American Aquarium, America's team: Frontman of Raleigh-based band relishing tour with the Wolfpack

The miraculous run of basketball success for North Carolina State in this year's NCAA tournaments has BJ Barham in a familiar position - on tour.

Barham, founder and frontman of Raleigh-based alt-country band American Aquarium, attended N.C. State and makes his love for his alma mater clear. Last Saturday night, he made the spur-of-the-moment decision to attend Sunday's men's South region final in Dallas with his daughter, making a core memory in the process.

On Wednesday, he was still grinning while making last-minute preparations to go to Phoenix for the Final Four for what he hopes is another memorable daddy-daughter weekend.

For a guy who's frequently performing – call it an encore.

"I've waited almost 40 years for this," said Barham, who turns 40 in May. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. I've been wearing a perma-smile pretty much since Sunday."

Carolina roots run deep

Along with his N.C. State love, Barham couldn't be more North Carolina if he swam in Cheerwine. The band has a song dedicated to his hometown, Reidsville, and its host county (Rockingham). He was born in Greensboro in 1984, started the idea for the band in his dorm room at State and incorporates tributes to State's basketball team (a 2015 album is titled Wolves), small towns and modest upbringings in his work. His grandparents worked at the American Tobacco Company facility in Reidsville. His dad was a deacon in a southern Baptist church and Barham sung in the choir.

All that to say: Barham owes his story to North Carolina and NCSU, where he fell in love with the songwriting process and got an offer to go on tour at 20 years old. Barham was the first in his family to go to college.

"Everything that this state celebrates, so do I," Barham said. "As an 18-year-old kid, I was very much ready to get out of town, and as I get older I find myself appreciating it. I appreciate some of the things that being in a small town instilled in me like hard work and family."

He lives in Wendell now and made the choice not to move to New York or Nashville like so many in the entertainment world. It was rough sledding at times and second-guessing was frequent, especially for someone who aspired to be a lawyer and entered college as a double major in history and political science.

"I wanted to grow where I was planted," Barham said. "It makes it that much more meaningful to me to have made it and not have to give up where I'm from, because where I'm from is such a part of my identity."

Now, it would be hard to picture Barham with his tattoos and mustache cross-examining a witness. The move from buttoned-down lawyer path to rock-and-roller seemed far-fetched at the time, but a strong resolve and persistent attitude built out of determination brought the dream to life.

"For 10 years, it was playing bars and restaurants and whoever would book us," Barham said. "Around the country, we would travel and sleep on other people's floors, living off the kindness of other human beings. About 10 years in, it finally broke for us, and we started making a living."

On Wednesday, he was wearing a Duke's Mayo hat and singing the praises of North Carolina brands like Cook Out and Bojangles'. He actually grew up a UNC fan in accordance with his family, but said attending N.C. State made more sense for him academically.

Coming of age on campus

Upon stepping on campus for orientation in 2002, he shifted his allegiances to the Wolfpack. Barham points to being at the 2005 upset of defending champion UConn in the NCAA Tournament and friendship with football coach Dave Doeren as medals of honor for his fandom.

"I was a big Carolina fan growing up just because I liked going to school and pulling for a winning team," Barham said. "Once I set foot on campus, I knew I could no longer pull for the blue team again. Growing up, I picked my teams based on who was winning like most kids do. Most kids don't pick a perennial loser to be their favorite team. Most kids want to be able to wear that jersey into school the next day after a big win. That's how you fall in love with sports is you get on these bandwagons.

"Once I went to college at N.C. State, that immediately stopped."

Around the same time he arrived on campus, Barham picked up a guitar and learned some basic chords. Somehow, confidence blossomed in him and success seemed possible.

"Slowly I started spending far more time on learning how to play the guitar and writing songs than I was on studying," Barham said. "Halfway through my sophomore year, I switched my major to communications and then halfway through my junior year, I got offered my first tour and then I dropped out of college to go on tour."

Barham said the band struggled to make money for the first decade and he lived in a storage unit on Capital Boulevard for a time. There were plenty of shows at Cat's Cradle, The Brewery and The Pour House. He now has a pretty normal life for a 39-year-old with a house and family, but he sees it differently after years of barely making it.

"At 30, I had found zero success, and I was watching all my friends get promotions and get married and have kids and buy houses, and I was still living in a van," Barham said. "30 was more of a crisis. At 40, I'm in a much different spot. Stability found me between 30 and 40."

It's been said you have to be tough to be a State fan, and Barham grew to appreciate the grit and perseverance growing up in tight-knit, small-town North Carolina.

Redemption comes after hardship

State's men's team has reeled off nine consecutive wins after appearing to be at the end of a forgettable season in early March. In 1983 and now, coming from behind is part of the Wolfpack's story. Barham, who was born in 1984, has a similar arc. He says State initially referred to him as a college dropout, but now, he's known as a distinguished alum who's even met with Chancellor Randy Woodson.

"It's not hard to love an underdog, and other than the Oakland game, they've been an underdog in every game," Barham said. "The fact that State is in the Final Four is awesome. The fact that we went through Carolina and Duke to get there is even sweeter."

Earlier this year, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin dedicated the first weekend in February as "American Aquarium Road Trip to Raleigh Weekend." For now, the band is taking some time off before a fall tour with a new record coming out in August.

"It's fate," Barham said. "I would call it serendipitous. I never have this much time off during March Madness. Here I am with nothing but time, and I'm watching my team make arguably one of the most historic runs in NCAA Tournament history."