Barry Rock – ‘Closer’

New York City native Barry Rock is a true rock and roller who started young and has drawn inspiration from the likes of The Beatles, Billy Joel, The Beach Boys, and The Cars. Starting with bands in college in the 1970s he wrote “bubblegum” songs, and then in the 1980s continued playing, even though he was focused on his marriage and a career outside of music. The past four years, Barry Rock has found a new drive, and returned to completely devoting himself to furthering his musical career.

Barry’s new passion has found himself playing with a new group of musicians: Jimmy Sarle (Johnny Maestro And The Brooklyn Bridge) joins him on lead guitar; Lou Agiesta (who’s the drummer of Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge and he’s played with John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion and many more) joins him on drums; Lenny LaPinta (who he describes as the “best sax player in the freaking world” who’s played with some major heavy hitters) joins him on saxophone; and Matt Friedman (who was Billy Joel’s personal piano played in the Broadway show Moving Out) joins him on keyboards. To top it all off, they work with producer and bass player Mick James, for a retro sound with a happy feel and songs that will stay in your head for ages.

Barry Rock is a real night owl, but he finds that this is beneficial for his music, as sometimes when he can’t sleep, lyrics will “fall in place like dominos” as he starts putting chords together. ‘Closer’, his new single, is a sensual and romantic tune, with a video to match, shot on Coney Island and Evolution Studios, in Farmingdale New York. We see Barry playing guitar on stage, and walking around an amusement park, while a lady – played by a friend of his, who flew in from Colorado – comes to join him in his apartment, as he sings, “baby get closer, closer, baby get closer”.

Barry Rock’s undeniably catchy hooks will grab you and keep you, and should definitely see him get the recognition he deserves.

You can find Barry Rock online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

Barry Rock - Closer (Official Video)

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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