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There are a million musical acts out there vying for the
attention of disaffected youth. Teenagers are a much-sought
after demographic—they have disposable income and are
easily susceptible to branding that could last their whole
lives. Unfortunately for corporations trying to capitalize
on these qualities, teenagers hate having things stuffed
down their throats. And the Blood Brothers got to them
first.
Of course, if you live in the Northwest, you’ve
probably known about the Blood Brothers for years. The band
hatched from the Eastside’s all-ages scene in 1997.
Hailing from different bands, they joined together and
played around for a few years before releasing their first
album, 2000’s “The Adultery Is Ripe.” Ever since that
album, the Blood Brothers have been making the all ages
scene twist, dance and scream in every possible way.
Describing the Blood Brothers is a difficult business.
They sound like a headache, the kind of headache that told
Einstein about relativity. They pound inside your head
relentlessly, yet are catchy. They make you want to dance
around giddily in front of the mirror and at the same time
sweep everything off the kitchen table in a bout of anger.
But if you need things put simply: they are hardcore thrash
punk.
“Crimes,” released on V2 Records in October under
producer John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Blonde Redhead),
continues in the tradition of previous Blood Brothers
releases. The new album is catchy, and it’s cleaner
sounding without being overproduced. “Whereas a different
producer might get more involved in kind of the emotional
motivation for things… [Goodmanson] just records you,”
explains Morgan Henderson (bass and keyboards). “I think
that works well for us because we don’t really need
motivators. We know why we’re there; we know what we’re
doing.”
One thing that differentiates the Blood Brothers from
other bands catering to the same demographic is their openly
liberal political stance. A recent benefit at the Showbox
with Pretty Girls Make Graves was advertised as “The
Anti-Inaugural Ball,” as it took place on January 20th.
Their lyrics, as much as they say anything, are bashing
today’s cable-watching America and its figurehead, George
W. Bush. They write about fellow bands with a cutting edge,
as in “Teen Heat.” “Prommagedon pit, smash hit.
Promaggedon, chart topper, your song is gold like the color
of piss,” screams Johnny Whitney. “So store your songs
here, in the Promageddon pit, because the kids are spoiled
rich and they don’t know shit from shit.” Ouch. It
hurts, but only if you can figure out what they are talking
about.
“There are so many different trains of thought as far
as being really aggressive and getting people to listen to
you. Or making people listen. Or doing what you do and
creating a venue so people that do agree are people that
come. People come up against it and they can decide from
there what they do with it. I think to force something on
somebody is just as wrong as what the government is doing,”
Henderson said. Why should the band explain it? Allow people
to come and see, and then they can decide for themselves.
Their politics don’t seem to turn anyone off from their
music. “The last US tour we did was during the election.
Strangely enough, when we played in Alabama, they were in
the middle of counting the election results. When it was
announced that Alabama went to George Bush, a bunch of kids
cheered. I don’t know if they were just kidding or what,
but they cheered! Apparently we had some George Bush people
at our show, which is totally bizarre.” Henderson
continued, “But for me, drawing sides means we have
already lost.”
The Blood Brothers don’t draw sides—but they do draw
you in. There are two vocalists with different inflections.
Whitney is the higher voice and Jordan Billie has a low
growl, often in the background, but wonderfully nasty when
in the foreground. “Crimes” is the first album where
they are often singing instead of screaming (which lends it
a slightly gentler feel than 2003’s “Burn Piano Island,
Burn”). Cody Votolato weaves in and out of their melodies
with a highly distorted guitar. Mark Gajadhar keeps it fast
and hard with the drums, but on this album there are also
maracas and other unusual percussion elements. Henderson
brings it all together, sometimes with jangly keyboards,
sometimes with thudding bass lines.
As a band, the Blood Brothers are incredibly tight. And
their songs of dissatisfaction strike a chord with young
people, as evidenced by those who flock to their all ages
shows. Their audience is growing, thanks in part to the
accolades heaped on “Crimes” in the press, but mainly
because their music is bursting with such energy and
excitement that it continues to draw in new fans.
Catch the Blood Brothers live this month March 3 at
Portland’s Meow Meow, March 4 at Tacoma’s Hell’s
Kitchen, and March 5 at Seattle’s Neumos.
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