Pen & Page

Steve Brown in performance during a solo concert at the Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co. March 6.

For Billings musician Steve Brown, there’s no place like home. After a stint in California, Brown returned to Billings in July 2009 with a renewed sense of hometown pride.

“(Billings) is unlike anywhere else,” Brown said in a recent interview. “California is a fun place to visit, but life is so much more enriching when you can see people that you know all the time, rather than ignore the people next to you in the checkout line.”

While Brown did strum his guitar a few times in California, his music took a backseat. “The scene there is a little different. You pay to play,” Brown said, explaining that musicians are responsible for selling a certain percentage of tickets to their performances in order to make money. “I feel good about coming back, and it just felt really good to play again.”

Brown has been performing with a powerhouse of musical talents, including blues/bluegrass fusion band The Peach Pickers and rock guitarist Matt Rogers. “You look out and you see everyone you know; it’s not just faceless crowds that you don’t care about,” Brown said. “It’s smiling faces that you see, and it’s your best friends and even your enemies in the crowd. We all get together for this short amount of time and lay our weapons down and unite and have a good time. I believe there is something inherently powerful in people gathering in unity.”

Keeping it in the family, the Peach Pickers feature brothers (and former Longtime Lonesome Dogs) Ed and John Kemmick on guitars, as well as Steve’s father Bob Brown on bass. Steve plays guitar with the band and says he loves the camaraderie.

“What I missed most was playing with my friends—the spiritual aspects of music. I enjoy the connection I have with my dad, and Pat Rogers, the Kemmick brothers, and now playing with Matt Rogers and Pat Epely.”

In addition to a regular spot with the Peach Pickers, Brown has been gigging on bass with his former Tyler Burnett band mate Pat Epely on drums and Billings guitarist Matt Rogers. Brown takes the stage with Rogers and Epely on Saturday at the Garage Pub for a performance under the moniker S.O.B.s (Sons of Billings).

“I enjoy the freedom that I have in the Peach Pickers, because I don’t have to be the person in front always. We get to trade off, and the strength of our vocals combined with the personalities and the presence—it’s just fun. For the same reason I really enjoy playing with Matt and Pat. We all sing now, and it feels much more cooperative and dynamic that way.”

To round out his night job, Brown performs solo and has opened a slew of local concerts in the past year. “I enjoy playing solo, but it’s a lot more work,” Brown said. “You have to be present at all times, and that is sometimes hard to do. I am trying to learn how to focus but keep my eyes open at the same time. It stretches you, because you don’t have anyone to rely on.”

After returning to Billings, Brown landed a weekly solo gig at the steakhouse Cactus Creek on Billings west end.

“It’s fun to have both the serenity of friends and the insecurity of yourself. The more you do it the more secure you become. Six weeks at Cactus Creek performing to my girlfriend and a handful of people that might somehow show up—it gave me an opportunity to grow. I feel more comfortable playing by myself in front of large crowds because I’ve eased into it.”

Brown has a masterful list of covers in his toolbox, but he also performs original tunes. “A couple months ago I had a brief creative song explosion,” Brown said, but mentioned he’s more comfortable playing other people’s songs.

“When you’re singing someone else’s pain you can detach from it, but when you’re writing you own stuff every time you sing it you have to relive it,” Brown said. “I’ve been able to express emotions through songwriting, but it’s not always how everybody feels, and not everyone can relate to it.”

For all the years Brown has spent creating music, it’s surprising that he doesn’t consider himself a singer/songwriter. “I’ve always seen myself as support or a piece to the puzzle,” he said.

When asked if he misses his former band Tyler Burnett, a popular Billings blues/rock band that parted ways in January 2008, Brown said, “I absolutely miss it. There was a lot of anticipation and expectation that was happening. We were young, and it was fun, and it was fresh, and lot of people came together and had a great time. To be a part of that is a blessing that I have yet to really process.”

Brown is realistic about the prospects of moving forward. “I think we’ve all done a lot of growing, and the people who listen to us have grown. I would like the future to build on the past and not be a shadow of past magic. I would rather create future magic.”

