WARREN BARIGIAN R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY

BACK IN THE EARLY 70’s WHEN I WAS GENERAL MANAGER  OF WARNER BROTHERS MUSIC I KEPT HEARING ABOUT A “VOCAL COACH” (FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD) WHO WAS WORKING MIRACLES WITH SOME OUR STAFF WRITERS INCLUDING JACKSON BROWNE,  DANNY O’KEEFE, BOB STRAUSS, AND WARREN ZEVON. HIS NAME WAS WARREN BARIGIAN AND HE USED UNORTHODOX METHODS TO BRING OUT THE BEST VOCALLY FROM EACH OF HIS CLIENTS.

WHEN I HEARD THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VOCAL QUALITY OF JACKSON BROWNES FIRST AND SECOND ALBUM I WAS AMAZED! I MY FRIEND SINGER/SONGWRITER PATTI DAHLSTROM (“EMOTION”) HAD A SINGLES DEAL WITH UNI RECORDS AND INTRODUCED ME TO WARREN…SHE REMEMBERS FONDLY…

“I met Warren when I was first offered a recording contract for three singles on Uni Records. After only 3 sessions with him, Russ Regan said, “What happened to your voice? I want to change the contract to an album deal!” Warren was kind and happy and beyond helpful. His work was unique and amazing, unlike anything anyone has done before or since. He not only improved my voice, but also opened me emotionally and helped me release so many unnecessary emotions. I’ll never forget all the information he shared with me, and sometimes I actually understood what he was talking about; but usually I just smiled and nodded! The last time I saw Warren was at my Houston home, where I had a dinner party in his honor. I will always love him and be grateful to him. When I cross I’m sure Warren will be at the gate laughing in that wonderful deep joyful voice he had and saying, “The voice is a muscle; the only way it improves and gets stronger is to use it. Sing, Patti, sing!”

ANOTHER LONG TIME FRIEND OF MINE, SINGER/SONGWRITER LARRY WEISS (“RHINESTONE COWBOY”, “BEND ME, SHAPE ME”) RECALLS.

“WARREN WAS A VERY SPECIAL FRIEND TO HAVE..WE STAYED WELL IN TOUCH OVER THE PAST FORTY SOME ODD YEARS..

I BELIEVE IT WAS PATTI THAT FIRST INTRODUCED ME TO HIM, WHEN I WAS PREPARING TO DO MY VERY FIRST ALBUM IN 1974..
HOW HE EVER GOT ME TO SING PAST MY FEARS WAS MIRACULOUS. HE WOULD CONTORT YOUR BODY IN A CERTAIN WAY AND YOU WOULD LOSE PRESENCE OF MIND, AND IN THOSE PRECISE MOMENTS, HE COULD PULL SOMETHING OUT OF YOU VOCALLY THAT YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD.

HE LOVED AND RESPECTED FAMILY. WHEN MINE MOVED INTO A LARGE HOME AFTER MY SUCCESS WITH ‘RHINESTONE COWBOY’, HE SHOWED UP ONE DAY WITH FOUR LARGE BOTTLES OF WINE. I ASKED HIM WHY THE FOUR BOTTLES? HE INFORMED ME THAT THEY STOOD FOR THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE FOUNDATION OF MY HOUSE.

BUT HERE IS MY FAVORITE STORY, AND I CAN HEAR HIS RICH LAUGHTER AS I’M WRITING THIS..

SOMETIME DURING THE MID 80’S I DEVELOPED A SORENESS IN MY THROAT THAT WAS LASTING OVER THREE MONTHS. I BECAME VERY CONCERNED, AS THIS WAS SOMETHING I NEVER HAD BEFORE. I WENT TO A FEW DOCTORS WHO MISDIAGNOSED ME ENTIRELY, ALTHOUGH THE LAST DOCTOR DID FIND THAT I HAD AN ULCER ON ONE OF MY VOCAL CHORDS, AND PRESCRIBED AN ANTI-BIOTIC. THE MEDICINE UPSET MY STOMACH, SO I DID WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE..I CALLED WARREN.

I ARRIVED AT HIS HOUSE AND WAS GREETED WITH HIS USUAL BIG HUG AND ROBUST LAUGHTER, TELLING ME THAT HE KNEW EXACTLY
WHAT HAD TO BE DONE. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO LAY DOWN ON HIS COUCH. HE THEN PUT A BAND AROUND MY HEAD THAT WAS ATTACHED TO AN ALPHA WAVE MACHINE. WHEN I CLOSED MY EYES, I SAW LIGHTS FLASHING PAST AS THE MACHINE BEGAN TO RELAX  ME. HE THEN PUT A HAND-TOWEL ON MY THROAT, AND WAS ABOUT TO PLACE A SMALL VIBRATOR OVER IT. I ASKED HIM WHAT HE WAS DOING!?! HE LAUGHED THAT LAUGH, AND THEN ASKED ME IF I NOTICED THAT WHEN I HAD A WOUND THAT WAS FINALLY HEALING, THE AREA STARTED TO ITCH..I REPLIED ‘YES’. HE LAUGHED AGAIN AS HE SWITCHED ON THE VIBRATOR, PLACING IT OVER THE TOWEL, TOLD ME TO SLEEP, AND SIMPLY REPLIED, ‘WELL..WE’RE GOING TO FOOL THE HEALING SYSTEM AND WE’RE GOING TO ”TICKLE’ YOU BACK TO HEALTH. IT WAS BRILLIANT..I SAW HIM MAYBE THREE OR FOUR TIMES FOR THIS ‘TREATMENT’, AND THE PROBLEM IN MY THROAT TOTALLY DISAPPEARED.

