Brothermandude 'Brothermandude' album

If you have not yet heard of Brothermandude (or BMD, as their ardent fans call them), consider this your wake-up call to one of the music arena’s best kept secrets. A true rarity in today's world of over-hyped marketing product and shameless clones of prior successes, Brothermandude are - in every sense of the term - “the real deal:” a band discovered by a host of extremely loyal and fervent fans, solely via the internet. It is these faithful devotees who have responded, in turn, by vigorously spreading the BMD word and championing their favorite new act almost entirely by word of mouth. More than three months prior to the group’s debut CD release and premiere tour this September, BMD pulled off the astonishing feat of becoming the hottest ticket on London's famed West End district, spurring hundreds of fans to line up for hours for the chance to catch a rare S.R.O. preview performance by their new favorite band. If all of this sounds like a "too-good-to-be-true" rock fable, it's only because you have yet to experience BMD.

What makes Brothermandude and their music so unique is its timelessness - the product of an extremely wide diversity of talents and influences, creating a sound far greater than the sum of its styles. Fronted by the dynamic charisma of vocalist/lyricist, Shake, and anchored by three of the most talented and versatile musicians on the scene today (Matt White - guitars, Russell Milton - bass and Ian Markin - drums), this brilliantly tight combo effortlessly glides across decades’ worth of genres, seamlessly melding them into their own unforgettable timeless style. Though the distinctive sound of BMD may at times feel comfortingly familiar, it is even more daringly original: BMD’s uniquely hybridized music is cutting-edge stellar pop craftsmanship, rooted in Shake’s powerfully resonant lyrics and delivered with sheer rock attitude – truly unlike anything else on the radar. And while remaining utterly timeless, the scope, scale and span of the eleven tracks on their upcoming debut CD merely hint at the myriad of possibilities lying ahead for Brothermandude.

The BMD saga begins - appropriately enough - at the very start of the new millennium. While attending the University of Tampa, Bahrain-born vocalist/lyricist Shake started hanging around with an instrumental funk trio called Beanstalk, who agreed to add the inventive frontman to their line-up. Over the next three years, the band toured and even started to commit their songs to record, emerging with a vibrant seven-track demo prior to succumbing to internal tensions within the band. Undeterred, Shake persevered, raising Brothermandude from Beanstalk's ashes - even rescuing the best material from their demo and reworking them to fit his new vision.

Just as he had completed demo tracks for what would become BMD's debut album, an unfortunate tragedy struck and Shake found himself returning to his native land to take over running his family business. "Here I was at 26, sitting in these gargantuan boardrooms, making major decisions on things I knew nothing about! Even more than what I had learned in performing arts school, this proved to be where I really honed my skills performing on demand in front of expectant people." More invaluably, this diversion from his musical aspirations afforded Shake a keen understanding of how to bring out the best in people and how to manage a major operation on a time-efficient schedule. Who would have thought that running a huge corporate enterprise would translate into the array of skills necessary to lead a tight, promising, genre-bending rock act that has attracted attention the world over?

Shake ventured to London in 2004 - BMD's current home base - where he connected with esteemed producers Mark Wallis (Travis, Go-Betweens) and Dave Ruffy (Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera), who not only helped shape Shake’s vision, but also assembled the perfect combination of players that would bring his songs vividly to life. Guitarist Matt White (whose resumé spans classic rock, electronica and a coveted Ivor Novello Award nod) was the first to join, adding the riffs, chord progressions and counterpoints that would transform Shake's demos into full-fledged compositions. "Shake is the wordsmith and the visionary of the group - my thing is to dictate the ebb and flow of things musically." Indeed, Matt's experience with UK nightclub mainstays, The Bays and The Egg, gives Brothermandude a vibrant, irresistible hook. "I get more of a buzz from playing danceable rhythms - and watching the audience go wild when we launch into a dancier number, I can see them share in that same buzz."

Bassist Russell Milton has long been one of the most respected and sought-after session musicians on the UK music scene. His first big break came courtesy of Ian McNabb (The Icicle Works): “He really taught me the basics” – which presumably carried over to Russell’s endlessly cheerful humility (“One of my career highlights was being in Denim – one of those trendy Britpop bands that everyone got into, but nobody ever actually bothered to buy"). Russell has affectionately been dubbed the "Derek Smalls" of Brothermandude by his fellow bandmates… on account of his tireless enthusiasm.

Drummer Ian Markin is the newest addition to Brothermandude, though this is in no way reflective of his experience. And while he does not actually perform on BMD’s debut disc, Ian (a veteran of the AfroCelt Sound System and Amanda Ghost) replaced his own uncle, Andy Gangadeen, as Brothermandude’s permanent drummer. Ironically, it was Andy who had inspired Ian to become a drummer in the first place, when he took Ian to a sound check for UK dance pioneers, Soul II Soul. “I had been a jazz trumpeter in high school – but the moment I saw a full-blown drum kit up on stage, I heard my true calling loud and clear. My job is to transfer the energy that we're creating together onstage to the audience. To make them fully a part of the experience."

According to Shake, "Our band is continually morphing, evolving into something new and exciting, as I hope it will always continue to do. Like everything in life, BMD is all about balance - it’s about remaining open-minded, keeping things real and being true to ourselves. To be musically different, we’re always looking away from the current pop charts - which I know is risky. But I think it's also what makes us so unique. All this is the BMD identity."

Brothermandude’s policy of honesty and truthfulness defines the majority of Shake’s wise-beyond-their-years lyrics – they are a vision of the world as seen through the eyes of Shake: whether the personally candid, "Heart Attack" and "The Sun," which touch upon his most intimate relationship, the more ardently political bent of "Mannequin," the cautionary hedonistic fable, "Slicksville," through to the deeply meaningful, "Angel Sphere," Shake’s ode to the guardian angel that he states has not only physically protected him, but also guided him to work with the best people at the best time. It is, in essence, an ode to the force that ignited BMD.

BMD’s eagerly-anticipated self-titled debut disc will be released Stateside September 26, 2006 on Adrenaline Records, to be preceded by the band’s lead-off single and video, "Automatic" – a deceptively casual groove-driven summer anthem that proceeds to delve into a irresistibly unforgettable chorus. The band will then embark on their first-ever international tour, taking their grassroots approach to winning new fans clear across the world.

For Shake, the Brothermandude experience is ultimately meant to be "one great big cosmic trip. My hope is that we can move our audience to get up and dance, to make them think or sometimes even to make them cry. But most of all, we want them to have a really great time! If we can succeed at that… then we'll be happy.”

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Brothermandude - Brothermandude