THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170084
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
WHEN DAVID BARBE plays Hampton Roads, it's a little like a home-away-from-homecoming.
The Athens, Ga.-based Barbe will be at the Boathouse Friday night in his role as bassist and occasional songwriter in Sugar, the loud and loudly acclaimed band led by Bob Mould, ex-singer/guitarist for Husker Du.
Barbe, however, became known to area alternative-rock aficiandos as point man in the late-'80s Athens punk group Mercyland. One of the tracks on that outfit's recent compilation CD, ``Spillage,'' was recorded at the Little Saddle, once a popular nightspot near Old Dominion University.
``I've had that thing for years,'' Barbe says of the mono cassette that provided the cover of Lee Michaels' ``Do You Know What I Mean?'' ``Somebody that, I think, worked at the college station there had a little tape recorder and just handed me the tape.
``To us, a tape that sounds like that, of a live show, is every bit a part of a Mercyland retrospective as `Black on Black on Black,' '' their 1987 debut single.
Life has changed since the ``no days off'' tours Barbe remembers in the booklet notes of ``Spillage,'' when he and fellow Mercylanders Andrew Sullivan and Joel Suttles (who replaced drummer Harry Joiner) slept on friends' apartment floors.
``Today's the first day of my new physical fitness kick,'' says Barbe. ``I got up and ran this morning. I've been waiting to do something like that. I'm 31 now, you know. So I wanted to develop that ugly habit of exercising on the road, so I can keep it up when I get home.''
That goal will be easier to meet for Barbe, Mould and Sugar drummer Malcolm Travis than for some other modern-rock superstars. Barbe's commitment to being in Athens with his wife and three children will keep touring for ``File Under: Easy Listening,'' the band's current release, at a reasonable level. No year-plus traveling schedules for these guys.
``I think that Bob and Malcolm are happy that someone's willing to be the bad guy and say, `I'm sorry, I don't want to go there,' '' he said. ``I've played for nobody, for no recognition, for so long. I love to play, but I'm not interested in having my life dictated by that lifestyle.''
Barbe spends his time in Athens writing songs, producing and engineering for other bands, and playing with his side project, Buzz Hungry.
``We usually practice at 6:30 a.m.,'' he says of the latter group. ``It's the super sunrise rock sessions. I'm still livin' the dream.''
Mould has also managed to keep his private hours to himself. Even when reporters recently began asking about his homosexuality, his insistence on separating that part of his life from the spotlight was accepted.
``Well, he's certainly not bashful about tryin' to draw the line between his public persona and his personal life. That's really a little annoying, to be constantly barraged with those kinds of questions,'' says Barbe. ``It doesn't have anything to do with the records. And no one asks some artist who is heterosexual what his favorite sexual position is.''
A more appropriate topic might be Mould's preferred amp settings. ``Easy Listening'' bears the distinct mark of psychedelic pop ranging from the Who to My Bloody Valentine. Mould was recently quoted in Rolling Stone as saying his dream show would have Sugar and MBV facing each other at opposite ends of a football field, blasting away at the same time.
Post-concert entertainment might include a challenge from Sugar to its UK compatriots to a round of Strat-O-Matic baseball, a passion of Barbe's for nearly 20 years. He brings his set along on the road, and has enlisted Mould and Travis on fantasy teams. Any thoughts on this year's aborted Major League season?
``To me, an argument between millionaires and billionaires is absurd.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by TODD V. WOLFSON
From left, Malcolm Travis, Bob Mould and David Barbe make up the
loud and acclaimed band Sugar.
CONCERT FACTS
Who: Sugar with Magnapop
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: the Boathouse, Norfolk
How much: $9 advance; to order, call 671-8100
Information: 622-6395
by CNB