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	Bio _____________ Barry Keenan produces music in the classic British pop-rock tradition with a truly unique modern sound, a musical style he calls "Neo-Classic Rock". Critics have said his songs are "thought provoking," and his finely crafted lyrics, though completely contemporary, remain timeless. Artist Information _____________ Instrumentation _____________ Barry Keenan; multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, engineer & producer Live Performances: Singer/Songwriter; acoustic 6 string guitar, acoustic 12 string guitar, grand piano, harmonica, dulcimer, electric guitar, kurzweil sampler [top of page] Biography _____________ Barry Keenan is a professional songwriter and recording artist. Keenan landed his first publishing deal in New York at the age of 19. His musical compositions have been published by Warner/Chappell, Criterion Music, Shada Music and Peer/Southern Music. Barry wrote 4 songs for the hit movie, "Kickboxer," staring Jon Claude Van Damme for which he received an award from SESAC at the SESAC Awards ceremony in Nashville celebrating this international blockbuster as SESAC's biggest movie of the year. He was also awarded "The Arts For Humanity" award by the Unity in Diversity Council for his song, "Knocking On Another Person's Door." A striking version of this tune can be heard on his band, Invisible Poet Kings, self-titled first CD release available on East Of Sideways Music, http://www.eastofsidewaysmusic.com. Keenan has written songs for the television soap "Another World" and his compositions have also been placed in the NBC TV show "Passions." As a solo writer/artist, or as the leader of Invisible Poet Kings, Barry Keenan and his music have been heard on radio stations from coast to coast such as KROQ in Los Angeles, and WBCN in Boston. His song "Clean White Shirt" is certified gold on Sirius Satelite Radio's Starlite channel. Along with his career as a songwriter and artist, Keenan has also spent time behind the mixing board as a recording engineer/mixer and a record producer, working on a wide variety of recorded music from a range of artists as diverse as Warren Zevon, The Cranberries, Sting, Pantera, Meatloaf, Robert Cray, No Doubt, Bush, Jennifer Paige, Beck, Bruce Hornsby, Tears For Fears, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Joan Osborne, Bad Religion, Devo, White Zombie, and Adam Ant, to name a few. Barry Keenan's producer web site can be found at http://www.barrykeenanproducer.com. [top of page] Discography of Radio _____________ Barry Keenan, "The Woods Of New Hampshire" LP: released 1978, Bare Boy Records. Airplay from that album: "I Dance With My Guitar". Invisible Poet Kings: LP released 1998, Cool Records. Airplay from that album: "Only The Echo Came Back", "No Time", "Used To The Dark", "Clean White Shirt". Barry Keenan,"My Brain" East Of Sideways Music, CD to be released March, 2007 [top of page]
	Press Reviews _____________ Michelle Williams Louisianna Press Your Home-Town Shopper I love this CD. I have played it everyday since I got it. This album is the embodiment of forty years of Rock and Roll, Pop, Soul and Blues with a splash of Hip Hop on the last song. There is something for everybody on this CD. Listening to this album is like curling up in your favorite blanket. It’s like being home again after being away for a long time. Barry Keenan weaves a tapestry of feeling and expression which wraps around the heart and dances in the brain. This collection of songs is masterfully compiled and Share a common thread throughout the CD. The lyrics are cutting and thought provoking. The melodies are haunting and make one want to listen over and over. This CD is a must have for any music lover. I give “My Brain” by Barry Keenan five stars. This CD is available for purchase and downloads at www.barrykeenan.com Maureen Droney Mix Magazine At Bernie Becker Recording in Van Nuys, I found the Invisible Poet Kings hard at work on their second release for Cool Records. Together for over six years, the four-piece Poet Kings are a very do-it-yourself conglomerate: two of the members, bandleader and singer/guitarist Barry Keenan and singer/bassist Colin Mitchell, are also freelance engineers who frequently work on projects at Becker Recording. The studio, which was scheduled for a July move to a new location on Burbank's Magnolia Blvd, features the first Amek Media 51 console to be installed