Just him and his guitar

Tim Barry has been around the block.

A veteran of the punk scene for 20 years, he has done almost everything a rocker can, including world tours and sold-out shows. But a few years ago, after over a decade serving as the lead singer of Richmond, Va.-based Avail, something changed.

“After a number of years with Avail, it just became easy,” Barry said. “Not mundane, and not routine, but easy. I’d get on stage and there’d be 50 to 500 people there and the first chord would hit, the place would explode, and I wouldn’t even need to sing.

“And it did feel great at the end of every show, but at some point there was no challenge anymore.”

So in 2003, Barry did something he had never done before. He went on stage in Asheville, N.C., in front of 60 people and played a solo set — just his voice and an acoustic guitar.

“I was so f---ing scared, man. I was shaking like you wouldn’t believe,” Barry explained. “I felt stripped. It was just me and a guitar, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was awful, I mean terrible, and suddenly I felt alive and challenged again. I was bad, and I suddenly was like ‘I want to do this [well] — how am I going to do this? I’m going to have to play all the time and learn how to [play well].’”

So after going overseas to hone  his guitar and public speaking skills, Barry returned and has continued playing solo shows consistently, especially after Avail went on “permanent standby” in 2008.

But later that year, a unique opportunity presented itself. The project, the brainchild of ex-Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan, billed itself as “The Revival Tour.” Known as a folk collaborative acoustic event, the inaugural tour featured Ragan, Barry and Ben Nichols as well as special guests on select dates, where sets were not constrained by one performer, but instead involved artists coming on stage to help perform the other’s songs.

“I think what really made [the Revival Tour great] was the camaraderie,” Barry said. “We collaborated and made it a show instead of just, ‘Oh, there’s Tim playing, there’s Chuck playing, there’s Ben playing.”

As the Revival Tour gears up for its second run this year, Barry is back on the bill, albeit this time only as a guest for a few dates, including one tonight in Baltimore.

“I’ve kind of over-quoted this, but I mean it when I say that after however many years of traveling and touring, the Revival Tour was the most fun I’ve ever had on a tour,” Barry said. “And I’m excited to be one of the special guests for the shows I’m doing.”

Talking to Barry, it’s clear he has a strong passion for not only this tour, but for music in general. Barry says he grew up playing and listening to both punk and folk music. He is also quick to point out that “even if you go back to the early Avail days, we were always throwing weird spirituals or traditionals in between [the punk] songs.”

Now that it’s become somewhat of a trend to have a solo acoustic project, Barry is as happy as ever with what he’s doing, even as he’s grouped with musicians who are simply cashing in on what’s popular — something he understands.

“The [acoustic] trend is really overkill at this point, and I assume it’s overkill because it’s easy,” Barry said. “Anyone can buy a $100 acoustic guitar, write a couple of songs, post it on the computer, throw your first and last name on there, and there you are. You’re established.”

Even with an oversaturated market, it’s musicians like Barry and Ragan who continue to be successful in the genre. When asked if his obvious passion for music is directly correlated to his success, Barry is acquiescent, although hesitant.

“There’s definitely two different kinds of people who play music,” Barry explained. “There’s those who just play it and they mean what they say, and they say what they mean, and it’s pretty obvious that they feel what they’re doing. And then there are those who you watch and you know they’re full of shit.

“I’m not trying to create an image, this is just what I am. … Whether it’s music or anything, I think people should just be straight up.”

And it is with this passion that Barry begins yet another chapter of his career. Along with the Revival Tour, he has a new record, 28th & Stonewall, coming out early next year when he will tour both stateside and abroad from February to mid-summer.

But don’t be fooled — you’re sure not hearing any complaints about the schedule from him.

“I’m lucky as hell, man,” Barry said. “I’m so lucky because I have a job that I can leave any time, and is here for me when I get back. I live in a situation that my rent is extremely low, and I don’t need a ton of money to get by so I can continue to do these things that excite me.

“I’ve just had a lucky f---ing life, there’s nothing else I can say about it.”

Tim Barry and the Revival Tour stop at Sonar tonight. Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the show. Doors open at 7 p.m.

klucas7@umdbk.com