Nov. 3, 2021

Micah Barnes shook his head “no” when asked if his students at Seneca know about The Nylons, the platinum-record-selling a cappella group he was a member of in the early 1990s.

“Their parents do,” said the Canadian jazz crooner and vocal coach, who teaches in the Independent Songwriting & Performance certificate program.

And that’s just fine with him because “I want to give my students the spotlight.”

Mr. Barnes has spent much of his life helping performers be “all that they can be.” Growing up in a musical family, he began singing in Toronto’s cabaret and jazz clubs as a teenager. By his early 20s, Mr. Barnes had already earned a stellar reputation as a performer and coach.

“I had a knack for coaching,” he recalled. “Friends in showbiz would come to me for help to sing in musicals, and they’d come back for lessons. I realized then I could make a difference in someone’s career and that my calling is to inspire performers.”

(Photo: Juan Palacio)
 

But then The Nylons came knocking, and Mr. Barnes put coaching aside to pursue a busy performing career on the road and in the recording studios.

“It was a stroke of luck,” he said of joining The Nylons, best known for pop covers such as The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. “I was in the right place at the right time. The original baritone was leaving, and I’m a baritone. I was established on the scene. I had the right vocal sound for what they needed to replace in the group.”

After six years with The Nylons, Mr. Barnes left the group to pursue a solo career.

“I knew that I had a solo artist career ahead of me and it was important that I launched that career while I was young enough,” he said. “But I cherished my Nylon years. It was the best training a singer could ask for.”

Mr. Barnes returned to jazz with a series of critically acclaimed recordings, including New York Stories and Vegas Breeze. The latter was released at the beginning of the pandemic and features songs previously recorded by Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee and Lena Horne.

He also resumed coaching by launching Singers Playground Studio. His clients have included artists such as JP Saxe, MONOWHALES, Myles Castello, Tatiana Maslany, Billy Newton-Davis and Lorraine Segato, all nominees for (and some winners of) Grammy, Juno and Emmy awards.

“Coaching is a very instinctive and almost spiritual activity,” Mr. Barnes said. “I’m trying to listen to where the singer is holding back and help them overcome that. I love supporting artists. It doesn’t matter if they are beginners or award-winning.”

Mr. Barnes explains that just because an artist is established doesn’t mean they don’t grapple with challenges, himself included.

“I’m still learning,” he said. “The artists that do well are the ones that keep growing and investing in themselves.”

Success also comes when one is prepared for what Mr. Barnes calls a “sudden” professional opportunity.

“As I tell my students at Seneca, preparation is most of our job,” he said. “I want anybody who’s taking my class to have the kind of tools in their tool belt that will help them when that chance of a lifetime happens to them. Other than that, you just hope the universe sends you an opportunity.”

With his class at taking place in person this term, Mr. Barnes says he is very happy with Seneca’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

“I feel strongly that you can’t teach performance over the internet,” he said. “There’s a whole component missing on how you communicate with a roomful of people. That’s a challenge for young artists who are just finding their stride and need to go out and try their stuff live.”

When he’s not teaching or coaching these days, Mr. Barnes is working on material for his next album, which will pay tribute to the ’60s pop music that served The Nylons so well. The song list includes favourites by Sam Cooke, Dusty Springfield, The Supremes and Carole King.

“I’m really excited to have new arrangements for songs people already know,” he said. “It will be a bit nostalgic but with a modern twist.”