On The Rise: Brass Bed

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh will graced with the lovely sounds of Brass Bed as they perform at Club Cafe in Southside. The quartet from Louisiana has been described as having a similar sound to that of Wilco.

Empty Lighthouse had the opportunity to talk with the indie psychedelic pop band before their performance - read further and get to know Brass Bed, our recent band on the rise.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: How did you first get your start in music?
BRASS BED: Peter, Jonny and I have been playing together since we were teenagers.

We trace our roots back to home recording session we conducted on 16 track DAW that we called "Simone" and used to learn and play with sound.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: Who are some of your musical influences?
BRASS BED: Since the early days, we've been heavily influenced by latter-day Beatlesque pop scientists like the bands from the Elephant 6 Collective.

Of lately, we've definitely expanded interests into more contemporary artists, but a uniting theme is usually fuzzy and poppy.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: Who do you listen to in your spare time, what are some of your other hobbies, etc?
BRASS BED: I've been listening to a lot of the San Francisco garage and psych scene that's finally made its way over to our neck of the woods like Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. Hobby-wise, I spend a lot of time attempting to play tennis and trying to make homemade condiments.

You ever try to make mayonnaise? Its really easy. Mix it with some Asian condiments like sambal and throw a fish fry. Your friends will thank you.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: What has been your most memorable experience while touring?
BRASS BED: Easily getting slapped by Isaac Brock in Dallas.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: What is the craziest thing you've seen a fan do to get into a show or on stage?
BRASS BED: A fan once tweeted us for list spots in Toronto. We were touched by the outreach so so we gave him tickets.

Turned out he was coming just to see the headliner Generationals and played for us a bunch of suckers. Joke's on him though because he still had to see us.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: What advice would you give to other young people looking to succeed in the industry?
BRASS BED: Don't let the overcrowded landscape dismay you. The industry is more democratized than ever. That means you likely make less money than you may have 20 years ago, but your chances to get noticed have never been greater. Also, you can never bring too many socks on tour.

Or 9V batteries. Or guitars. Unless you're an all keyboard synthpop band. Then you probably just need the socks.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: When you hit a creativity block, what re-inspires you?
BRASS BED: Honestly, a lot of the time it's just watching TV or stepping away from "art" for a minute.

A lot of writer's block is just frustration from using the wrong party of your brain and forcing an idea when the time isn't fertile.

Solutions and ideas tend to just present themselves when you give yourself space from the pressure.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: How do you manage your time between your music and personal life?
BRASS BED: Poorly..

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: What are your upcoming plans in regards to more touring, releases and producing new music?
BRASS BED: We are hitting the studio in February to track our 4th LP in Sacramento with Chris Woodhouse.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: If you could invent anything in the world, what would it be?
BRASS BED: A teleportation device for sure. Or a pair of socks that don't get smelly.

I guess if I had a teleportation device though I could always just teleport to Target and steal a bunch of socks or something.

The ability to teleport really gives you the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Hell, you could kill a lot of birds with a teleportation device.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: If stranded on an island, what three things would you want to have with you?
BRASS BED: A teleportation device, sock and a bunch of birds.

EMPTY LIGHTHOUSE: Anything else you would like to add?
BRASS BED: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me! I swear I come off a whole less smarmy and silly in person!

For more information on Brass Bed and to keep up with their latest releases and tour dates, be sure to visit the band at brassbedisbrassbed.tumblr.com, and stay tuned for coverage from their live set in Pittsburgh.