"Indie Flavored" Bar Car Band Interview
www.TheBarCarBand.com
Interview by Roger Zee (04/02/22)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to sing? Do you play any instruments?
Nina Hammerling Smith: I don’t remember ever not singing. Always just my favorite thing to do. In the Eighties, I obsessively listened to the radio and sang along with everything, often with the wrong words! This happened before you could look up the lyrics to every song. Then I went through a very Sixties phase. The first CD I ever bought -- "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band." I listened to nothing but the Beatles for a while, until one day at the record store, I picked up Janis Joplin, Carole King and Joni Mitchell and that hooked me.
I play piano, guitar, clarinet, and drums, none of them well, LOL! But singing came first. I sang in choirs and acappella groups all through school. I joined my first Rock band in high school. And when I worked at Rolling Stone magazine in the late Nineties, I played in their house band. We performed a couple of holiday party gigs at The Roxy in New York. One year, Lenny Kravitz sat in with us on drums. The next year, Peter Wolf sang "Love Stinks." I sang backgrounds for both. A trip and a half!
RZ: Tell me how the band came together.
NHS: It started with my husband, Russell Smith, and me in our garage. Well really, it began when we worked together at Us Weekly magazine, he as a writer and me an editor. He played guitar and I would sing. One thing led to another and we started making music together... Then we got married, had kids and moved to the suburbs. So music kind of took a back seat for a while.
We also went to a lot of estate sales to pick up stuff for our house. Russell visited one without me and when I got home, I saw a drum kit taking up half of our garage. Not pleased at first. But then I rediscovered my love for the drums. When we started the band, Russell played guitar and I sang lead and drummed.
Pretty soon we met Michael Mugrage, a local legend and longtime pro. He plays virtually every instrument and became our original bass player. Now he’s our songwriting partner and lead guitarist. And I moved out front instead of behind the drum kit. We picked up the incredible Tommy Nagy on drums. And rounding out the cast of characters, our amazing special guest bass player, Scott Spray.
RZ: How did you come up with the band name?
NHS: I grew up in New York and spent weekends and summers in Westport, traveling on the Metro North train. The best ride became the Bar Car. That’s where the guys in suits would loosen their ties and tie one on while the party kids pre-gamed. Folks came to relax. Lots of hilarious and delightful surprise encounters occurred on the Bar Car. Then, just as we started up the band, they decided to retire the last of them. We just figured we should keep the good times rolling. All aboard!
RZ: What kind of music do you play?
NHS: I think of our music as soulful, Indie-flavored Rock & Roll. Truthfully, we perform the music we love, though our tastes vary diversely. They run from the Blues to New Wave and beyond. There’s a lot of Eighties and Sixties vibes in there. Not surprisingly, we cover everything from The Beatles and Janis Joplin to newer stuff like Amy Winehouse and Alabama Shakes.
I call our originals fun, funky, and hopefully catchy. Such an awesome feeling when we play a gig and see people singing along with our tunes.
RZ: Where does the group usually perform?
NHS: We live in Fairfield County, CT and play mostly the venues around here: The Black Duck in Westport, Redding Roadhouse, Spotted Horse Tavern in Shelton, and Sails in Norwalk, just to name a few. But we don't mind traveling for the right gig! For example, this summer we will perform at my alma mater, Swarthmore College, near Philadelphia.
RZ: Talk about the release of your new EP, "High on the Sunshine."
NHS: It's our second EP. The first, "Why Not?," came out in 2017. All set to record "High on the Sunshine" in April 2020, but then of course that got put on hold, along with just about everything else, due to the Pandemic. So it thrilled us to finally lay down these four tracks.
Each tracks shows its own flavor, kind of like our musical tastes. "High on the Sunshine," bright and swinging; "Away from You," kind of dreamy and moody; "Friday," a funkified, danceable jam; and "Burn on Through," a bluesy torch song.
We recorded them at Pilot Studios in Housatonic, MA with the brilliant producer Will Schillinger -- truly a master at his craft. There’s an animated video for "High on the Sunshine" that’s just a treat to watch. Come to our CD release party Friday, April 8 at 314 Beer Garden in Norwalk, CT. It’ll be a hoot!
RZ: How has the Pandemic affected you? What's on the horizon?
NHS: The Pandemic proved tough! At our busiest ever and about to go into the studio, we instead went into complete lockdown for more than a year. What a shock to the system! I actually found it kind of hard to make music at all during that time. It just felt so strange. And I missed it.
I don’t think everything's back to normal just yet. But it’s good that we’re getting busy again, and the EP's finally ready to share. We all need music in our lives!
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
NHS: All our gigs feel special! Especially when people dance, sing along, or just lose themselves in the good time. But OK, some seem more special than others. Let’s see... We played a number of shows around the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, including one at FTC Warehouse. What a great show! And we’re so happy to play Taste of Westport again this year on June 15 -- a fundraiser for the wonderful nonprofit CLASP Homes, which supports adults with autism and developmental disabilities.
RZ: How do you see the future of the music business?
NHS: Even though we sometimes grumble about the good old days, so much great music gets produced right now! And because of the internet, nearly anything you dream up becomes possible. It’s the great democratization of music. Not a bad thing at all!
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
NHS: Stick with it. Be yourself. The business can appear daunting, but never stop pushing. And don’t let anyone or anything sway you from your path. Those amazing moments when you do what you’re meant to do and it moves other people make all the hard times worthwhile.
RZ: Do you live with any animals?
NHS: You mean other than our kids? Yes, we’ve got a big ol’ sweetheart of a mutt named Mila, who’s part lab, part boxer, part pit bull, and all heart.
YouTube - "High on the Sunshine" - Bar Car Band
YouTube - "Janis Joplin Medley" - Bar Car Band Live at Weston, CT Fine Arts Festival, July 17, 2021
©2022 Roger Zee