The S.O.B.s, Brown’s newest foray into the Billings music scene, will give him a chance to reunite with former Tyler Burnett drummer Pat Epely. Former Tyler Burnett bassist Parker Brown, who has also been playing with Rogers and Epely, has been extended an invite to perform with the band.

“The desire for the four of us to play together is strong,” Brown said. “Part of it is that we’ve grown in our musical interests, and our abilities have also grown.”

Brown is not focused on old glory days, but instead on “future good times.”

“I want things to go back better than we were before,” he said. Even the band name was picked to represent camaraderie.

“The idea of the name of the Sons of Billings—it’s not about us, the guys in the band. We’re all born here, but the idea is that we’re all so close to each other. We’re all sons and daughters of Billings. Whether you’re in the crowd or on the stage, we’re all facilitating the same great moment.”

Catch the S.O.B.s Saturday, March 13 at the Garage Pub. Music begins at 5 p.m. with the Alex Nauman Organ Trio opening. The cover is $5.

Longtime Lonesome Dogs in performance at the Yellowstone Brewing Co. in 2008. (Photo by Casey Riffe)

Members of the Billings band Longtime Lonesome Dogs haven’t been very lonely since going their separate ways nearly two years ago. Band members quickly formed other operations and have kept music going in their respective lives.

Guitarists John Kemmick and Kevin Oliver and bassist Doug Habermann formed the Firehouse Band with Randy Wyman and Pat Rogers. Kemmick and Rogers also formed the Peach Pickers with Lonesome Dog guitarist Ed Kemmick (John’s brother), adding the father/son duo of Steve and Bob Brown to the mix.

The Lonesome Dogs will gathering together on Saturday for some bluegrass and breakfast at the well-known eatery and musical morning hotspot, Prairie Winds Café, located about 20 miles from Billings.

The Lonesome Dogs were last seen together a few weeks ago following the death of the band’s original bass player, Will Self. The band had a musical gathering/remembrance for Self, who died in December, said Ed Kemmick.

“I’d like to think of our Molt gig as a tribute to Will. He was the musical genius of the band, the guy who knew a million songs and a million things about the history of folk music,” Kemmick said.

Kemmick described Saturday’s appearance in Molt as less a reunion and more a promise to each other. “When we decided to bust up the Dogs, we all agreed that we would continue to play the Prairie Winds at least once a year, just because it was always our favorite place to play,” he said.

Members in attendance will include the Kemmick brothers, Habermann, Oliver, and Pete Michelotti on mandolin, Russell Engesser on accordion and Bob Zuklic on banjo.

When asked about his favorite moment performing in Molt, Kemmick was hard-pressed to think of just one.

“I could pick any of the times in the old days when Will was alive and kicking and we would be joined by Jim Frigo on saxophone. Jim died last May, but he used to come out almost every time we played the Prairie Winds, which meant there would be eight of us crammed into that little corner of the café,” Kemmick said. “It’s called Bluegrass Saturday Breakfast, but we’d be jamming on something like Muddy Waters ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’ with all eight of us wailing away, and it would be some of the best, wildest music I’ve ever been part of.”

Catch the Longtime Lonesome Dogs from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the café, located in Molt, Mont.

California-based quartet Thrice co-headline a tour with Manchester Orchestra, coming to Billings April 29 (photo by Dustin Rabin)

In an imposing paring, two distinctly different powerhouses of indie rock have come together for a co-headline tour: California post-hardcore band Thrice and Atlanta, Georgia indie rock five-piece Manchester Orchestra.

Billings slips into the last leg of the tour and hosts one of 18 concerts the bands will co-headline. The show will take place April 29 at the Railyard Alehouse.

A band of prodigious talent, Thrice has been evolving its sound since forming in the late 90s in Irvine California.

The band’s second album, Illusion of Safety, debuted on Sub City, and the releases that followed featured increased instrumentation and experimentation, leading to the band’s ambitious Alchemy Index, two releases comprised of four EPs produced in 2007 and 2008.

Each album of the four-volume collection was devoted to one of the classical elements in nature—fire, water, earth and air. Vagrant, the record label that Thrice landed during this time, called each EP “sonically and thematically tailored to evoke the atmosphere inherent in its corresponding element.”

