Of Montreal

You might call Kevin Barnes, front man of the flourishing indie pop-rock band Of Montreal, a man obsessed. Is he obsessed with his band? Sure. Obsessed with music in general? 'Course. But mostly, he's obsessed with creating. According to Barnes, a day where something isn't created is a day that might as well not be lived.

"I just want to be productive," says Kevin Barnes.

The Georgia-based Of Montreal has been around in one form or another since 1997. What's separated it from other bands of its ilk all these years is its anti-garage band devotion to complex harmonies and melody twists, as well as intricate, storytelling lyrics. The summation of these parts has defined the music as quirky and fun, intricate and thought-out.

AllMusic.com has described them as "unashamedly rapturous . . . [they're able to use] random ideas and far-flung images that together form a charmingly chaotic whole."

While other indie bands are playing nearly empty back rooms in bars, this "random," "far-flung," and "chaotic" little group is selling out halls around the country and garnering comparisons to classic bands such as The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, and even The Beatles. The latter group's massive body of work approaches the amount of great music Barnes hopes to create in his own lifetime.

That means he won't be putting down that pen anytime soon.

"I never feel like I want to take a vacation. I just want to be productive. I'm not the most talented musician, but I do labor over every lyric and every arrangement," he says. "I'll get really annoyed at myself if I'm not creating. There's only so much time you have in a lifetime."

The best part of his product? Barnes says it's watching people enjoy his creations. "When we're performing, we're excited and the audience is excited, so it's communal," he says. "It's a give and take of joy that you don't usually get in everyday life. Yeah, you might smile at someone in the supermarket and they'll smile back, but it's not the same. This is [something that] makes me feel like I'll be remembered."

Posted on March 20, 2006