Finally: The Brandos – Los Brandos – Extended Single

Finally. Finally. Back in 2015, the Brandos were crowdfunding the recording of their next album (“Los Brandos”). Backers were to receive an exclusive single. I blogged about it. Now – finally – the perk(s) have arrived! Rather than commenting on the epic delay, I want to share my experience of listening to the single.

Music can be fascinating when it provides new, original, possibly progressive ideas – it can be a sonic journey into the unknown. Music can also be fascinating when it provides the feeling of belonging, of familiarity, of home – it can be like meeting an old friend and falling right back into a conversation that went on a break when the two of you last met. The extended single I received a little while ago belongs into the latter group. By the time I heard the acoustic live version of “My Friend, My Friend” I had a melancholic smile on my face. By the time the pipes in “The Warrior’s Son” kicked in I had forgotten about any delay. It was pure bliss.

My first contact with the Brandos was their debut “Honor Among Thieves”, a great piece of guitar rock with a special mood and amazing vocals. Next came “The Light of Day – the single”, a compilation of b-sides and unreleased live material. It showed a much more versatile band. There were rock and roll classics. There were acoustic ballads about longing for “Cheyenne” and “The Other Side” of the Berlin wall. There was the energetic title track about not giving up. I was intrigued – and impressed enough to check out the upcoming concert in Stuttgart. That was back in 1995. (The band delivered a flawless gig; I was hooked.)

Now in 2019, I got that single-feeling once again. I had hoped that the single would have some rarities, sure. Not just a remix of an album track and a live version of “Gettysburg”. Well, this extended single delivers the goods! After a couple of album tracks there is a solid rock song (“Love Man”). And then it’s time for a collection of live gems. I really like the balance of acoustic and amplified recordings, of original Brandos material and cover versions. The sound quality is good. The songs just flow. Finally, we get a proper recording of Ernie singing “Stepping Stone”. Frank Giordano belts out “Jailer Bring Me Water” – and I feel like I’m back in 1996. Awesome!

The 1987 live recordings of “Hard Luck Runner”, “A Matter of Survival”, and “Honor Among Thieves” are among my favourite tracks on the disc. They sound familiar, yet a bit raw, played with a lot of passion and determination. It’s been a while since the band played these songs live so it’s a real pleasure to indulge in this piece of rock music history.

There are two songs that were already on the “Light of Day” single: “We Are No Man” is now an acoustic live version and “Have Love Will Travel” in 1987 lacked the harmonica but still rocks. All in all, I (and the other backers) got an hour (!) of rare Brandos material that brings back plenty of good memories.

The Brandos live in Metzingen

It was my 20th Brandos concert, yet the first in almost ten years. The band was on a bit of a hiatus. Now they have a new album (“Los Brandos”) just in time for the tour and speaking of tour, the current line-up is 3/4 of the 1997 summer tour line-up. I approached the concert on 7th June with few expectations. The first positive surprise was the venue (“Hirsch”), a rock pub with more than decent food, a charming staff, and an attentive audience.

Just to see the band on stage again was refreshing, no, rejuvenating! Those melodies and lyrics all came back (well, they never really left) and I found myself smiling while grooving along. Naturally, we all have aged. This wasn’t the sweaty no-compromises act that made me a fan back in 1995. Surprisingly, the show was rather hard rocking with only a couple of acoustic ballads in between. Songs like “The Solution” and “The Keeper” showed the band’s melodic side. Most of the newer songs rocked more heavily. The lead vocals were spot on, the rhythm section more controlled than it used to be.

The old material drew a lot of applause. The songs off the new album were received well, but hardly anyone had heard them before. It didn’t help that half of them were in Spanish and lacked the distinctive choruses that dominated earlier Brandos albums. Also, the newer arrangements take more time to build. The drums usually set in slowly, the rhythm guitar often remains tame until the refrain. I’m afraid that the hook lines didn’t stuck with me the first time around, very unlike my first Brandos live experience during which I heard and simultaneously inhaled killer tracks like “The Siege”, “Hard Times, Come Again No More” and “Not a Trace”.

One of the highlights was the acoustic rendition of “Love of My Life”, which had the audience singing along all the way to the back. The following song, “What Kind of a World”, was probably the most convincing new track. Performed solo by Dave Kincaid, it sounded more like Phil Ochs than CCR. I guess no one would have minded if he had added a couple of old classics right there and then (“The Other Side” from “The Light of Day – the Single” comes to my mind, or basically any other melodic Brandos song).

Was there anything to complain? Well, not really. I enjoyed the concert and I was (and am) happy to see the band back in the limelight. This being said, I could have done without the (in my ears) boring “Let It Go”. Finally, the live energy, the harmony vocals, and (yes, I’m nitpicking here) the fingered bass playing by Ernie Mendillo was missing. Frank Giordano did a fabulous job on backing vocals, make no mistake here. It’s just, well, after eleven shows I’ve seen with Dave, Frank AND Ernie on vocal duty, I’m probably spoiled. Speaking of Frank: In my opinion, he would have deserved lead vocals on a song – be it with “Jailer, Bring Me Water” or his great version of “I Got It” (or “Glory of Love” off his solo record?).