Thrice is touring on Beggars, the band’s December 2009 release that followed the Alchemy Index Vol. III - Air and Vol. IV - Earth.

Manchester Orchestra, fronted by Andy Hull.

An equally impressive band, Manchestra Orchestra is the indie rock manifesto of Andy Hull.

Hull is the gruff and guttural frontman for Manchester Orchestra. Sharply affluent, Hull delivers the band’s sundry setlist with biting honesty. “The blood was dry, it was sober / The feeling of audible cracks / And I could tell it was over / From the curtains that hung from your neck / And I realized that then you were perfect,” Hull sings in “I Can Feel a Hot One” from the band’s 2008 release Mean Everything To Nothing.

Hull’s creativity soars outside Manchester Orchestra to his solo side project Right Away, Great Captain!, where Hull details the saga of a 17th century sailor who catches his wife in an act of betrayal with his brother.

Tickets ($20 in advance plus fees) go on sale February 25 at 1 p.m. and are available at Ernie November, Rimrock Mall, by phone at 1-800-514-ETIX or online at 1111presents.com.

For full spring tour dates, visit www.thrice.net or www.themanchesterorchestra.com.

The following is the interview (in whole) that originally appeared in the Billings Outpost featuring Billings-based funk band Funk in the Trunk.

Billings-based funk band Funk in the Trunk has a unique problem. Composed of nine members, the group has a difficult time just fitting on stages around town. Once they’ve collected onstage, however, and when the harmonies click and they deliver a funky blend of soul, jazz and R&B, there’s nothing quite like it.

The band is a collective mixture of performance artists, local teachers and solo performers. Percussionist Matt Devitt, bassist Robin Martinez, keyboardist Dave Green, guitarist Alex Nauman, trumpeter Jeff Long, trombonist Tony Hammond, tenor saxophonist Brent Koch, baritone sax player Paul Lechner and vocalist and Latin percussionist Gy Moody round out the band.

Three of the group’s members — Hammond, Moody and Devitt — sat down recently to discuss the band’s plans for the new year, their “Funky Valentine’s Day Party” taking place Feb. 13 at Bones Brewing Co., and their take on the upcoming romantic holiday.

Read More »

Blues/funk/rock musician Hamilton Loomis in performance Jan. 15 in Billings.

When Hamilton Loomis says “Everybody get your blues on,” he’s serious.

The Texan blues/rock/funk fusionist took the stage to a crowed room on Friday night in Billings, and attendees brought their dancing shoes.

Loomis and his band, composed of Stratton Doyle on saxophone and keys, Kent Beatty on bass, and Josh Duckworth on drums, delivered a sweltering set.

In an early all-ages performance at Bones Brewing, Loomis celebrated the release of his newest CD, Live in England, which became available in late 2009.

In a musical playoff of sorts, Hamilton Loomis and saxophonist Stratton Doyle have an onstage musical duel.

The quartet performed a mix of originals, covers and improvised numbers, including a onstage musical duel between Loomis and Doyle that featured a mix of AC/DC, Michael Jackson, the Beastie Boys, and the Inspector Gadget theme song, among others. Loomis also took time to honor his mentor, the late Bo Diddley, in song.

A firecracker of blues/funk fusion, Loomis brought the creative and intensive talent for which he’s well-known. During the performance, he took his excitement directly to the crowd when he left the stage to wander through the audience, even climbing atop a table. Audience members then created a path of tables for him to step across, the enlivened Loomis strumming his guitar the entire time.

Exactly one year ago I posted my first blog as a freelance writer, saying, “After a stint in the corporate newspaper world, I found myself with an ignited desire to create my own place.”

As 2010 dawns, I’m pleased to say 2009 was a healthy year for music in Montana. I won’t dish out a “Top Ten” or “Best Of” on this blog, but I do want to reflect on the year in music and remind my fellow Montanans that we’re fortunate to live in a state that provides us front row access to some top notch performers.

We all make choices, including where we decide to call home. I place importance on community, affordability and quality, and Billings delivers. I thank the people playing and providing music in Montana. Your pioneer spirit does not go unnoticed, and your dedication to live music and culture makes Billings a musical hub of the West.