in the U.S. The control room also houses a Sadie Classic digital workstation as well as two analog MCI JH24 recorders, a MCI JH10 4-track with 1/2 and 1/4-inch heads, and Westlake BBSM8 monitors. The 112 input Amek, with Eqs and mic pres designed by Rupert Neve, is proving to be a hit with Becker's clientele. "It's as quiet as any board I've ever heard in my life," comments Keenan, "and it's a great sounding console. It has a lot of punch, great lows without the murk. It's clean sounding. Although I prefer moving fader automation, the VCA's on this automation work well. Once you get the hang of the digital gates and compressors, they are quick, easy and good sounding. This console does everything I could want from a console. I don't think I could ever get bored with this board!" The Poet Kings project is making creative use of a number of formats. Original tracks were developed in classic musician home studio style, with MIDI sequenced parts recorded into a Roland MC300 Micro composer, then laid back to two Fostex 8-track decks. That material was transferred to 24 track analog, and live drums were recorded at Hollywood's Private Island Studios. The band then retired to Becker recording for vocals, sweetening, and mixing. The two non-engineer members of the group, guitarist Matt Mitchell and drummer Alberto "Tico" Grimaldi, (whose day job is professional Chippendale-style dancing—check it out, girls!) also sing. Not surprisingly, the Poet Kings are heavy into vocal harmonies. Numerous tracks are required for stacking, with two Sony PCM800 8-track digital machines serving as vocal slave machines. Vocals are dumped into the Sadie system for editing and flying, then sent back to 24-track, so that the project, (hopefully!) ends up on only two 24-track analog machines for mixdown. Obviously, Keenan and Mitchell's engineering skills are put to good use keeping all the different media in sync. "Money is always an issue," laughs Keenan, "So we're really good at working with what we have. And of course we do all our own engineering. This is a band that goes without any money most of the time. But things always seem to happen for us, and we seize every opportunity that comes along." "We don't like to depend on others," adds Colin Mitchell. "So it's great that we don't need anybody to record us or to fix our gear. It can get a little crazy, though. Like, when all of us are singing, we drag the remote into the live room. I hit 'record' then walk over to the mic to sing. It works fine as long as I remember not to wear my squeaky leather shoes!" The band describes their music as "a cross between Beatles, Queen, and Elvis Costello, with maybe a little Soundgarden thrown in." The first, eponymous, Invisible Poet Kings CD garnered some national airplay and, according to Keenan, was a favorite play of KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, so look for some attention to be paid to the new release, set to be titled, Subterranean Revolution of the Heart. [top of page] origenmusic.com Description: Barry Keenan produces music in the classic British pop-rock tradition with a truly unique modern sound. Critics have said his songs are "thought provoking," and his finely crafted lyrics, though completely contemporary, remain timeless. Biography: My Brain” is the new release from Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Barry Keenan. From toe tapping, catchy melodies to the darkness and pain brought on by living life to the fullest, Keenan’s songs tell the tale of human existence, never loosing sight of the hope we all hold within and the growth in healing old wounds. Keenan views this release as his “stripped down” sound, but one listen tells a different story. Having grown up with the Beatles and having been heavily influenced by their sound, Keenan’s songs speak in Lennonesque life narratives. Heartfelt lyrics call for the listener to connect with body, mind and spirit as they bask in the light of an instrumental tapestry of Keenan’s own creation. Having served as Artist, Engineer and Producer on “My Brain”, Keenan supplies all the instrumentation and vocal harmonies. His crisp production values provide a top quality canvass for Keenan’s own poetic prose. His left and right brain functions work in tandem like a cranial “Simon & Garfunkel” songwriting team tucked away in his psyche, each side simultaneously fueling the other, delivering his well-crafted compositions. As a singer-songwriter