Bari Koral
If you’re tired of listening to lyrics like “hot potato, hot potato” or “I love you, you love me” and think it would be fun to rock out with your kids, you’ll definitely want to check out the new album from Bari Koral Family Rock Band, Rock & Roll Garden. It’s rock & roll enough for parents and kid enough for kids, and everyone will absolutely love it.
As a native Long Islander who grew up in Merrick and East Meadow, Bari Koral has come a long way from her first job in a local bagel store where she was fired for not weighing the cream cheese. In her teens, she performed in both school musical theater and an off-Broadway theater company, transitioning to rock & roll under the influence of friends while attending Syracuse University. It was there that she first picked up a guitar and started writing and singing “grown-up” music. A friend showed her a few chords and she picked up a lesson here and there, but Bari is mostly a self-taught guitar player. After her first gig opening for the Zen Tricksters, Bari started touring and performing all over the county, mostly at colleges. Ten years ago when her niece Mikayla was born, it started to get harder to always be leaving home for a life on the road. As Mikayla grew up and started realizing that Aunt Bari would leave for 6 months at a time, her crying would break Bari’s heart each and every time. Soon after that, Bari decided she didn’t want to be on the road so much anymore and got her start at the Long Island Children’s Museum where she and a friend performed for kids. They would take suggestions from the kids in the audience and make up short plays and fun songs on the fly. After taking her niece to see Ralphs World in NYC, Bari thought it was cool how parents and kids alike enjoyed the show and the music, and she realized that music could be fun for kids and grownups to enjoy together – not too cool, not too “children-y” and not too rock, but the perfect combination of each. She constantly asks herself if her music is something that she would enjoy and if it’s something that her friends, other artists and idols would be able to enjoy with their kids.
Bari currently teaches music & movement classes based on her songs in NYC, and spends time visiting corporate offices as part of De-Stress at Your Desk, a program that she helped develop in order to help people gain energy and focus while at work. Additionally, Bari is a certified Yoga instructor, having utilized Yoga as a necessity when she wanted to get off the road but was afraid of the uncertainty that that decision would hold or her future. Now, Yoga keeps her grounded and in a good place, helping her get what she wants from life.
In late 2006, Bari, along with bandmates Eric Halverson and Jazz musician Dred Scott, put together the Bari Koral Family Rock Band and have been together ever since.
Last week, we had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Bari and find out more about our fellow Long Islander. Here’s how she answered some of our questions—
What is your favorite song on the new album? On the new album, Backpack and Uh Oh, tracks #2 and 11. From the first album, Nothing I wouldn’t do which is a song that I wrote for Mikayla.
Why do you think that kids and parents both enjoy your music? I’m not trying to be slick and cool and I understand that with kids music, I need to be more on their level, tapping into their world. My music isn’t too childish but it’s also not too rock & roll for kids to like; it’s not too cool that it’s not in their world.
What are your favorite movies? TV shows? I loved Broadcast News and thought that Finding Nemo was rockin’. On TV, I like Mad Men, Top Chef, Curb Your Enthusiasm and anything on BBC.
Who do you listen to? I’m a big fan of great songs and great production. I love Wilco, Neko Case, a little Sheryl Crow, KT Tunstall and Crowded House. I also love anything that was recorded in the 60s and 70s – The Eagles, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Steely Dan, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac.
Did you grow up on music? I was always into music but different genres. My family listened to Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow like everyone else. It wasn’t until I went to college where it became impossible not to be into music and I knew what I wanted to do.
What do you do for fun? I love to just hang out – by myself, with Mikayla or my hubby. I love to read, look at the trees or the ocean, hike, drink tea. I enjoy downtime and don’t always have to be doing something. Right now I’m taking a class at the Natural Gourmet Cooking School in Manhattan and love it.
What are your favorite Long Island places?. I’m really into nature and inspired by it. I love the North Fork and got married there.
What do you like to do with your niece? We love to go to the Long Island Children’s Museum, walk on the beach. I love Witches’ Brew (a tea place in West Hempstead) – it’s very cool, tea, loungy, ice cream sodas. Anything with Mikayla is fun, she makes everything pretty awesome. Possibilities are everywhere, it just depends how you are looking at it.
What is your favorite local restaurant? I’m looking forward to trying the restaurant at Allegria Spa that just opened up in Long Beach, it’s got lots of organic and locally-grown food. I also love the Long Beach Farmers Market.
What is one motto or saying that you live by? “If you want to know your future, look at your present.”
Bari Koral Family Rock Band will be playing at Long Island Children’s Museum this weekend, November 27 & 28th at 1pm and 3pm. Admission to the shows is $4 with museum admission ($3 for LICM members), or $8 for theater only. Long Island Children’s Museum is located at 11 Davis Avenue in Garden City.
For more information about Bari Koral Family Rock Band and to hear their music, visit their website at www.BariKoral.com. You can purchase their first CD, Family Rock Band
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