March 15, 2017 | 0 Comments

BRIGHT BROWN – SOFT LANDINGS is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!

My newest record is some good pals of mine from my time living in NYC, Bright Brown! I met the bandleader Alex when we worked together (me as a door person/stage manager, he as a sound engineer) at a venue in Brooklyn. And I was instantly won over by his sweet personality as well as super impressed when he told me he used to play in John Vanderslice’s band as well as work as a recording engineer sometimes at JV’s famous San Francisco recording studio, Tiny Telephone. Yeah!! Since moving to NY he joined forces with a drummer, Nick Smeraski, and started Bright Brown, which is a cool classic rock-influenced outfit that occasionally (my favorite parts) includes vocal touches added by kids—last album included Alex’s own kid, and this one includes my favorite track, “Less Tunnel More Light” (track 7), featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (which also includes Alex’s son). Another cool thing this band uses is the rarely seen chapman stick—which is usually associated with instrumental/experimental jazz. Alex is one of very few singer/songwriters/rock musicians (if there are any others) who plays one, which allows them to get a a huge ethereal sound as just a duo. You should look into this, it is cool!

bright brown Soft Landings Front Cover

BRIGHT BROWN

SOFT LANDINGS

Self-Released

Bright Brown is sonic cinema. The Brooklyn based ethereal, avant-indie duo of vocalist and Chapman Stick player Alex Nahas and drummer Nick Smeraski evoke a visual sound that is at once epic, poetic, and intimate. Their new record, Soft Landings, also features the rich embellishments of piano, organ, and a childrens’ choir. Where Bright Brown’s previous release, Oceans, deals with embarking on reckless searches to find meaning, Soft Landings deals with finding safe places to retreat to during those journeys grappling with themes of time passing and acceptance of who you are. Songs like “Tick Tock” and “Sloop” are realizations that time is sailing past, while the spiritual “Less Tunnel More Light” and “Wide” are pleas to find inspiration from what’s inside us or readily within our reach.

bright brown J Child Screen Shot 6