Meet Bart Bryars

We were lucky to catch up with Bart Bryars recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hmm.

My discovery of my purpose was unorthodox. Unconventional. And circuitous. And definitely out of the box.

It didn’t involve schooling or apprenticeship. Roadmaps or curricula. Degrees or certificates.

My purpose was discovered through failure and lawbreaking. Despair and hopelessness. Reconciliation and forced self-reflection. Solitude and time. Discovery of myself and ultimately making a decision to change the course of my life.

In 1985, I was 24 years old and in the US Coast Guard in Michigan. I got busted running cocaine and made bail, and three days before my scheduled trial I faked my death in an ice-fishing “accident” and went on the run.

I was re-apprehended four months later in backwoods Louisiana and subsequently spent seven years in prison.

It was during those years that I made a decision to be a musician for the rest of my life.

When I went to prison I hadn’t been in a band since highschool, a rock band called Captain Schmedley & The Deadly Medley. I was (shocker) Captain Schmedley in that outfit.

But now, after looking in the mirror and searching my soul every day for a few years, I remembered how much fun playing music was and how it gave me great joy and happiness.

It was about then that I made a life-altering choice to commit to a life of music.

I put together several prisoner bands and played in a lot of other ones. In many different genres. Let’s just say that I was not well-received at first. The penitentiary was definitely the harshest critics I’ve ever faced.

I also began writing songs and seriously studying guitar during that time.

Eventually I had an epiphany and ended up discovering a style to win over the “big three” inmates (blacks, browns, and whites). Incorporating, catering, and emphasizing bass, percussion, and guitar solos, respectively.

When I was released, within a couple of years I had a band and have had one ever since.

I have written and/or recorded hundreds of songs since my release 30+ years ago.

I have written and produced eight albums. I also wrote two full-length musicals and the libretto to an opera when I spent 10 years in NYC.

I am currently, at 62 years old, writing and producing a new 10 song album by my Nashville band, The Feels.

Although I’ve made a good living at different points in my life playing music, currently I just do it for the love of it. It’s liberating to create what’s in my heart, irrespective of monetary concerns.

I do not think I would have been happy in life if I were not a musician. I also do not think I would have pursued music, as a musician, if I hadn’t gone to prison.

So, that is how I discovered my purpose.

Well, I’m a musician first and foremost. I am always involved with ongoing musical projects, mostly making new albums with whatever group I’m in.

Presently, I’m writing, recording, and producing my ninth album. It’s the second offering from my Nashville band, The Feels.

Our first album, There’s Somebody In There, can be heard and downloaded on SoundCloud (https://m.soundcloud.com/bart-bryars-805377963), as well as all digital and streaming platforms like Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, Google Music, etc…

The Feels are basically a casual songwriting collective of accomplished musicians who meet once a week to write and develop new songs. Our genre is a mish-mash of blues, rock, jazz, funk, soul, r&b, and a smidgen of prog. We occasionally play shows in Nashville.

I should also mention that a screenplay adaptation of my prison memoir, published last year, “The Rabbit In Me” (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B11BQV8N/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=), is presently being written and developed by author/screenwriter Julie Rogers (julierogersbooks.com) and myself (bartbryars.com).

To take the path I took, at least when I took my first meaningful steps, did not require skills and knowledge. Only desire.

So, I would say that the qualities one needs to pursue a life of music are eagerness and determination, piggybacking on having a proclivity and predilection for it. A genuine love of doing the thing that you do.

Once you have made up your mind and commit to it, you can gain the skills and knowledge at your own pace and level. It’s not easy, but I believe anyone can do it if you put in the work.

The skill and knowledge required to make songs, to make music, write lyrics and melodies and harmonies and rhythms, were all self-taught.

While it’s true I have learned from others that I’ve played with, by listening and watching, I developed my songwriting and production processes through trial and error. For every good song I’ve written and/or recorded, there’s probably five or ten bad ones. As is true of most of life’s endeavors, I learned way more from failing than succeeding.

If there’s one person I can credit with helping me become who and what I am, it is my mother. I inherited my love of creativity from her. She was a gifted professional writer and loved music of all kinds. Most importantly, she encouraged all my artistic efforts. My biggest cheerleader.

In fact, we made a children’s book together. She wrote it and I illustrated it, from a prison cell.

(https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Ittybittyville-Dianne-Smith-Bryars/dp/0692829636/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=314OJQ0VKYSUF&keywords=tales+of+itty+bitty+ville&qid=1691705236&sprefix=tales+of+ittybittyville+%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-2)

NOTE: If you would like to take a deep dive into all of my artistic endeavors, I’ve placed a lot of them on my website, www.bartbryars.com. There, you can find my recently published memoir, a children’s book I illustrated, free downloads of several albums from several of my bands throughout the years, musicals, music videos, and newspaper and magazine articles and TV interviews from my most recent press tours. Also, if you’d like any of the books or records signed, contact me through this site and I’ll make it happen. Cheers!