Portland-based alt/pop My Brothers and I might be busy prepping for the release of their EP material, but the next piece in that EP puzzle belongs to “When You’re Ready”, for which the music video has been taking center stage since its release in late May.
We’re absolutely smitten with this quintet, so we decided to do a quick interview to celebrate all their (amazing!) release news as of late. Check it out below!
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How did you all meet?
Scott, Erik, and I (David) are really brothers, so we met because we had to. Then Jordan and Scott have been besties since 2nd Grade and Jordan held me when I was a baby. So he is basically our brother.
Your song “When You’re Ready” has a very unique sound, what inspired that?
For the entire EP coming soon, we wanted to write pop music and have it feel like it could be on Top 40 radio, while also staying true to what makes us different. In most of our new songs, we have a mixture of real instruments and samples. We wanted to create a hybrid that competes with a lot of the digitally created pop music you hear, without going full-blown digital. We have a lot of real piano, real guitar, real drums, and real bass, while also throwing in some synths and 808 drum beats. This is especially shown off in When You’re Ready. The vibe may feel familiar, but the execution is what we feel sets it apart. It’s organic pop!
The video for “When You’re Ready” has an interesting story that revolves around a dissatisfied model. How did you come up with the concept for the video?
The “When You’re Ready” music video idea was actually brought to us by the producer of the video. He reached out and pitched his idea and we really liked it right away. We knew we didn’t want the video to just be a direct narrative of the lyrical content and his idea felt like a pretty cool metaphor that makes sense with the lyrics without being a direct representation. We had a blast working on it and are super happy with how it turned out.
Who inspires you as artists?
We are all a bunch of music sponges. We love to listen to music and are constantly listening to the New Music Friday playlist on Spotify. So more recently we have been vibing on that new Shawn Mendes album (no shame). In general we have always been inspired by bands and artists like John Mayer, OneRepublic, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Coldplay, The Roots, and so many others.
Where to you hope to see yourself musically in the next five years?
I think we would love to be settling into a nice career and a nice rhythm of being full time musicians. This journey has been so much fun and taken a ton of work and will continue to take a ton of work, but I think if we could be releasing a 3rd or 4th album by then and have a solid foundation and fan base, that would be a huge blessing. For us, we just want to change lives. It sounds cliché but we aren’t just doing music because it’s fun. We want to make a difference in people’s lives and touch people’s souls with our music. Make them feel something deeper than just surface level. If we get to a place where we can be playing and releasing music and use our platform to be a light in this world, that would be reaching our ultimate goal.
If you could describe your sound, what would it be?
I think organic pop is probably the best way to describe our sound. We love all types of music. We grew up on jazz and rock and hip hop and blues. We try to just be ourselves when we write and not stray away from that jazzy guitar lick, or that fat hip hop drum beat. We find ways to implement the past in a pop way with real instruments.
What is your favorite part about working together as a band?
Collaborating in everything we do is so much fun. Whether its ideas for live shows, writing songs, or what to do for an Instagram story, we all just love being around each other and goofing off. We try not to take things too seriously and just stay true to who we are. If you ever get a chance to see us live, we think this shines through. We just have a blast and I basically view every transition as a chance to make the crowd laugh or smile… and occasionally cry (in a good way).
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Keep up with My Brothers & I here, and preorder their EP here.
In the summer of 1984 I was four years old. I was over at my aunt’s apartment hanging out with my cousin who is about ten years older than me. She had some friends over and they were listening to music and dancing around listening to a tape that was unlike anything my tiny brain had ever heard, nothing like Conway Twitty, nothing like Itsy Bitsy Spider. The shit was FUNKY with electronic hand claps and a vocoder vocal part that kept saying “electricity” over and over.
I haven’t thought about this in twenty years and had to look it up before writing this.
It was the song “Electricity” by the band Midnight Star off their album No Parking On The Dance Floor. This record also has the track “Freak-A-Zoid”, which is a term I still use daily but didn’t know where it came from until right now reading their Wikipedia page.
This is the type of freaky electro funk that has stood the test of time. There is probably, right now as I write this, a hipster in a warehouse somewhere high as fuck on dolphin tranquilizers shaking his or her ass to this. Also, this shit is like 8 minutes long–it just keeps on giving.
