Brian H. Barlow

An instrumental offering, featuring electric and acoustic guitars, synth, piano, midi strings, horns, & bass, harmonica, drums and percussion, and probably a kitchen sink somewhere. A pleasant verse melody, energetic chorus, ethereal pre-bridge launching into a frenetic bridge, and a joyous closing chorus that should have you humming, tapping and improvising along. Happy listening. Let the music play!

Today is "Leap Day." What better time to launch a new song, "I'm Gonna Play Music," the first track FamilyBusiness's new full-length album, "Heirloom," available in mid-March 2020.

"I'm Gonna Play Music" is a modern take on the Bible's King David's unashamed expression of worship. As David is leading the procession carrying up the ark of the covenant from the house of Obededom to the city of David, he is overflowing with great joy. The band is playing, and David is dancing with all his might and playing music before the Lord. However, his wife, Michal, despises his undignified display of worship. David responds with the wonderful words, "I will play music before the Lord, and I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight." - from which comes the title and theme of this song.

"I'm Gonna Play Music" was actually written nearly ten years ago. At that time, I (Brian) was facing much opposition to my ministry from several members of the church I pastored, and in particular, opposing my expressing my faith and life experiences through my songwriting and playing. As I read and reread this account of Obededom's (thus the name of my record label), and especially of David's experiences with honoring the Lord's presence and worshipping Him (II Samuel 6; I Chronicles 15), this song was born.

The first recording (2011) has been "in the can" since then, mostly because the master was misplaced. Just last week, it was rediscovered, along with another song from that same recording session ("Breathe In Me" - also appearing on "Heirloom").

So, here it is. We hope you enjoy listening and will resonate with the joyous determination to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, no matter what comes. Let the music play!

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to listen to my musical offerings. I hope each one of them has brought you at least a little joy, hope, peace, and / or perspective. We have such a ridiculous number of options begging for our time these days. That you chose to give a listen is huge.

I am really excited about my latest, "O My Soul." The process of creating this song, from start to finish, was a happy surprise for me every step of the way. I hope it lifts you spirit, and raises your thoughts to "think on heavenly things" (Colossians 3:2).

Today, June 5, 2019, is the release of my latest song, O My Soul. The idea for the song comes from Psalms 71:19, 146, 149, & 150. I have always wanted to write a song expressing deep trust in our ever-faithful Lord, but with the exuberance heard in the last five Psalms. My plan is for this song to eventually appear on an album tentatively titled "Heirloom," which will be a collection of songs from our band, FamilyBusiness (I'm hoping to create a FamilyBusiness N1M page very soon).

Happy listening!

Oh, how time flies... I had to take a break from the studio for about 2 weeks, but will be diving back in next week. I have four songs in various stages of production. One of them I will be releasing here soon is a new original tune called "O My Soul." It began as an uptempo instrumental treatment of a few of the Psalms (71, 146, 149, & 150), but has evolved into a strange, fun, hybrid-of-genres praise song. I can't wait for you to give it a listen, and see if you hear the various musical influences that demanded their inclusion in the effort. Anyway, thanks for listening, and stayed tuned...

We had a good turnout and great time playing at One Way Cafe' in Wisconsin Rapids this past Friday night (2/16/18). By the grace of God, and a prescribed boost of prednisone for my ailing throat and voice, we got through our sets pretty well. A hearty "thank you" to all who came out, and all who prayed us through. We look forward to our next opportunity.

I have been in the process of trying to get my / our next project finished. It is tentatively titled "Advent Ages," a collection of songs mostly revolving around the promises and fulfillments of the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and probably a couple of previously unreleased originals. I have at least temporarily lost the services and expertise of my good friend, recording engineer, collaborator, and outstanding musician, James Sutton, as he struggles with a prolonged illness. This leaves me with trying to engineer my own recording of these songs - a tall order indeed. I am excited about the songs, and hope to have something to show in the next several months.

Thanks again for listening.

Brian