All in all, I’m happy that the Brandos are back and that I’ll be seeing them again this Saturday in Bad Rappenau!

The Brandos live in Metzingen-Glems

  1. Fight for Love
  2. The Only Love I Can Get
  3. Let It Go
  4. Anna Lee
  5. Señor Coyote
  6. The Solution
  7. The Keeper
  8. Suffer in Silence
  9. Querer a los Niños
  10. Love of My Life
  11. What Kind of a World
  12. She’s the One
  13. Woodstock Guitar
  14. Bella Encantadora
  15. Over the Border
  16. Pass the Hat
  17. Gettysburg
  18. Can’t Go Home
  19. Maligna Presencia
  20. These Troubled Times
  21. Nothing to Fear
  22. The Light of Day
  23. Gunfire at Midnight

Help! A Beatles Tribute live in Schramberg

On Saturday, July 4th, 2015, I finally got to see Help! A Beatles Tribute. Two band members used to play with The Brandos, which is why I became aware of this Beatles cover band in the first place. Still, I went to the concert primarily to hear Beatles songs – and, hopefully, to get an idea what a Beatles concert would sound in the year 2015 if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had magically travelled through time (and had even more magically solved their conflicts). So I drove to Schramberg in the middle of the Black Forest. It was a particularly hot summer day and the town seemed very sleepy. As the sun set, however, people flocked to the venue, a beautiful garden area. About 350 people had arrived when the four musicians appeared on stage.

The music sounded terrific, mostly because the songs were and are amazing, but also because the band brought the tracks to life with fervent passion and dedication. This wasn’t about creating an exact copy of the original in terms of looks, chronology, or stage banter. Yet, the songs themselves were performed faithfully to the point where you could just close your eyes and pretend to witness the magical journey through time mentioned above. Here was a group of musicians with strong voices and even more impressive melodies. Song after song, hit after hit, classic after classic – it was a barrage of the very best that music has to offer. The first set was a blazing journey through 2-minute pop symphonies. The second set was more of the same with a few songs off the later albums. I just loved that Help! A Beatles Tribute focused on songs that work in a live setting.

There was hardly any pause between songs. There were no solos, no pointless animation attempts, no tiresome history excursions. Only once in every set did the band encourage singing along (“Yellow Submarine” and “Hey Jude”). Plus, there was a conga-line (Polonaise in German) during “Ob-la-di Ob-la-da”. Naturally, people sang along during most of the songs, anyway. The song selection left nothing to be desired. A few lesser known songs spiced up the show – and similarly to the original, there were a few driving cover songs sounded oh so good. I don’t remember the exact setlist, but the list below should be rather complete. If you get the opportunity to see the band (tour dates can be found here), go to their concert!

Help! A Beatles Tribute live in Schramberg (2015-07-04)

First Set:

A Hard Day’s Night
Eight Days a Week
Ticket to Ride
Love Me Do
I Should Have Known Better
Please Please Me
It Won’t Be Long
Rock and Roll Music
I Feel Fine
We Can Work It Out
The Night Before
From Me to You
Please Mr. Postman
Yellow Submarine
Can’t Buy Me Love
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Long Tall Sally

Second Set:

Help!
Day Tripper
Drive My Car
Paperback Writer
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
I Saw Her Standing There
Get Back
Here Comes the Sun
Come Together
Revolution
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
I Wanna Be Your Man
She Loves You
Let It Be
Twist And Shout
Get Back
Don’t Let Me Down
With a Little Help From My Friends
Hey Jude

Encores:

The Ballad of John and Yoko
All My Loving
Yesterday
Roll Over Beethoven
Something

The Brandos Want Your Money

The Brandos want your money in order to make a new album. I want a new Brandos album to happen. So, indirectly, I want your money. I will elaborate this below, but for the impatient tl;dr folks: I suggest you go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/365667282/the-brandos-new-studio-album and give the band your money. Thank you!

The Brandos are one of my five favourite bands in the world. I admire and enjoy they music ever since I saw them live in Stuttgart back in 1995. So far I’ve attended 19 of their concerts. Some were hot (Winterbach 2006), some were accompanied by snow (Stuttgart 1998), some were loud (Stuttgart 1997), others were simply sonic bliss (acoustic gig in Stuttgart 1996). The band awed (“The Keeper”), the band rocked (“The Light of Day”), the band folk-rocked (“My Father’s Gun”), the band stayed true to itself throughout the years. The music tends to be serious. You find dark stories and moody characters galore (look no further than “Hard Luck Runner” and “Partners”). Then again, the lack of stainlessness in our lives (bonus points for anyone recognizing this reference) is also reflected in a manner that moves your heart (“Over the Border”) and gives you hope (“Hard Times”) – and if all hope is lost at least solace (“My Friend, My Friend”), sometimes even redemption (“Hallowed Ground”). The Brandos are equally sincere and passionate, which is what sets them apart from ordinary (classic/guitar) rock bands. I backed the project earlier today. Now I will “Pass the Hat” to you.

