Artist Interview - Johnny Barz

1. How did you get your artist/group name?
Well John is my real name so the Jonathon is just an extention of that & the Barz comes from the symbolization of the roman numeral III. Named after my father, Im the 3rd so when I sign my name I use the roman numberal III, which looks like Bars. Jonathon Barz!


2. How long have you been in the music game?
Ive been in the game professionally since I graduated college. I have my AA in audio engineering and production from the Institute of Audio Research. Its been about 10yrs strong now.

3. Who are your major influences in your music?
My major influences would be considerd anyone who made music in the 90's era of music, There was no such thing as wack or bad music. Everyone from everywhere was tight. Dre, Snoop, the whole Deathrow, Biggie, Puff, the whole Bad Boy, Nas, Jay-Z, Outkast, Goodie Mobb the whole Dungeon Family etc.... I try to mimic something from all of these artist and influence the generation Y of today the same way us generation X ppl were influenced!



4. Where are you from?
A well known town called Turner Station in Baltimore, MD

5. Who do you have featured on your album/mixtape?
I have Mary J. Blige (background vocals), Musiq Soulchild (background vocals) and a up and coming singer by the name of Tiana Spence all appearing on The Transition LP.

6. How did you get into music?
I got into this by listening to all my parents oldies but goodies music. Groups/Artist like the Temptations, the Four Tops, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye etc...

7. What is your next upcoming project/performance and when?
The project is called The Transition LP. Its an Urban Christian/Hip Hop & R&B album which will be available on iTunes and everywhere else online within the next 3-5 weeks. Show dates/performances coming soon!

8. Who would you like to work with that you haven't already?
I would like to work with artist and producers who are considered the best at what they do. Whether its production, lyricism, song writing etc... I would love to work with Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Nas, Common, Rae and Ghost.

9. Who is your favorite artist/group?
My favorite artists are Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas & Pac. (Nas would be my #1) While my favorite groups are Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep & CNN (Mobb Deep would be my #1)

10 .What is your favorite song on your album/mixtape?
The more I listen to it, the more it changes every week. This week I would say its "Never Alone." The Beyonce sample I looped was crazy!

11. What motivates you?
Besides good music, I would say God and my son. Being blessed with such a talent from God is motivation in its self but my son jams to my music and he's so young (2yrs old) he doesnt even know its me he's listening to.

12. What sets you apart from other artists/groups in your genre?
The fact that I put God in everything. No matter how commercial or street the record is, I always reference a blessing & try to add a message, substance and purpose in every record.

13. What would you like to see from the music industry in the next three years?
I would like to see it more balanced. For every artist to have the same type of radio play, exposure and chance.

14. In three words; describe your personality?
1) Upbeat 2) Positive 3) Calm

15. In three words; describe your music?
1) Powerful 2) Inspirational 3) Uplifting

16. How does your family & friends feel about your music and your choice of career?
At first family didnt approve because majority of the artist in their generation died broke. (like the Temptations for example) So they swore it was no money in it. They wanted me to be like a doctor or lawyer or something. After they seen what artist in my generation are doing and how their profiting, the support is there and Im appreciative of that. As for my friends, lets just say I know who to keep around and who to seperate myself from. Lol!

17. Do you have any affiliations (label/team) or shout outs you'd like to give?
Im affiliated with an independent label called MantaRay Records and their producer A.V. whos done Pop work for artist like The Far East Movement whos hit "Like a G Six" is crazy right now. I would like to shout out Nick New, Sixx Four and my man Precise Thoughts for all the support and play of my records. Shout out to my company SixteenRegime, a management and production company. After my Transition LP Ima work closely with A.V. & we gonna get this Ke$ha/Justin Beiber type pop money. Lol!

18. What does music mean to you?
It means a form of univeral language, used to serve a purpose in relating to people across the world.

19. What advice would you give another artist/group?
Just never give up. Nothing happens over night. Im 28yrs old and Ive been doing this since 18yrs old. Im just now getting to a place where I feel like its my time. So keep grinding and never give up!

20. What can we expect from you in the future?
For my company SixteenRegime to take over the Pop culture. Thats where the "real money" is. Even though Im still gonna rhyme and produce things for myself, Im gonna play the background for a minute and just produce and manage these young artist Im currently working with! My next project for myself is gonna be like Dr. Dre's Detox cause I wanna get to a point where I can do albums when I want to and not when I need to cause Im under pressure from a label or contract situation. Lol!

21. Where can your fans reach you at?
I can be reached at for music at:
www.reverbnation.com/jonathonbarz
www.showcaseyourmusic.com/johnnybarzmusic
www.myspace.com/johnnybarzmusic
www.youtube.com/johnnybarz16regime See No Evil video up now!
Social networking at:
www.facebook.com/johnnybarz.bannerman
www.twitter.com/sixteenregime