Barbara Kooyman (also known as by her stage name Barbara K and formerly Barbara K. MacDonald) (born October 4, 1958 in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

) is an American singer-songwriter based in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. In the 1980s, she, her then-husband Pat MacDonald, and a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

formed the recording act Timbuk 3 whose 1986 signature song was " The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades". The duo did road work with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, and

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

. They once appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' and were nominated for a

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for Best New Artist in 1987. After divorcing MacDonald in 1995, Kooyman remained in Austin, raising the couple's son, taking the name Barbara K, and pursuing a solo career. She became entrenched in the city's rich musical community and recorded three solo albums, two of which featured her original songs and one filled with her own interpretations of the songs of Timbuk3 (all three albums released on her own label Sparrows Wheel). As an independent recording artist, Kooyman saw a need in the music industry for strengthening alliances between artists and media outlets. She and co-founders Wolfgang Pracht and Ben Bright conceived and created Artists For Media Diversity, or A4MD. The

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

charitable organization was formed to protect freedom of speech through the funding of services for alternative non-commercial media sources, to foster

independent media Independent media refers to any media (communication), media, such as television, newspapers, or Internet-based publications free of influence by government or corporate interests. The term has varied applications. Independence stands as a corne ...

voices, and to promote musical and cultural diversity. One of the projects the organization has underway for empowering independent artists and community radio stations is a live music archive that artists and stations can contribute live performance tracks and from which other stations can access recordings for their own broadcast purposes. Kooyman's work, both musical and organizational, is rooted in

social activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and responsibility. After the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

in 2010, Barbara K and Wolfgang Pracht wrote a reflection on the ominous environmental implications of such a disaster: "Swimming In Blackwater." The video features Kooyman and her frequent musical collaborator Richard Bowden.

Album discography

*''Ready'' (2000) *''Undercover, The Songs of Timbuk3'' (2005) *''Ghosts and Sparrows, Relative Truth'' (2005) *''Behind The Blue'' (2014)

Compilations

*''Crossing The Red Line''

Timbuk3 album discography

*'' Greetings From Timbuk3'' (1986) Billboard Hot 100 No. 19, UK Album Charts No. 21 *''Eden Alley'' (1988) *''Edge of Allegiance'' (1989) *'' Big Shot In The Dark'' (1991) *''Some Of The Best Of Timbuk3: Field Guide'' (1992) *''Espace Ornano'' (1993) their only live album, recorded at Espace Ornano, Paris, France November 1991 *''Looks Like Dark To Me'' (1994) 6-track EP *'' A Hundred Lovers'' (1995)

References

External links

Sparrows Wheel
*
Artists For Media Diversity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kooyman, Barbara 1957 births Living people American women singer-songwriters American new wave musicians People from Wausau, Wisconsin Timbuk3 members 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin