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shot and edited by scott manley
BRUSH @ Jupiter Studios April 2007
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Spend a couple minutes with Brush, and you realize you’re talking to guys who started performing young in a variety of interesting ways: for Billy Brush it was a 4-track recorder, upright piano, and a “really cheap mic.” John Buroker enjoyed being on stage. Sam Gray worked with mix cassettes, and Dave Elvin says he was “playing drum-like things” before he knew how to decide anything about his future. Eric Johnson just wanted to be a musician.
Fast forward: when Brush releases its new CD, Love Sublime, in Fall 2007, it’ll be the culmination of two years’ hard work. Billy Brush released his debut album, Lair, in 2005. The album scored airplay and charted on the West Coast. When he formed a group to support the album, it became obvious in the first few months that this was no longer a singer/songwriter surrounded by supporting musicians; this was a band. So, the band name simply became Brush.
Billy is joined by John Buroker, bass; Dave Elvin, drums; Eric Johnson, guitar; and Sam Gray, synthesizer and laptop. A behind-the-scenes fact that makes this album unique and enables the group to bring something special to stage is that all five are audio engineers. “We're all a lot more aware of what everyone else is doing in the band and how things fit together sonically,” Billy says. “Sam also samples bits and pieces on the fly, sending them through delays and reverbs; sounds that – in the past – would've been reserved as studio gimmicks but can now be recreated live.”
Their styles are different and complementary, and they definitely create something together that’s greater than the sum of its parts. But when it comes to inspiration for new songs, they’re pretty much in agreement: they draw their material from personal experience, or things they observe and then internalize.
Love Sublime was produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Feveyear at Jupiter Studios in Seattle, WA. Martin has worked with an extensive roster of bands, including Kings of Leon, The Presidents of the United States of America, Mudhoney, Crooked Fingers and many more.
Billy characterizes the material on Love Sublime as having a “darker outlook” on the human condition, focusing on “our frailties and shortcomings.”
Despite the fact that not every song paints a rosy picture, Brush wants its audience to feel uplifted and energized, like they just spent an hour with their friends. “I like to interact and talk with the audience a lot; it's important to make that connection and not seem disaffected by what's going on in front of you,” Billy adds. “I like to look out and see smiles, even if every song isn't golly-gee-whiz happy. “
He has a unique perspective on the biggest challenge he faces—and it has more to do with technology than music. “I think the greatest challenge as an indie artist is recognizing useful information and avenues from the general noise,” he says. “There are so many places you can post your music and profile that it's tough to focus your energy at times. You’re better off focusing on one site and driving all traffic to that.
“The biggest thing to remember is that grabbing someone's ear without annoying them is a fine line to walk.”