Keenan played the coffeehouse and pub circuit building his repertoire to include an array of well received original compositions. As his writing matured he recorded several solo outings. Though they were well received by the press and other musicians, a recording contract eluded him. Keenan signed several publishing deals including one with Peer Southern and another with Warner Chappell Music Publishing. He even held a recording contract with A&M records, albeit short lived. Keenan supplied songs and his production prowess to the soundtrack of The Jean Claude Van Dame film “Kickboxer”. Still he had no product of his own on the market. Years later, while playing the rock circuit in Los Angeles, Keenan finally landed a label deal with his band “Invisible Poet Kings”. Their song “Clean White Shirt”, a Keenan/Palmer composition, became a most added song on Sirius Satellite radio and his CD a top selling regional disc. On the cusp of receiving accolades he’d worked so many years to achieve, his label’s distributor filed bankruptcy followed by the closing of his label when several of its partners left. They say every cloud has a silver lining. “My Brain”, the latest Barry Keenan release has been four years in the making. Listen closely and I think you’ll agree the wait has been worth it. Press Release: Overview: As Artist, Engineer and Producer on “My Brain”, Keenan supplies all the instrumentation and vocal harmonies. His crisp production values provide a top quality canvas for Keenan’s own poetic prose. Having grown up with the Beatles and having been heavily influenced by their sound, Keenan’s songs speak in Lennonesque life narratives. [top of page] Shawn Willms Sirius Satilite Radio Reviewer: Sirius Satelite Radio; Invisible Poet Kings "Clean White Shirt"; I love these guys! As the format manager for the Spirit channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, I¹m constantly searching for new music to add to the mix. Artist that will compliment the format and add some spice. Every now and then I¹ll come across something that¹s explosive, exciting and most importantly, a style unlike any other I¹ve heard before that¹s refreshing to the ears and soul. Needless to say I was blown away when I first heard "Clean White Shirt" from the Invisible Poet Kings. Shawn Willms Format Manager for Spirit Sirius Satellite Radio [top of page] Tom Kidd Music Connection MUSIC CONNECTION Vol. XXIV, No. 18 08/28/00 to 09/10/00 DISK REVIEWS........Page 42 Invisible Poet Kings, Invisible Poet Kings Label: Cool Records Producer: Barry Keenan Summary: Invisible Poet Kings pay tribute to both John Lennon, particularly on the ballad, "There's No Love," and Paul McCartney with quality musicianship..............no one has released a swirling circus atmosphere like this since Supertramp............ --Tom Kidd [top of page] Unknown Amazon.com Amazon.com: DON'T LET THIS ALBUM BECOME A 'LOST CLASSIC," OCTOBER 25, 2000 Reviewer: A music fan (Northridge, Ca) Don't you hate it when you come across an album that is so good yet you can't believe it's not being played anywhere on the radio? If you are looking for that kind of album, then THIS IS IT!! The debut album from the Invisible Poet Kings is one of the best "hidden gems" I've come across from a small indie label. This disc has great memorable songs, thought-provoking lyrics & stellar sound that you would normally expect to find on some big-shot major labels. However, the difficult part is how to discribe music so richly textured in it's arrangement without (at the time I write this) the help of audio samples. They can remind you of many different bands in style, yet manage to remain completely fresh. For example, the opening track, "Clean White Shirt," sounds like something Queen would have made if the Beatles had produced them. (In fact, the whole album is a lot like the albums made by those two groups; every track is different in style from the next ala 'Revolver" or "A Night At The Opera.") Another song,"Over & Over/Johnny's Treehouse," starts out like an Eric Carmen poptune before wrapping itself around a massive "Kashmir"-like guitar riff...and that's just the begining!! And "Personal War" is almost like a hard-rock version of a Pink Floyd track!! There really isn't a single bad cut here. Please don't let this album become a "lost classic." I swear you 're going to miss out on some great music. [top of page]
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