February

Shrine Auditorium floor does not collapse despite best efforts of sold-out crowd at Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys headline a show at Billings' Shrine Auditorium Feb. 25, 2009.

March

Fishbone fuses funk into frozen Montana night

Fishbone founder, lead singer and saxophonist Angelo Moore performs at the Garage Pub.

April

Black Flag, SST founder Greg Ginn jams at Railyard

Greg Ginn plays bass with his band, the Taylor Texas Corrugators.

May

Murder by Death cellist Sarah Balliet performs May 1, 2009 in Billings.

Lyle Lovett adds Billings date to Montana tour

Murder by Death channels ghosts of country music past

Sera Cahoone, Betsy Olson perform to hometown crowd

Sampling The Gourds’ tasty southern fruits

Read More »

Members of Spurge, seen here in high school, are reuniting for a performance on Dec. 26 at the Babcock Theatre.

It’s been nearly 20 years since the alternative rock era spawned grunge, garage rock, and funk metal and just as long since then teenagers Sean Lynch, Keith Brush, Jed Wamhoff and Tim Whitmer started their grungy funk rock band Spurge in Billings.

Sean and Keith, who have known each other since kindergarten, formed Spurge in 1991—Sean on guitar, Keith on bass. They added Jed on vocals and guitar and Tim on drums shortly after and grabbed the attention of the musically hungry youth in Montana with their distinctive sound.

The band spent several years in Billings and relocated to Portland, Ore., in 1995. Members disbanded several years later. Sean moved back to Billings where he formed 1090 Club. Keith currently plays in a number of bands in Portland, and Jed plays in Portland’s The Pink Widower. Tim lives in Bozeman.

Spurge members last shared a stage 12 years ago. In the empty Babcock Theatre, where Spurge is slated to perform on Dec. 26, Jed, Sean, Keith and Tim answered questions about the band that helped shape the Billings music scene in the early 1990s.

What motivated a Spurge reunion after all these years?

Sean: So many people have talked to us about how much we influenced their life at some point in time. Twelve years later, none of us have really been able to recreate what we had.
Jed: People won’t stop calling me about it…People like Sean and Tim.
Tim: We finally broke him down!
Jed: It sounded like a lot of fun and an opportunity to play with these guys who are a big part of why I play music and how I write music.
Keith: We’d talked about it for years, and I was motivated after Sean’s friend re-mastered (all Spurge’s old music).
Sean: It took two years to get that done. We just put up re-mastered stuff on iTunes.
Read More »

Jeni Fleming returns to Red Lodge’s Roman Theater for a concert Dec. 17 as part of a regional tour to support her new album, “December.”

Fleming will appear with her five-piece band, composed of Chris Cundy-Hammond on piano, Sean Lehman on bass, Adam Greenberg on drums, Craig Hall on electric guitar, and her husband Jake Fleming on acoustic guitar and saxophone.

The sophisticated and graceful Bozeman-based songstress is heavily influenced by jazz but delivers emotional performances rooted in a variety of genres. On albums her voice soars through a medley of classically based jazz and pop tunes.

Fleming forged her love of music at a young age, singing hymns in a church choir (her father was a Lutheran Pastor and her mother directed the church choir). In addition, Fleming studied classical piano for most of her life.

In Bozeman the musician has a private studio, teaches piano and voice, and is the co-founder with husband Jake of Hand Me Down Some Silver, Inc., an organization offering need-based scholarships for young musicians for music lessons, instruments, and creating professional recording and performance opportunities.

Tickets are available at Red Lodge Books, by phone at 446-2742 or online at www.redlodgebooks.com.

Emmylou Harris in performance at the Alberta Bair Theater Nov. 17, 2009.

With wispy blonde hair shining against the bright lights of the Alberta Bair Theater stage, face sharply defined by years of singing, a soft-spoken 62-year-old Emmylou Harris took the stage Tuesday night to a packed house.

Without pretention, Harris launched into song, appearing humble despite her considerable musical background and extensive list of musicians she has performed, recorded and/or worked with. The brilliant country/folk singer and songwriter was a genteel force amongst an intoxicating group of musicians she tours with known as the Red Dirt Boys.

