Ben Barnett Starts New Project

Recent Seattle transplant Ben Barnett announced on the phone (just now, to me) that he will be re-entering the musical fray with a new project. The prolific singer-songwriter performed under the moniker Kind of Like Spitting for 10 years, releasing eight full-length albums and a bevy of singles and EPs before calling it quits in October 2006. Since then, Barnett has moved from Portland to Seattle to become the music director of the local branch of the Paul Green School of Rock (which is what I was talking to him about in the first place).

Apparently Seattle is inspiring Barnett, who has teamed up with a young band named the Globe to create the charmingly titled group Fun with Friends.

“I met [the Globes] and they’re all pretty young; they won last year’s Sound Off competition,” Barnett said while taking a break from working on some demo recordings. “I was there this year, met them, and they wanted to see the school. They came back here and jammed … and they just thrashed. I feel like I’ve got the best band of my life right now.”

Barnett has just a few things to say about the group at this point. First, Fun with Friends’ music will stand on its own and the band will only keep a few KOLS songs in the live rotation. Second, the band is his “Built to Spill” (which means there will be jams). And third, he almost called the project Blunt Mechanics.

“Everyone I told that name to told me I had to change it,” he said. “Then Fun with Friends just came to me. I mean, that’s all this is. It’s like how I love to play Madden (the video game), but I don’t like to play it alone. It’s only fun with friends.”

Barnett says that a debut release from the band can be expected in the fall on Portland’s Hush Records.

Listen to Kind of Like Spitting here. Listen to the Globes here. Then mix them together and imagine the possibilities.

PHOTO: Ban Barnett, courtesy of KOLSspace.