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 and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and ...

) is an American singer-songwriter based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. In the 1980s, she, her then-husband Pat MacDonald, and a drum machine formed the recording act

Timbuk 3 Timbuk 3 was an American rock band which released six original studio albums between 1986 and 1995. They are best known for their Top 20 single "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades". The band's music has been featured on more than 20 com ...

whose 1986 signature song was "

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" is a song by Timbuk 3. It is the opening track from their debut album, '' Greetings from Timbuk3''. Released as the album's first single in 1986, it was the band's only significant mainstream hit. Bac ...

". 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. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

, and

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

. They once appeared on

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

and were nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

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, 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 the 29 types of 50 ...

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, such as television, newspapers or Internet-based publications, that is free of influence by government or corporate interests. The term has varied applications. Within the United States and other developed ...

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 (or Advocacy) 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 greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and responsibility. After the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...

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