Burnbarrel: the intersection of Tim Easton, JP Olsen and The Haynes Boys

"Who/what is Burnbarrel?"

Burnbarrel was the name of a 1999 release on the Heathen label, the original home of Tim Easton's "Special 20" album the year before. The "band" was Tim Easton, JP Olsen (lyricist for many of Tim's song and formerly of The Beetkeepers -- more on them in a sec), a coupla Haynes Boys and the bass player from Special 20. Burnbarrel was basically a showcase for Olsen -- he wrote all the songs and sings them, too. It's a fine album -- lots of strange songs and odd characters and, not surprisingly, it bears more than a passing sonic similarity to the mighty 1996 Haynes Boys album. For Easton fans it's significant cuz it features the original versions of two songs Tim would later cover (a stripped down "Far Rockaway"/"John Gilmartin" and a truly amazing version of "Bad Florida"). Anybody who's familiar with the Olsen songs that Easton has done over the years know that his lyrical skills are quite accomplished and rather distinctive -- his songs are often very literary and full of interesting, memorable characters (i find myself thinking of the likes of John Prine and Warren Zevon when i listen to his words -- pretty high praise i guess). Olsen has been in and out of the music biz over the last few decades, balancing a career in journalism with his songwriting. Burnbarrel are supposedly still a viable thing and were slated to have a new album out last year, but i don't remember hearing anything about it lately.

http://www.myspace.com/burnbarrelband

The Beetkeepers were a late 80s band from Columbus who were supposed to be the schnizzle. They were a trio, again featuring JP's (known then as James) songs and voice. They put out one extremely hard to find album in 1988 on No Other; there may be other releases, but i had a hard enough time tracking this one down. It's similar to the Burnbarrel vibe, although a bit "rockier." Again, Easton has dipped into this well for songs; the album features the original versions of 3 songs Tim later covered, including one of his signature live songs, "Don't Walk Alone."

As for the Haynes Boys, i know i'm not the only one who has sung their praises. There sole album, "Guardian Angel," is a definite must own, especially if you have more than a passing interest in Mr. Easton. There's not a whole lot around in the Haynes Boys rarities dept., but enough for a mini box set: two pre-Guardian Angel 45s, a promo-only outtake from the album sessions, a track on a Pere Ubu tribute album (?!), a couple of great 1997 soundboards, and some post-album demos that feature songs that later would show up on Burnbarrel and Special 20. They also put out 2 or 3 casette-only releases, but they've proven to be too elusive for this detective (if anybody has these, they need to contact me pronto!).