Later that evening I was sitting at my granny’s kitchen table underneath the painting, that I think everybody’s grandparents have, of the old guy with the white beard and flannel shirt praying with a loaf of bread and a bowl of soup on a table in front of him. I’ve got one hanging in my kitchen and there’s also one hanging in the bar I go to. I don’t even know what it’s called but I love it. My dad came in and I told him about the song and he was like “Oh yeah, I know that song, it’s great! I’ll pick you up a copy from the record store.”
I was excited and couldn’t wait to listen to it over and over.
The next day he gave me this album. I put it on my little Fisher Price record player but it wasn’t the same. I said, “Dad, whats this!? Where’s the handclaps and the wiggly sounding synthesizer and the robot voice!?” He said, “Naaah, this is what you wanted right? This is the Police son! This is the shit!”
Turns out it was not “Electricity” by Midnight Star but rather “Synchronicity” by the Police. I’m not sure whether he knew he was making a mistake or not. Maybe he thought that I wouldn’t notice. Maybe he had been wanting to buy this record but was embarrassed and then relieved at the opportunity to purchase it under the guise of fulfilling the wishes of his son.
I was fucking livid.
Many years have gone by since the first time I listened to “Electricity” by Midnight Star at my cousin’s dance party in my aunt’s apartment in Shreveport as a young child. I’ve remained haunted by Sting well into my adulthood. This was strongly reinforced by his portrayal of Feyd Rautha in Dune. First you shit on Midnight Star and then you try to take out the Kwizatz Zaderach? You really gotta have ALL them fucking candles in your music video? Tantric sex, etc…
So, my first record was Synchronicity by The Police, but it was supposed to be No Parking On The Dance Floor by Midnight Star. I don’t know if its influence is immediately apparent in my songwriting but it’s there for sure. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with my heart beating like an 808 hand clap and hear that sweet vocoder melody out there calling to me from the darkness.
Serving up vibes that capture the more ominous side of being an artist. Consumed by intense highs and lows. Love, lust, money, drugs, business politics, and a consciousness of freedom. The track list opens with a love driven hip hop ballad. Personally, I chase an overwhelming feeling of love / lust for writing inspiration. Tracks 2 – 5 focus more on the grind, the consuming work environment that is the music industry. This sort of career is life changing. It’s hard to describe, but sounds do it justice. Tracks 6 – 8 are more so about freeing conscious from the darker side of the music industry and intoxicating loves ; breaking free ; living a fluid life while maintaining balance. Through all the highs & lows of life, DON’T STOP.
Mac Miller ft. Kendrick Lamar – God is Fair, Sexy, Nasty
G Eazy – Summer in December
Post Malone – Paranoid
Drake – 30 for 30
Two Door Cinema Club – Do You Want It All
XXXTentacion & Joey Badass – 888
ZHU – My Life
Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
On May 22nd, the legendary punk rock band Hawthorne Heights made an incredible appearance at The Granada in Lawrence, Kansas. Photographer Ashleigh Lee was on hand to nab some of our favorite moments.
In celebration of our new EP, “Straight to the Face,” Max Caddy has put together a playlist in honor of all the badass musical duos out there! Stay tuned for more on our latest project @maxcaddymusic.
Here are some of my favorite tracks. I tend to never keep my musical taste within one genre and this collection is the epitome of my ever-changing taste. I draw a ton of inspiration from each of these songs, whether they are new or old, they still hold a strong spot in my personal musical charts.
I chose to make this playlist because these songs have inspired me through my musical journey and are a huge inspiration on the music I’m making today. I know they’re all over the place genre-wise but I feel they all come together to make the sound I’m trying to make!
In this moment “Whore”
Rob Zombie “Living Dead Girl”
Marilyn Manson “Dope Show”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “City of Angels”
Black Sabbath “Paranoid”
Madonna “Justify my Love”
Korn “Narcissistic Cannibal”
The Doors “Ghost Ship”
Stevie Nicks “White Wing Dove”
Jay Z “99 Problems”
Metallica “Master of Puppets”
Slayer “Raining Blood”
So the thread that ties these songs together – these songs all were “breakthrough” songs for us with these bands. Either they’re the songs that got us into the bands or the songs that broke them open to new fans.