The Brandos Go Kickstarter

The current crowdfunding effort is unlike most other musical Kickstarter/Pledgemusic/Indiegogo projects, because the value of the rewards does not match the price tags. The majority of album campaigns are basically presales in disguise. The Brandos offer a new single (with exclusive bonus tracks) for $25. Commonly, one gets the whole new album for that money and then some. The band is not trying to fool anyone – what is offered in the various options is what you get. The Brandos get the money needed for a proper record. My impression is furthermore that successful funding would facilitate the album production and make a late 2015 release a realistic possibility. Most of the money will benefit the recording process of the album. Only a small share will be needed to fulfill the various rewards.

From the point of view of the band, this is about covering the album production costs (partially or completely I don’t know). The label is going to take care of promotion, manufacturing, and distribution. (These three jobs will be handled external firms, I know; but the label provides the infrastructure and, hopefully, tour support.) From the point of view of the fans, backing the project feels more like a donation than like a trade. It’s certainly no bargain. However, the backers can enjoy the feeling of gratification when the new album is made, because they stood up for good music. Because they made their “Contribution”.

The time frame is short. Right now – with 19 percent funded – it doesn’t look too good for the project. (Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.) Yet, with more than a week left, it’s still possible to reach the goal of $25.000. “The Last Tambourine” has yet to be dubbed. There need to be 820 more fans chiming in with $25. Or 200 willing to contribute $100 or more. The Brandos have been under the radar for most of the last seven years. Reaching their old audience is a challenge. Hopefully, the band or the label can bring the project to the attention of radio stations that used to play the Brandos. More importantly, though, the current campaign could benefit from some additional options, I think.

Suggestions for Improvements

Add a new cheap option – say $5 – with, for example, an (early) download of the new song that is going to be on the single. This won’t be enough to reach the goal but it might create positive vibes (as fans generally like to support their favourite bands) and bring in at least some more dollars. Bandcamp could be used to fulfill the rewards without too much hassle.

Add more music to the options / more options with (more) music. My first thought here is that there have to be various live recordings – mainly audio, but possibly also on video. As an exclusive reward for maybe a hundred dedicated Brandos fans, a sub-perfect sound and production will deter no one from the band. The easiest addition could be a download of the “Live at Loreley” album (which has been out of print for some time). The album has two bonus tracks from other concerts – those two shows (one from 1987, one from 1998) would be something I’d love to hear, even if it were a quick rough mix. Throwing one of them into all the available options is likely to convince anyone who is hesitant because they feel they don’t get enough rock for their money. There are, of course, many other shows I’d love to revisit – early gigs, rare live cover versions, more Irish songs played by the whole electric band etc. A fan once gave me a recording of an unplugged show from 1995. It’s only Dave and Scott Kempner – and the duo sounds marvelous! Hearing those stunning versions of songs like “A Matter of Survival”, “Partners”, “Cheyenne”, and “Walking on the Water” will make any Brandos fan drool. Offer ten different shows, each for $30, and who knows how many dedicated fans will get some or even all of them.

Speaking of unplugged performances: A video of Dave Kincaid performing an acoustic version of a Brandos song of the backer’s choice would be a very tempting option for me – and probably for other fans, too. I’d set the price tag at $500 – maybe even $400. And maybe offer acoustic Creedence Clearwater Revival cover versions for $600 per piece.

Another attractive option could be access to unreleased demo recordings. “My Way to You” from before the first album was used on the “Contribution” compilation album; “Partners” is supposedly the initial demo version of the song. What about other demos of songs that were rerecorded for the (first couple of) albums?

The one thing that might annoy potential backers for which I have no remedy the necessity of having a credit card and a Kickstarter account (the latter one is free and can be deleted after the project has ended – and the chosen rewards have been delivered).

Finally, if you like the Brandos but not the available options because you’d want the new album itself and then some: The new album will be widely available thanks to Blue Rose Records, so you can quickly buy it for, say, $20 once it’s released. A ticket for a Brandos concert will cost you about $30. Now imagine a $75 option that contains the single, the album, and a concert ticket. Sounds good, right? The only catch is that you will be paying $25 now, then $20 when the album comes out and $30 when the band goes on tour. On the bright side, you don’t have to pay everything upfront and in case the tour schedule doesn’t fit into your calendar, you can actually save the money for the concert ticket. What are you waiting for? Go to Kickstarter and give the band your money!

Final Remarks

How about this: Instead of buying me a birthday present, support the Brandos with your money. It will make me happier than a pair of socks. And you will even get a Brandos single at the end of the year! My birthday is in the summer, I know. Who cares? I want a new Brandos album to happen – and you can help!

Links of Interest

Johannes with his collection of Brandos albums title=