Mish Barber-Way
Barber-Way performing with White Lung in South by Southwest, 2013
Barber-Way performing with White Lung in South by Southwest, 2013
Background information
Birth nameMish Way
Born (1985-07-15) 15 July 1985 (age 38)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • writer
  • journalist
  • editor
Years active2006–present
Spouse(s)Austin Barber (m. 2015)
Websitemishway.com

Mish Barber-Way (born 15 July 1985) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and writer. She founded punk band White Lung in 2006 and served as its vocalist until the band's breakup in 2022.

Early life

Barber-Way was born on 15 July 1985[1][2] in Vancouver, British Columbia.[3] As a child, she competed in figure skating before focusing on music and writing.[4] In university, Barber-Way originally studied writing before switching to programs in philosophy and gender studies.[5] During her post-secondary education, she worked as an intern for Vancouver Magazine and Hearty.[6] During her teens, she worked as a dry cleaner.[7]

Career

Barber-Way started playing music in her former boyfriend's band before co-forming White Lung in 2006.[8] After the release of White Lung's second studio album Sorry, Barber-Way considered leaving the band to concentrate on her writing career, but ultimately decided to stay after Sorry grew in popularity and the band was given a record contract with Domino.[9] While singing in White Lung, Barber-Way wrote articles for various media sources including Vice Media, Talkhouse, Hustler, The Guardian, i-D, Dazed, Los Angeles Times, V, among others.[10] She is also the executive editor at Penthouse, as well as the music editor for BriteLite magazine.[4] In 2015, Anna Wintour let Barber-Way model Yves Saint Laurent in Vogue's September issue, shot by David Sims.[10] In 2016, Barber-Way performed a cover of "Used to Love Her" by Guns N' Roses.[11] In 2021, she sang on The Bloody Beetroots's song "Radium Girls".[12]

Personal life

Barber-Way is married to singer Austin Barber of American rock band Saviours,[13] and they live in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California with their children.[10] In prior albums with White Lung, Barber-Way incorporated songs about her personal experience with body dysmorphia and addiction.[8]

References

  1. ^ @whitelungofficial (15 July 2018). "Happy Birthday Mish!". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  2. ^ Barber-Way, Mish [@myszkaway] (July 29, 2011). "All I got for my 26th birthday was adult acne" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 July 2018 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Brown, August (6 July 2016). "Mish Barber-Way is one of the most compelling frontwomen in today's punk era: 'she isn't afraid of anything'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Meet Mish Barber-Way of White Lung, Penthouse and Mish Barber-Way". VoyageLA. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. ^ Betker, Ally (26 July 2016). "White Lung's Mish Barber-Way is Not Too Impressed with Feminism's Social Media Generation". W Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. ^ Lanham, Tom (11 August 2016). "White Lung's Mish Barber-Way: punk pro, edgy journalist". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  7. ^ Keast, James (3 May 2016). "White Lung's Mish Way The Exclaim! Questionnaire". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b Claymore, Gabriela Tully. "I'll Be Fine When I Go Under". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  9. ^ Warner, Trent (2 August 2016). "White Lung: In pursuit of paradise". BeatRoute Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "Biography – Mish Barber-Way". mishway.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  11. ^ Rettig, James. "Hear White Lung's Mish Barber-Way Cover Guns N' Roses' "Used To Love Her"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  12. ^ Blisten, Jon (June 4, 2021). "Tom Morello. Bloody Beetroots Tease New Ep With 'Radium Girls'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Thompson, Bronwyn (1 February 2017). "White Lung's Mish Barber-Way: 'I've come to terms with the world. I'm not walking around pissed off anymore.'". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

External links

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