Danny Barnes

He took to the bohemian vibe of Austin as well as its famously diverse music scene, and in 1990 he teamed with a pair of local musicians, Mark Rubin and Ralph E. White III, to form the Bad Livers. Depending on their mood, the Bad Livers could play classic bluegrass breakdowns, interpret country gospel classics, put an acoustic spin on numbers by Motorhead or Iggy Pop, or play one of Barnes' smart and lyrically incisive original songs, and thanks to frequent live work, they won a lively following in Texas. Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers volunteered to produce their debut album, 1992's Delusions of Banjer, which was released by Quarterstick Records, an offshoot of the noted punk/indie imprint Touch & Go. A second album for Quarterstick, Horses in the Mines, would arrive in 1994, the same year Barnes sat in on the LP Prairie Home Invasion, a collaboration between Dead Kennedys' frontman Jello Biafra and gonzo roots rocker Mojo Nixon. (Quarterstick would also reissue Dust on the Bible, a cassette-only collection originally available only at the group's shows, in 1994.). The trio jumped ship to the well-established bluegrass and Americana label Sugar Hill Records, for which they would cut three full-length projects, 1997's Hogs on the Highway, 1998's Industry and Thrift, and 2000's Blood and Mood. During the band's Sugar Hill period, Barnes was approach by filmmaker Richard Linklater to score his 1998 film The Newton Boys, which allowed him to compose for an orchestra for the first time.

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