Ray Barbee :: Little Postcards From Home

Cover Art: Javier Mendizabal

American professional skateboarder, music writer, photographer, and multi-instrumentalist Ray Barbee needs no introduction when it comes to being one of the most influential and iconic street skaters of the last four decades. The legend appeared in cult classics from the Powell Peralta days with titles like “Public Domain”, “Ban This”, and “Propaganda”, before eventually breaking off to join the Lance Mountain-led brand The Firm in the 1990s. His style flows like a spiritual stingray piercing through the poetic particles of the Pacific Ocean, its wavy wings gliding through the ancient water without so much as a ripple breaking the salty surface, waiting patiently above. If you know anything about the skateboarding culture that has controlled the creative consciousness of the West Coast for over half a century, you know that Barbee is a household name in the industry. Like most who’ve spent their lives as professional skateboarders, there comes a time when another medium, or calling, takes over, whether it’s photography, music, or becoming a brand owner yourself, and a new path begins to take shape. Barbee made it okay to switch things up and invest that eager energy skateboarders have into other hobbies, interests, career choices, relationships, and most importantly, the creative channels that course through this particular culture’s veins.

“One night, I was watching a documentary about the classic Roland TR-808 drum machine. It had all the quintessential hit songs and artists that used it. Planet Rock, Sexual Healing, Paul Revere, and after seeing it, I thought it would be fun to hear TR-808 drum beats with post-punk style guitars. I’ve always dug those early post-punk bands like Joy Division, Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, PiL, Magazine, and the Durutti Column. So many great guitar tones with all the various effects pedals that they would use. I got excited about the idea of hearing post-punk style guitars with the tr808 drum machine. “Little Postcards from Home” is the result of that enthusiasm. recorded from home on my 8-track cassette recorder and Akai MPC drum machine sampler.”

Photo: Atiba Jefferson

There’s an old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Now there’s some blue-collar philosophy we can all get behind! As if Peralta’s generosity couldn’t be enough for the youth at the time, legend has it that he bought Barbee his first guitar after an amateur event, and since then, carved a critical place in sonic stone with the lush landscapes and artistic atmosphere by way of the vibrations conjured by his signature Fender sound. Shortly after fellow skate legend, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Tommy Guerrero released his subliminal third album, “Soul Food Taqueria”in the spring of 2003, Barbee released his monumental debut, “In Full View” in 2005, establishing an electrifying ecosystem for life beyond the board. After returning to the sonic soundscapes over two decades later, Barbee brings to life a compelling collection of songs on Guerrero’s label Too Good titled “Little Postcards from Home.” Showcasing the spiritual sophistication of structure, tonal timing, and radical rhythms of instrumental intimacy, the album reflects a harmonic holiness that carefully ponders the vast landscapes of California’s cosmic climate with an eager eye. While extracting the essence of various subjects within the post-punk parameters, the album gleams the familiar sounds and metallic membrane of bands like Wire, Joy Division, and Durutti Column by collectively coexisting in their grip, while simultaneously embracing the nature of counter culture, society, and poetic politics. Mastered and mixed by John McBain and Barbee himself, while also featuring his son Nolan on bass for a couple of tracks, the album brings numbers like “Wondefully Nuanced”, the EP’s opener “A Particular Time”, and “Guesswork” to an ultimate high before closing out with the sobering sounds of “Precisely The Point.” Barbee takes listeners on a jiving journey through the listenable layers of multi-track media and psychedelic patterns, the only way he knows how. With patience, timing, and sonic problem-solving, “Little Postcards from Home” wins the hearts of fans both new and old, while continuing to occupy that colorful headspace of stringed soothsaying that Barbee has been laying down since day one.