When it came for the notoriously reclusive and introverted Ray LaMontagne to choose a backing band for his current Supernova summer tour, one might wonder if you’d even want to be chosen. Although LaMontagne’s music is insightful and powerful, the bearded one’s onstage personality is far from radiant, allowing a broken beat or note to possibly evoke a stare of death from Ray? But don’t tell that to the brother sister duo The Belle Brigade, who got the prized call for this summer’s tour and were quite psyched for both the opportunity and challenge. Plus, they would even get a five song opening set to hammer out their own songs.
Founded by siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska, The Belle Brigade’s music evokes Fleetwood Mac without the drama, but wound with tight singing and energetic melodies. Fueled by the interplay of driving rhythms between Barbara’s drums and Ethan’s guitars, the Brigade enjoy the rare talent of combining charm and chops in the live setting not unlike that of legendary duos The Everly Brothers and Hall & Oates.
While their freshman energy was filled to the brim on their 2011 self titled debut that featured the jubilant single “Where Not To Look For Freedom” the industry expected bigger financial rewards from the Brigade. However, the Gruskas wanted to pursue a more individual sound on their follow-up Just Because and after Reprise Records expressed its dissatisfaction, the band took the record to independent ATO Records. Lucky for ATO though, as The Belle Brigade’s latest continues to have timeless songs filled with dreamy pop and R & B flavored numbers that the duo and their devoted fan base relish. Just at the start of the big summer shed tour, we had the chance to talk to the siblings about all their current happenings…
You have a big tour coming up opening for Ray Lamontagne. Many of these shows are already sold out. How do you best prepare for a tour like this and what do you try and involve song wise in your opening set?
Whether it’s a huge tour opening up for a big artist or a small club tour, we always prepare the same way. Practice everything to the point where we can pull out any song depending on how the venue and audience feels each night. We have 20 shows with Ray where we play a short set of about five songs and then 20 shows where we have about 50 minutes. For the short set we play five bangers and for the longer ones we can stretch out, take our time and play a couple ballads.
How did you get the opening slot for this tour? I’m sure it’s a tour most bands would kill to open for..
I think the first time our paths crossed with Ray was in 2009 when I (Barbara) was playing drums for Jenny Lewis and we opened up for Ray at The Hollywood Bowl in LA. A few years later he expressed interest in us collaborating with him in his band for a tour and also opening up for him and it actually happened! We were very lucky that we didn’t have to kill anybody to get the gig!
You are the backup band for Lamontagne as well… what challenges are involved in that and how familiar are you with Ray’s catalog? Does pulling double duty seem daunting?
We are four shows in and the double duty has been great! I love playing that much every night, it’s very moving to play that much music every day, constantly figuring out how to subtly reinvent the freshness of songs night after night. We learned 27 songs from Ray’s catalog and I think we cut 2 or 3 in rehearsals. So we are ready to go with whatever he wants!
You’ve opened for many prestigious acts including Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, G Love and Special Sauce, K.D. Lang and Dawes. What have been your most memorable stints and did any of these headliners teach you anything special you’ve been able to carry forward about recording or playing live?
The KD and Dawes/Blitzen Trapper tours really stuck out as fun ones, their fans were really warm and welcoming to us.
What was the creative theme or energy behind Just Because? Were most of the songs written on the road or did they come together through a specific writing/recording session or did it just come together naturally?
Yes, most of the songs were written on the road or in little intervals between tours. The themes are all about the loneliness and nostalgia you can feel for “normal life” and the past when you’re in a different city and motel room every day.
How would you describe Just Because to be most different musically than your 2011 debut? Was there anything in your sound you might have been specifically trying to avoid doing?
We didn’t want to avoid anything in particular, other than anything that didn’t feel right. We wanted to experiment more and take more time in the studio recording different versions of the same song to see what would happen.
Originally Reprise Records, expressed dissatisfaction with the results of Just Because, and you band took the record to independent ATO Records. Looking back now – was it disappointing or in the end a breath of fresh air? What was Reprise looking for essentially – a big hit single?
I think Reprise wanted a continuation of our first record and we didn’t. We split amicably and easily and being at ATO is wonderful. We have full creative freedom with no subtle pressure to be something different that what we are and that is truly a breath of fresh air. We are incredibly grateful for both labels and the opportunities they have given us.
What songs are you most proud of on Just Because and feel will age the best in your catalog and why?
“Miss You In My Life,” “Everything For A Stone and “Metropolis” are highlights for us… No way to know how they will age but for now they still feel exciting and new!
What record producers do you most admire and who would you most like to work with? How was the producer most involved in the recording of this record?
Nigel Godrich and Daniel Lanois always make amazing sounding records. Quincy Jones is the man. Phil Spector oh my god very controversial but so good! We actually co produced this record with our friend and engineer Shawn Everett. Shawn played a huge role on this record and really helped us stretch out sonically and was always trying something new. It was a very collaborative production…Shawn really added a lot in every way that a producer should! Such a fun and creative person to be in the same room with!
Do you ever get sick of the brother/sister tag and when does it work to your advantage and when does it not?
No we don’t get sick of it we love each other and are proud to be siblings.
All Carpenters aside, who are your favorite siblings of all time?
The Silvers. Everly Brothers. JACKSON 5!
Any thoughts on what direction you hope to go with on your third album?
We want to try writing from scratch in the studio… In terms of a direction we just want to keep exploring and pushing ourselves to change and be free with our sound. Gonna try to let it happen naturally…..
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