Huggy Barr

Photo by Zen Sekizawa

BARR is this kid Brendan Fowler from Baltimore via New York, but he lives in Los Angeles, which is where he belongs. Not because L.A. is full of bronzed robots who won't hug you unless you make at least $300K a minute, but because L.A. is always sunny and so is BARR. He is kind of, sort of, a rapper, but more of a motivational speaker for lapsed indie and punk kids, like if Paul Barman played with Bedroom Productions. He's in a band called New England Roses with JD from Le Tigre and their other friend Sarah Shapiro, but Brendan's full-time job is being BARR. And BARR is a full-time ambassador from the People's Republic of Warm Huggy Vibes. VICE: What are your lyrics mainly about?
BARR: Mostly the politics of inner/interpersonal politics. Is that college-boy talk for "relationships"?
And friendships and enemyships. I also talk about obsessive-compulsive disorder; the experience of subculture; the unimportantizing of the "inner cool kid nation;" conflict; getting through negative weirdness, and triumphing because of it. What's the best kind of kiss?
Not too much tongue. More like playful lip-nibbling, and then full-on lip activity with meaning. But with some tongue as a special, yet subtle, secret bonus weapon thing. What's the best kind of hug?
Strong but not too hard—a lot of times people say I hug too hard. I just want to convey that if we're hugging, I mean it. Sometimes, though, I pull out my wrist from hugging people. It's because I grab them around the shoulders too hard. I also tend to hug too many people in a row, like at an art opening or a show or something. What historical figure would you most like to hug right this second?
Margaret Kilgallen, because I miss her. Would you rather hug a baby or an old grandma?
I was actually thinking about this yesterday. I like hugging babies more, because you can physically pick them up and fit them into your arms and try to infuse them with hope and love. With old people, I have to bend down and worry about being clumsy and breaking them. Who has better hugs: New York or L.A.?
New York people hug better because they're more used to running into people on the street, so they get more practice. In L.A. you don't ever really see anyone, and when you do, you were just in your little bubble a minute before, so you're all, "Wait, another human. I'm not ready to interact. I guess I have to hug them." The new BARR album, what does the seccond BARR cd look like, is out this month on Tapes/DoggPony. For more information please go to barrbarr.com.