Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority (sb/sm)

Buzzbands.la says:

Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority’s 2011 album “sb/sm” is a barroom brawl of bluesy punk and classic rock, the kind of old-fashioned stomp that, washed down with the right amount beer, pumps adrenaline and clouds judgment. So in the Jacob Hatley-directed video for “Robbie” — the noisy intro ends at the 0:27 mark — how on earth can Brower’s female fans sit still? C’mon, ladies, this ain’t a soap opera you’re watching. Ladies? Hello …?

The raw, unfettered folk-punk-rock of Brower's quartet is some of the most literate stuff you'll ever think came out of a garage. The new album "sb/sm" takes classic rock in a deliriously decadent direction. Not to be missed. - Buzzbands LA

A couple of months ago we were offered a show at the Mint.  Awesome.  I love the Mint.  We played there with the Meat Puppets and the green room is dedicated to Harry Dean Stanton. But...the show was on the day after Christmas. A Monday. At 7:30.  Not exactly a recipe for success.  Add to that the fact that I knew our fearless band leaders, guitarist Tarik Soliman and drummer Charlie Dresser, would be out of town and, as such, not available for the show.  

Well, I took the show anyway.  You see, I had in my head the idea that Chaffee and I could pull off an acoustic set, and even if no one came, it wouldn't much matter.  We'd play old songs, new songs, half-songs, and whatever came to mind.  

When I started telling people about the show, all of that started to change.  Steve Albertson (of LA stoner-metal upstarts Parents) let me know that he lived nearby the venue and that he played the dobro.  

"Wanna play some with us, Steve?"  

"Sure."  

Then, in speaking with our good friend David Schuchinski one night, we all decided he should do some comedy before an sb/sm show at some point.  

"How about the day after Christmas, Dave?"  

"Works for me."  

And so it went, and then I got in my head the idea that this "nothing" gig could maybe turn into something special.  An evening that, while still at a club, somehow feels like friends sitting in a living room with acoustic guitars, fumbling through some half-learned songs, laughing, drinking, and having a grand old time. The stockings are still hung. The warm glimmer of Christmas lights is still giving eveything that impeccable glow, and everyone has just a bit of a mulled wine hangover.  

And that's just what happened.  

Adding to the spontaneous bent of the evening, Aaron Sausedo (also of Parents) showed up and hopped on stage for a Frogs tune with Ryan and Steve. 

At any rate, here are some pictures of the goings on.  

And, if you want to relive the evening, download a sampler of the highlights by clicking on the album cover at the top of this post.  

Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority announce September 13th release of sb/sm

Debut full-length produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Helmet)

Southern California Release Shows Also Announced 

After a series of buzz-inducing home-recorded CD-R and 7” releases, Los Angeles based rock band Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority have announced the September 13th release of their proper full-length debut LP, sb/sm, produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tweak Bird, Helmet).  The band will mark the release with several area appearances, including an album release in-store performance at Vacation Vinyl (9/16), their third appearance at Camper Van Beethoven’s annualCampout Festival in Pioneertown (9/17), and a headlining LP release show at Silverlake Lounge (9/29).  More dates will soon be announced.   

While a search for “Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority” in iTunes will return a few results, sb/smis effectively the debut album from the band.  What started in 2004 as a bedroom folk recording project for Brower alone has, after nearly five years of playing as a full band with guitarist Tarik Soliman, bassist Ryan Chaffee, and drummer Charlie Dresser, morphed into a full blown stoner-punk-folk-metal assault. Recorded over just three furious days at North Hollywood’s Entourage Studios, sb/sm’s ten tracks present a focused distillation of that particular and unique aesthetic.

The band’s influences are wildly disparate, a fact on full display throughout sb/sm.  Album opener ‘”This City” plays as blistering horror-punk a la the Misfits, while “Ajax Mountain” recalls burned out 1970’s country rock, fitting as the song takes as its subject (and protagonist) none other than Hank Williams, Jr.  Elsewhere on the record, “You’d Better Come On” rides the slack rhythms of grunge, “The Ballad of Eagle” (about indie film cult hero Eagle Pennell) taps into Sunset strip sleaze, and side 2 opener “White Suburbs of London” is a just-south-of-metal romp inspired by, of all things, an incorrect answer to a trivia question about Hello Kitty. (Brower, Soliman, and 4x Jeopardy champion Chaffee are all competitive trivia players).

Producer Toshi Kasai’s deep and diverse resume as a producer, engineer, and mixer (which ranges literally from Jello Biafra to Rickie Lee Jones), contributes to the project greatly and delivers alternately moments of punishing heft and woozy, laid-back warmth. 

The album will be released in a deluxe, multi-colored vinyl edition limited to 200 copies.  Standard vinyl and digital versions will also be released on 9/13. 

At long last...sb/sm shirts!

Only $10!

Each shirt comes with a download code for a free EP compiled from our two KXLU live sessions.

Get em in the sb/sm store!

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The sb/sm "Halloween Suite" in all its ragged glory: 

Click HERE to stream and download the full set.