WE ARE ALL ONE OF A KIND, BUT WARREN WAS BIGGER THAN LIFE ITSELF, AND ALTHOUGH HE SUFFERED FROM VARIOUS ILLNESSES
LATER IN LIFE, HE STILL THOUGHT OF ME, AS I DID OF HIM, AND ALWAYS ENCOURAGED ME, RELEASING HIS LOVE, ENCASED IN WONDERFUL, RICH LAUGHTER.

I CELEBRATE MY FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE.”

DANNY O’KEEFE ” GOODTIME CHARLIE’S GOT THE BLUES”, HAS HIS OWN MEMORIES…

“He gave me a voice to sing with and was my dear friend for more than forty years. His suffering is over but the memory of his kindness and his amazing work will live on. Rest In Peace, Warren.”

Danny O’Keefe

ROBERT STRAUSS WAS ALSO DEEPLY AFFECTED BY WARREN…

“One of the most kind, brilliant men I ever knew. His contribution to the understanding of voice and its relationship to other physiological systems is beyond measure. Rest in peace, Warren. Although we’ve been out of touch for many years, I still think of him often. My deepest condolences to Henry and all of Warren’s loved ones.”

Robert Strauss

SOME OF WARRENS OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE MENTIONED IN HIS OBITUARY IN THE FRESNO BEE…

“On the nineteenth of March 2014, the voice of the brilliant founder and developer of Vocal Bio Matrix, was stilled. He lectured and taught for over 45 years. He worked with hundreds of top performing artists including: Keith Carradine, Bette Midler, James Coburn, Rene Russo, Tom Petty, Meatloaf, Bonnie Rait, Jackson Browne, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, and also Cher. David Geffen, music industry giant of Geffen Records, sent literally, teams of his artists to work with Warren. He developed this technique working with singers. His natural attraction to body energetics, science, and metaphysics helped him explore avenues of the voice never fully studied before. He leaves behind his brother, Henry Barigian; sister, Harriet Mouradian, and her daughters, Eileen and Laura. He had many cousins, that will forever cherish his memory. Warren was preceded in death by his father, Henry Barigian Sr., and mother, Irene Bagdasarian Barigian, both from Fowler and Fresno, California. Warren would say, “Your value as a human being is based upon your ability to create, and true creation only comes forth from your essence. When you are not embraced by your essence, you cannot possibly be yourself; you are doomed to live a life of drama, fear, and anger. The inability to have contact with your essence is the greatest travesty of civilization. We have become ships without rudders with nothing to guide us. The light of your life is your essence, for it guides you into forces that give you value and purpose.” 

I’M PROUD TO HAVE BEEN WARREN BARIGIANS FRIEND AND TREASURE THE TIME HE SPENT AND ALL THE WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES HE SHARED WITH ME, INCLUDING HOW TO RETRIEVE LOST MEMORIES.

FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN I WAS WRITING MY FIRST BOOK, “I DID IT FOR A SONG”, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I REMEMBERED EVERYTHING ACCURATELY AND WARREN SUGGESTED THAT I TAKE TWO TABLESPOONS OF EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL EVERY TIME I SAT DOWN TO WRITE. ONCE AGAIN HE WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY! MY FRIENDS WERE ALL AMAZED AT HOW MUCH I REMEMBERED.

I CAN  NEVER THANK HIM ENOUGH FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT THAT HE GAVE ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE…FROM WORKING WITH ME AS A SINGER WHEN I RECORDED AN ALBUM FOR CASABLANCA TO HELPING  NEW AND  ESTABLISHED SINGER/SONGWRITERS WHO ATTENDED THE ARTIE WAYNE MOTIVATION COURSE, NOT ONLY DID WARREN LECTURE A FEW TIMES HE SHARED SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION TO THE SRO CROWD WHICH INCLUDED MY MUSICAL DIRECTOR ALAN O’DAY (“UNDERCOVER ANGEL”, “ANGIE BABY”), JOHN BARNES (CO-WRITER OF MICHAEL JACKSONS “BAD”), JASON BLOOM (ONE OF THE WRITERS FOR THE BACKSTREET BOYS), AND DIANE WARREN “UNBREAK MY HEART”, “HOW CAN I LIVE WITHOUT YOU?”, “IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME”). 

 WARREN, MAY YOU R.I.P.  ROCK IN PERPETUITY

RESPECTFULLY, YOUR  FRIEND ARTIE

 

YOU CAN BUY MY BOOK, “I DID IT FOR A SONG” (AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY FOR $9.99 BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO ARTIE WAYNE P.O. BOX 1105 , DESERT HOT  SPRINGS CALIFORNIA, 92240 OR THROUGH  PAYPAL TO MY E-MAIL ADDRESS artiewayne@gmail.com

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