Recent photo of Reverend Thunderbear
What is the Rev. Thunderbear Traveling Roadshow (RTTR)? It’s a band headed up by Bill Barrett, a recent Woodstock returnee. Joining Bill are John Coghill on bass, Ian Snyder on lead guitar, and Russell Riley on drums. Barrett is a fan of impassioned three-hour sets, and his musical taste ranges from straight-ahead Rock ’n’ Roll to Reggae and Swing. He played a great date in July at the Colony.
Bill arrived in town in 1974 from Hollis, Queens. He recalled in a recent phone conversation that “my mother kept a guitar around the house and loved to sing the songs of Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez.” Around this time, he purchased Great Songs of Lennon & McCartney. His repertoire expanded to Rolling Stones songs as well. Bill was an early fan of the Marc Black Trio and caught them in concert at the Woodstocker and the Joyous Lake.
Barrett attended Onteora and joined a band. They played their first concert during Spring Fest in 1979. Upon graduation from Onteora, Bill attended SUNY New Paltz for a year before leaving in 1981 to pursue a musical career in New York City. He played for a time with the Underground Press and began writing songs. With demos in hand, he pursued his dream all the way to London. When success didn’t follow, he decided to switch gears and got a regular job in the States, but he never gave up playing.
Over the years, he’s met some of his musical heroes. One time he bumped into Joe Strummer of the Clash on 13th Street in New York City. Joe was very friendly and supportive of Bill’s musical bent. Another day he met David Byrne in a Manhattan bookstore. Later on, Bill befriended Paul Frazier, who plays bass for David Byrne, and he was able to score backstage passes on a number of occasions to see David Byrne again. Barrett admires Byrne’s energy and songwriting chops. In addition, upon his return to Woodstock, Bill reconnected with Marc Black. Marc recently tapped Bill to play on his “Woodstock Volunteers” song.
Bill is pleased with the way things are progressing with RTTR. Fans are responding well to his songs. One, “Fool to Look,” is getting good support. Oddly this is one that he wrote in the 1980s. He would love to do a recording and take the group to the next level by playing festival dates.
RTTR’s upcoming gigs include Woodstock Concerts on the Green on August 31 at 5:15 p.m.
~ Weston Blelock
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