Harris strummed a parade of robust acoustic guitars, shining golden in the stage light, her thin, long fingers nimbly plucking the guitar strings. She smiled sweetly at pockets of the audience as they cheered during the opening bars of their favorite songs.

Electric guitar, upright bass, mandolin/violin, accordion/keyboardist, and drums accompanied Harris. Graceful and artful, her familiar voice ascended throughout each song, sometimes underneath the music, ebbing against the sound, other times harmonizing with the masculine backup vocals of the Red Dirt Boys.

Emmylou Harris and Her Red Dirt Boys in performance.

Two of the Red Dirt Boys, guitarist Buddy Miller and bassist Chris Donohue, took the stage to warm the crowd before the full band appeared.

True to form, Harris appeared onstage to perform a couple of duets with Miller, including “Wide River to Cross” and “Don’t Tell Me.”

When the time came for Harris to fully take the stage, she and the five backing musicians opened with the country tune, “Easy From Now On” from her 1978 album, “Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town,” and launched into a nearly two-hour performance.

In total, Harris performed 21 songs before her encore.

The country genre has never fully defined Harris, but she was a defining figure in country music. A recording artist for nearly 40 years, she’s got one of the largest discographies around.

At Tuesday’s concert, she performed plenty of vintage swinging country tunes, including 1979’s “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues” and “Born to Run,” from Harris’s 1981 release “Cimarron.”

The band packed such tunes with fiddle-swinging, electric guitar-swaying alt twang, but Harris ensured that she balanced the set list with her lighter fare and songs from her latest release, 2008’s “All I Intended To Be.”

Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller (left)

Harris brought personal tales to several songs, including “Strong Hand (for June),” which Harris described as a song she wrote after hearing of June Carter Cash’s illness.

“She spent the last 10 years pulling John back from these terrible illnesses,” Harris lamented. “I think she decided, ‘I’m going first.’”

When she played “Going Back to Harlan,” Harris showed her brooding, deliciously dark side. The soulful song hung dense over the auditorium as she rolled her words together.

Harris and the Red Dirt Boys also played plenty of covers, including Townes Van Zandt’s “Poncho and Lefty” and the poignant “If I Needed You” (which made its appearance during the encore), Delbert McClinton’s “Two More Bottles of Wine,” “Making Believe” (originally recorded by Kitty Wells in the 1950s), Tracy Chatman’s “All That You Have Is Your Soul,” and the vintage yet hugely popular “Save the Last Dance For Me,” a tune the band broke out unexpectedly for the final song of the encore.

As the band prepped for the song, Harris told the audience she’d been drawn to sad songs all her life.

“I don’t know why I love them so much,” Harris said. “I had a really happy childhood. Of course, a lot has happened since then.”

Two-stepping along with the catchy tune, Harris emanated genuine love for her craft, and looking out to the audience, she asked, “Save the last dance for me.”

Emmylou Harris and Her Red Dirt Boys bid the crowd a farewell.

(Originally published in the Billings Outpost).

Tuscon, Arizona rock band Holy Rolling Empire in performance at the Railyard Nov. 11, 2009.

In a second appearance in Billings, Holy Rolling Empire brought its rock permutations to the doorsteps of the Railyard. In similar fashion to the religious fanatics the band is named for, the Tuscon, Ariz. rockers frothed and groveled their message in song.

A spry and lively lead singer, Orin Shochat wailed conversational and clever lyrics through the band’s pop-meets-psychedelic rock.

Ian Carstensen, guitarist and vocalist for Holy Rolling Empire

Holy Rolling Empire has been gathering a following in the Southwest and released Gigantis in May, the band’s first full-length. The album is comprised of such witty songs as “Bipolar Bear Mania,” “If You Can’t Beat it…”, and “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” all centered on their catchy indie pop rock fusion with classic rock of the 60s and 70s.

Flowers From Her in performance at the Railyard Nov. 11, 2009.

Local indie rock band Flowers From Her opened the show, sporting a newly recorded EP.

Created at studio 712 in Billings, the release features four of the band’s newest songs. They’re working on a slew of new songs and plan a full-length recording in the spring.