Chatting with The Bros. Landreth
Photo by BNB Studios
Hey Joey, Dave, how the devil are you?
We’re doing great - thanks, how are you?
Pretty good thanks for asking. So, easy question first, where are you right now, and what are you up to today?
I’m in a hotel lobby on the outskirts of Birmingham! Today we’re driving to Wales for a gig in Narbeth.
They’ll probably know you, but in case not, introduce yourself to our campers.
Dave here, one of the namesake brothers of the Bros. Landreth. Joe is the other. I play lead bass and sing, Joey plays guitar and is the lead singer. We both write songs. We’ve been a band for a little over a decade and brothers since Joey was born.
Tell me something about you guys that I don’t know.
I can leap tall buildings in a single bound, see through walls, and have lasers that shoot out of my eyes. Joey takes knitting classes on Thursday nights.
You released Come Morning earlier this year, how would you describe it in two sentences?
It’s an introspective and moody affair. It’s also, coincidentally, the absolute best of us (at least we’re pretty convinced).
It feels a little different from your earlier albums, how do you feel you’ve evolved as a band since Let It Lie?
I think we’ve become a lot more accepting of who we are and who we aren’t. We’ve shed a lot of pretence and we made this record without worrying about what anyone would think about it. We made it for ourselves first and I think it’s ended up being a tremendously honest and vulnerable collection of songs.
Tell me about the first song you wrote for the album?
Honestly, I don’t remember exactly which one we wrote first, but I’ll pretend that I do: I think the first one that we wrote specifically for this record was ‘You Don’t Know Me’ and it’s a lamentation on losing someone special and coming to terms with the sudden distance between you.
Which song has been most surprising for you, from the start of writing it to how it turned out on the album?
I think one of our favourite songs to record was ‘You Don’t Know Me’. It started as a demo with a programmed drum track and it was actually a really great version, but the live version ended up being really serene and organic and the pedal steel part from Joe Pisapia was really unexpected and beautiful.
I’ve wanted to ask you this for years, what was it like getting to record your father’s song ‘I Am The Fool’? (Great song btw!)
It was so fun! The best part was calling him to tell him that we were going to cut one of his tunes. He was really beside himself.
You’re in the UK right now, what were you looking forward to most about your trip?
Being in the UK is fantastic. The country is gorgeous, the people are warm, the audiences are a riot. We’ve also got a ton of friends here that we’re really excited to see.
Where’s the most exciting place you’ve played live?
There have been so many, but the first time I had a Scottish audience explode after a song I was legitimately terrified. Frightening and fantastic fans!
What’s actually on your rider?
It’s so boring! Coffee, veggies, chips, sparkling water… VERY dull.
And if you could have whatever you wanted on a rider what would it be?
We’ve got it!
With the poor $ numbers from streaming, what’s the best way for people to support you and your music?
Coming to a show is a fantastic way to do that. Grab some merch (from a show or the website), support us on Patreon, or just continue to stream the album (the streaming sites don’t pay that badly, honestly).
If you could recommend one artist to listen to this week, who would it be?
Go check out Ry Cooder if you don’t know his stuff already, and if you do, go back and listen to it anyways.
Finally, how do you take your coffee?
Dave: Black
Joe: Little bit of milk
To find out more about Dave and Joey visit the official Bros. Landreth website. You can check out what they’re up to on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Their album Come Morning is streaming everywhere now.
