Spiv

Since 1997, the rock songwriter and performer Chris Barber has used the combination pseudonym and band name Spiv. He claims he came upon the word on a random trip through the dictionary, a time-honored way of naming a combo. One motivation to establish another name might have been to avoid confusion with the older British trombonist, bandleader, and all-around man about jazz of the same name -- while a jam session between the two of them might have its moments, the younger Barber is no swinger and rock music in general has come a long way from the rudimentary skiffle sound tha...