Brothers and Sisters is a band out
of time. Led by real-life siblings Will and Lily Courtney, their music
entirely lacks the calculated cool of contemporary indie rock and seems
totally oblivious to the cynical machinations of the music business. In
an indie world currently hell-bent on exhuming the still-warm corpse of
post-punk, Brothers and Sisters reach back to a sunnier age, when
idioms as disparate as polished West Coast pop, rock and roll choogle,
AM radio balladry and classic country could still rub up against each
other at the same hazy Topanga canyon party. Live, the music called up
by this stage-cluttering eight-piece alternately evokes classic-rock
gods like
The Band, late era-
Byrds,
Fleetwood Mac and
Buffalo Springfield alongside songwriters such as
Dennis Wilson,
Jimmy Webb, and the Mamas and the Papas'
John Phillips on his classic John, the Wolf King of L.A.
"Brothers and Sisters bask in the same golden
sunshine as The Mamas and The Papas and The Byrds, but also mines the
era's darker side... Austin's best-kept, countrified secret." - CMJ Magazine
"There is nothing pretentious or even
ostentatious about this music; one can almost smell the tobacco and old
Lone Star beer cans spike with salt and lime."
- No Depression
"Austin-based eight-piece who sound like Big
Star jamming with Neil Young (New Life) and The Jayhawks (Without You),
The Mamas and the Papas, Byrds, even Ray Davies in a swamp. Country
rock ballads and pop perfection, with imperfections in the home-made,
one take sound to make it all the more engaging." -
MOJO
Brothers and Sisters' eponymous siblings are the children of Ragan Courtney and Cynthia Clawson,
respectively a Baptist preacher and a Grammy-winning independent gospel
artist dubbed "The Christian Barbra Streisand" both for her voice and
for her support of the Christian gay community (the latter of which got
her excommunicated from Christian radio). When he was six, the Courtney
parents took young Will to a Beach Boys concert and
it was over; he decided to become a musician. As a kid he sang in
Houston's Post Oak Boy's Choir and before long was recording songs for
childrens' records and commercials. When he was old enough to get out
of Houston, Will headed to L.A. - home of his idols The Beach Boys, Randy Newman and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
After stints in short-lived bands and some work with Zander Schloss (The Circle Jerks, Joe Strummer) and Ric Menck (The Pernice Brothers, The Tyde),
Will grew frustrated when the excesses of the L.A. music scene stymied
productivity, so he took off - driving his pickup down to Austin, Texas
to start a band with his sister. Their self-recorded debut featured a
motley crew of Will and Lily's friends and acquaintances as the backing
band; a handful of weeks after that debut was recorded, Brothers and
Sisters had grown into a seven-piece. In late 2005, Conrad Keely - the singer of...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
- invited Will and Lily to contribute harmonies (and, on one of the
song, a lead vocal) on the forthcoming ...Trail of Dead record. Shortly
thereafter, Keely joined the band, playing violin and keyboards. The
ragged sprawl of their live appearances (misunderstanding audience
members have all-too-frequently compared Brothers And Sisters to a
cult) sparked attention, and gigs with friends in Okkervil River, The Tyde, Jeff Tweedy, Spoon and ...Trail of Dead - as well as appearances at Austin's SXSW music festival - quickly made Brothers and Sisters a favorite with Austin crowds.
Following several months of good press during their
first year, in December, their song "Without You" was featured on an
episode of The OC. The band followed up their debut release and ended their first year by U.S. touring the US and Canada with ...Trail of Dead and The Blood Brothers,
piling in a van for several months and lapping the country twice, an
epic, roving family affair. Recently, they recorded their second
full-length record incorporating lessons learned from their
ever-evolving live shows.
UPCOMING BROTHERS AND SISTERS SHOWS
August 21 - Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
August 22 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
August 26 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
August 27 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
August 29 - Chicago, IL @ Town Hall Pub
September 01 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
September 03 - Bloomington, IN @ Cinemat
September 04 - Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley
September 06 - Dayton, OH @ Canal Street Tavern
September 07 - Columbus, OH @ Bernie's
September 10 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
September 11 - New York, NY @ Union Hall
September 12 - State College, PA @ Chronic Town
September 14 - Washington, DC @ DC9
September 16 - Asheville, NC @ Emerald Lounge
September 17 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
September 18 - Philadelphia, PA @ M-Room
September 20 - Little Rock, AR @ Sticky Fingerz