Old Abram Brown (is far from dead and gone)

Coming from Nashua, NH, Old Abram Brown manages to take away my breath with awe. Creating an original indie/post-rock sound that sometimes resembles The Middle East or an American Radiohead yet is totally their own, the 3 piece band has recently released its debut LP, Alive in Winter. I wanted to take that opportunity and get to know the guys a little better, so I contacted Erik of the band with the following results:

Q. Old Abram Brown is composed of 3 unique members. Can you tell me a little about the group and its inner workings?

A. "The group is: (primary instrument first) Erik Lund (drums,guitar, backup vocals, electronics) Dylan Vukelich (piano, bass, backup vocals) Carson Lund (Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Trumpet, Percussion). Often we each bring separate ideas, the beginnings of a song just as a single riff or melody. We all feed of of each others ideas and build other parts from there around the original riff. Arrangements are composed together live and then during the recording process we were able to add new ideas and build layers of instruments".

Q. What inspires you to create and make music?

A. "All sorts of things. The most direct being all the diverse musical tastes from each band member, indie rock, ambient, southern twang, folk, funk, samba, dance. We all seem to be digging fairly different types of music right now, but it's under the same umbrella. Also I think things like art, design and especially film manifest themselves in our influences".

Q. Is there a story behind the band's name?

A. "We get asked this one a lot. It has sentimental value to Carson and Erik as it was the title of a song we sung in Elementary School music class. It is a short hymn composed by Benjamin Britten".
(The rhyme is probably this: "Old Abram Brown is dead and gone,
You'll never see him more;
He used to wear a long brown coat
That buttoned down before". - Oded)

Q. Starting out as an indie band in a world filled with bands can be very hard (but also a lot fun, if you're with the right people). What's your approach?

A. "We just practice in our basement in Nashua, NH. Ya it's a crazy music industry but we are just doing what is fun for us. I wish I had some anecdotes but I'm sure those come after touring and such".

Q. What do you think of the music industry? How does the indie artist relate to it?

A. "The music industry is rather crazy right now. So much competition yet so much more opportunity to get your music heard. I guess the trick is people are hearing it with such easy access on the internet but it is so much easier for people to dismiss bands nowadays. Occasionally it seems like music is being devalued these days. So many artists slave for months over reel to reels and mixing only to have someone give it a 30 second spin on their i-pod earbuds and never give it a chance again. However, I know there will always be a crowd of real music appreciators who will always give the music the treatment it deserves. I think it will be a different music industry but I don't think it will ever become obsolete".

This record will last much more than 30 seconds, I guarantee.

Check out Old Abram Brown on MySpace and last.fm for more tracks and gigs info. Get their highly recommended debut LP Alive in Winter for the complete experience on their store or iTunes.

Old Abram Brown - Will Our Garden Grow {MP3} (from Alive in Winter)
Old Abram Brown - Polonius {MP3} (from Alive in Winter)