Barry Briggs & John Cafazza
Barry’s grandfather was a guitarist, playing with the Tubize Royal Hawaiian Orchestra in the 1920s, the first musical act to perform on WRVA radio in Richmond, VA. They recorded and released several 78 RPM records on the OKeh label. Barry believes he inherited his deep love for music and his lifelong affection for the guitar from him.
John’s father was a pianist, performer and composer of ragtime music. John can close his eyes and see him sitting at the piano writing and re-writing for hours. There were many nights when John would fall asleep listening to him playing. His father was the pianist and arranger for a 12-piece dance orchestra, the Virginians. To introduce the “world of performing” to John and his siblings, his dad arranged for them to sing in local talent shows. John recalls many family sing-alongs around the piano with his mom singing alto, his brother carrying the bass, sister on lead, and John singing tenor. This forged in his mind and heart the true beauty of four-part harmony.
In the early years, Barry’s formal musical training came from his elementary school music teacher, Mrs. Allen. It was her teaching that began his love for vocal harmonization. John learned basics on the piano and sang in church, school and various musical programs. Second grade, singing in the annual Christmas cantata, would be the first occasion where John and Barry would perform together. In middle school, John played alto sax in the marching band but soon traded it for his first set of drums. Around the same time, Barry received his first electric guitar, a Gibson Kalamazoo. Soon after, they began playing music together and were also in a barbershop quartet under the guidance of John's father. Working with Mr. Cafazza strengthened their love of harmonization to an even greater extent.
While in high school, Barry and John formed a four-piece group, The Sound Estate, with John’s brother Vincent on bass guitar and a classmate, Dennis Huber, on lead guitar. This band was the catalyst for their long-term musical partnership. In college at Virginia Tech, Barry and John formed the Cowboy Bob Rhythm and Blues Band, which evolved into the group they played with for the next three years.
As time passed, their musical journey took many twists and turns following separate and varied musical trails. Barry performed throughout the southeast with several bands and began recording and producing. He engineered and produced the BigTime Party Band’s second album, co-writing the song Cherry Groove, which became a top 10 Carolina beach music hit. This brought the honor of being one of five nominated for the Carolina Beach Music Awards songwriter of the year. John and his wife Rhonda sang in the church choir and were often joined by another couple, leading to a 10-year partnership singing as a quartet called The Generations.
In 2016, reuniting with their bandmates from college, Barry and John rekindled their common and newfound musical passions. The two guys then decided to collaborate on songwriting and in 2024 recorded their first album, “Together Again.” The album consists of 17 original songs reflecting various music genres with broad musical influences.
Barry now lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with his wife Jo and their dog, King Louis. John and his wife, Rhonda, reside in Midlothian, VA with their dog, Sadie.