Cary Brothers – Bruises

By starrymag | March 28, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) The one word that comes up the most talking about the music I make is “cinematic.”  From the second I hit the first note on the guitar or piano, I feel like I’m building a whole world in which to tell a story that leads one big emotional peak and, in many ways feels, more like a movie than a song.  I’m a huge movie nut, so I’m sure that the influence of film scores have crept into my songs as well.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I grew up loving the scrappy, tough defiance of songwriter voices like Elvis Costello and Paul Westerberg, but I was just as attracted to the big, bold beauty of Peter Gabriel and U2 when I was young.  The latter two are probably where that cinematic element of what I do comes from the most.  I was a kid in Nashville with huge romantic dreams and a lot of the music coming from the UK in the 80’s – The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, The Cure – had sweeping romance to it and made me feel like someone understood my spirit.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Cool City.”

 

A) That song is much more of an old-fashioned storyteller tune than most of the record, but it’s all pretty true. I had a long night out celebrating a friend and woke up the next day quite hung over and missing my credit card. It certainly wasn’t the first time that had happened in my life, but it was the first time it didn’t seem funny anymore. I love my adopted home in Los Angeles, but there are lots of places to get in trouble and I’ve been to most of them.  The song is about being addicted to the energy of the night, the energy of possibility without rules.  It’s a lot of fun, but eventually it can wear down your soul.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I think a lot of people have had too much to drink and left their credit cards at bars and tried to put the pieces together of exactly how they got home.  Some people react to the excitement of dangerous living in the song and some people react to the regret.

 

Q) What is the meaning behind your album title Bruises?

 

A) I had a rough few years.  I got my heart broken badly and suddenly and then immediately after that, my dad passed away.  I feel like I was getting pummeled by life.  Some of the record is about the part where I got beat up, but it’s mostly about facing those challenges and getting back up on my feet.  When I least expected it, someone came along to help give me a little faith in the world again.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) I’m a melody guy. I hum melodies all day and then if the melody is strong enough that I can still remember it that night, I’ll pick up a guitar and start writing.  The melody points to certain emotions, and then words start to come to tell the story of those emotions. I have to feel it in my gut first. I probably have a few days of rough song ideas recorded, and one by one I dive in lyrically and turn them into songs. Sometimes a song takes an hour and sometimes a song takes a couple years.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I’m pretty hands-on in the studio and probably more so than ever on this new record.  I co-produced it with my old friend Bill Lefler. I have an exact idea of how I want a song to sound and this time I did a lot of the work by myself at home getting all the parts right before I brought the songs into the studio.  Bill is great at getting me to see things a different way and bringing experimentation into the mix.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live Cary Brothers performance?

 

A) When I get on stage, I put everything I’ve got into a song.  There are plenty of artists who are more technically gifted than I am, but I try to make up for that with passion.  I want to create a space for big, sweeping emotional highs and lows.  My biggest fear is being bored with myself, so I try to take the night in different directions.  I spent years writing songs at home by myself before I got up the nerve to sing them live and I feel like I’m just now getting comfortable with that part of the job.

 

Q) What songs off your Bruises album are you looking forward to performing live?

 

A) I can’t wait to play “Crush.”  There are a lot of parts that have to click just right to make it work and I can’t wait to feel that happen in a show.  On the other hand, there’s a song called “The Path” that is as stripped down as anything I’ve done – just simple synth chords and a beat and a vocal – and that’s the one I’m probably most excited to sing.

 

Q) The album is out on April 27th. How do you plan to celebrate the release?

 

A) I’m just starting to put the new live show together and, hopefully, I’ll be able to play a big hometown record release gig in LA before I leave for tour in China and Australia a few days later.  At the very least, I imagine there will be a mighty fun celebration with friends.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

 

A) Once I send the songs out in the world, they’re not mine anymore and, as with any record, I just hope that people find space for it in their lives. My favorite music is attached to memories from my life.  The memories are the important thing and if I’m lucky enough to be a soundtrack to a first kiss or a heartbreak or even a great night out, it feels like a win.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood is my home base.  It’s the room where I learned how to be a musician on stage, failing until I figured out what I was doing with the support of an amazing community of fellow artists, so it will always have a special place in my heart.  As far as touring goes, the older I get, the more I want to experience new venues and new cities. I didn’t travel much when I was growing up, so I love getting off a bus or plane in a strange place and letting that place inform the show.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) The dream collaboration for me has always been Peter Gabriel.  I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard about how he takes a little boat down the water from his home to his studio to work.  I’d like to ride on that boat one day and make some songs with that legend.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) My musical obsession recently has been the band Elbow.  They’ve been around for a long time, but they’ve never been as huge in the US as they are in Europe so I only recently discovered their whole catalogue.  Guy Garvey probably has my favorite voice in music at the moment, and they have a soaring live show to back it up.  It’s the sound of a man who has lived life fully and has some great stories and wisdom to impart on the world,

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Social media is a blessing and a curse.  I love having the space to interact with fans and feel privileged that people even care to follow me, but these days the social media platforms reward the artists who constantly post things all day long – the more you post, the more they let people who follow you see your posts.  It ends up becoming a whole different job and can be a big distraction from the creative process.  I’m still learning how to find the right balance.  Now that the record is done, I think I’ll be able to have a little more fun with the Instagrams and Facebooks of the world.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I’m fourteen years into being a professional musician and it’s all because of fans.  I’d be writing songs at home every night even if nobody listened anymore, but I’m thankful every day for the gift of an audience. I do all of this independently, so every single person who takes the time to listen means the world to me.  I feel very lucky to have them.