall_console_msg in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/single_post_meta_query.php on line 71
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 18
Notice: Trying to get property 'cat_ID' of non-object in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 18
Get ready for a party with 38 Special
Warning: getimagesize(): Filename cannot be empty in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 139
Warning: Division by zero in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 142
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412
Notice: Trying to get property 'term_id' of non-object in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412
By Katie Green
The music industry has shifted in recent years, and 38 Special’s guitarist and vocalist Don Barnes has experienced it first-hand. “The live business has gone through the roof and CD sales are secondary. It used to be reverse – the live show was basically a commercial for your CD,” Barnes says. “Now, because of all of the downloading and streaming going on … live business is where it’s at and it turns out to be the number one thing we do!”
He isn’t kidding. 38 Special now plays live for multiple generations of fans, and Barnes says that they “come out and it’s like a freight train hitting them. We get instant reaction from people because we like up all those hits, it’s all power and we go after that with an attitude of 100 percent.”
The band still plays 100 cities each year, so they’re consummate professionals when it comes to being on the road. “We all have a good time out there, we’re rolling down the road, and everyone has a mutual respect. Over the years we’ve changed some personnel and weeded out the malcontent, so everybody is just very happy – even the ‘new’ guys who have been out there 28 years. It’s a great job to bring that joy to people.”
But it wasn’t always easy. Barnes cautions budding musicians that if they really have to go down that road to be prepared for a lot of failure and a lot of sacrifice. “Most people think that ‘Hold On Loosely’ was from our first album – that was from our fourth album,” he says.
The year that fourth album, ‘Wild-Eyed Southern Boys’ came out was 1981, and it was the year that MTV burst on to the scene and “changed the way you view music.”
Fun fact: “Hold on Loosely” was the 13th song played on MTV on Aug. 1, 1981, the day the station debuted. He says that MTV came out and filmed one of their concerts and made it into a video – something that was commonplace back then, since music videos were such a new concept. And if you think back to the earliest of music videos, you’ll realize that’s just how it was done.
Barnes, who’s wife, Christine, actually hails from Sewickley, says that the Pittsburgh crowd has “always been a party.” Of course, it’s not difficult to have an energetic crowd when the band is playing the way that 38 Special does.
“We want to make sure everyone hears their favorite song, whether it’s ‘Back to Paradise’ from the ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ movie or ‘Rockin’ Into the Night.’ After 93 minutes, the crowd is exhausted and we’re exhausted along with them,” Barnes says.