I got to see Barnabas Crosby perform live with his guitar and singing from his heart at the 507 Bar and Grill in Williamsburg. It was an evening of fundraising for the Lil' Raggamuffin Summer Camp in Jamaica where the musician has taught theater to inner city kids. His music puts one in the mind of Gil Scott, Stevie, Bob and Anthony Hamilton by way of his socially conscious commentary. The father of a beautiful, charming four year old girl is a singer/song writer and playwright who hails from Cleveland but now resides in Brooklyn. He counts among his inspirations Al Green, Bill Withers, Thelonious Monk and the artist of the Harlem Renaissance movement. "Ain't Nuthin' Else Better To Do" and "Home" are among my favorites of his for their gritty and straightforward honesty. Barnabas says while in college Dawson's Creek was at it's pinnacle and in his writing class when given assignments the other students were writing in that vein, however he had to find a way to write what he knew. "When you're poor and growing up and you don't know how to go about making a thing happen, you have to create what you think "it" is." He uses that make it happen approach as well as adapting the philosophies of improvisational jazz to write his plays. He says he is always "trying to create something rich and vibrant...something that people can feel." I think he has. Have a listen
