Our Brother the Native
Our Brother The Native are three young American guys (two of them aged 16, one 18) who have been working together as a unit since 2005, and whom FatCat stumbled upon towards the end of 2005. Having checked out a link to their site on Myspace.com, and instantly liking what we heard, we got in touch with the band and the debut they were currently writing just fell into our laps.
John-Michael Foss was born in Michigan September 16th 1986. He started playing piano at 7 years old, guitar at 11, and percussion / drums a year later when he joined the school band. Throughout high school John Michael played in various bands with friends, experiencing many different styles of music. He is currently a music / percussion major at the University of Michigan, Flint, with a wide variety of musical influences ranging from classical to folk to jazz to grindcore.
Joshua Bertram was born in Michigan, February 8th, 1989 and started playing guitar in 6th grade. In 2004 he bought a banjo and has been playing it non-stop ever since. In his first year of high school he experienced a “life-changing revelation” when he was introduced to noise music through a couple of friends. They fed him CDs, and inspiration through the noise unit they played in – jamming in a basement and using circuit-bent instruments. After seeing them put on a show, he knew he wanted to make music that was different, “became a music nerd” and from then on continually sought out new experimental music that would excite and inspire him.
Chaz Knapp was born in Moreno Valley, California, May 27th 1988, picking up guitar when he was 9 years old. By 11, he was playing in blues clubs throughout Riverside, MI. Attending blues jams every Thursday night (at the Mission Tobacco Lounge – a 21 and over joint), he played with many 40 – 50 year old musicians. At 14, he joined the Riverside Community College guitar ensemble, playing, learning and even teaching classical guitar. A year later, a job at the Public Library saw a friend take him under his wing, introducing him to stacks of new music – freak-folk, hip hop, cumbia, noise, electronica, and much more. His ears newly opened, Chaz began experimenting with this new music, and with other instruments like piano, drums, and trumpet. Recording a few releases of his own bands, he started his own record label called Delude, releasing different bands / music from around the US.
In his sophomore year, Josh met John Michael, who was then a senior. Realizing that they had similar musical tastes, they quickly became great friends, went to a lot of shows and listened to music non-stop together, eventually starting to play together. Not much happened until the following summer, when they finally got some equipment. John Michael started making some beats on a drum machine, and Josh picked up his banjo and they started to jam, and that was the start of Our Brother The Native. Excited about what was happening, they started to make some rough recordings on an old 4-track machine.
Eventually, the pair started recording on a computer with editing capabilities, and got themselves a Myspace site through which to share their work. A friend in Holly, who ran his own D.I.Y label, heard a couple songs, and suggested releasing something, which gave the duo confidence. Weeks later they found another cool D.I.Y label in California (Chaz’s Delude Records), which they really liked. Josh and John Michael hinted that they’d love to do a release; Chaz jumped at it and put out an EP (‘Cheer Up My Dear, The Sun Will Shine Again’, 2005) and he and Josh quickly became friends, overcoming the geographical distance via frequent phone conversations. A solo release from Josh followed (the more stripped down / minimal, banjo-based ‘Pappa Bones and The Creature Children of The Forrest’ – released as JSP). Having by then become great friends, Chaz and Josh began working together (under the name Moses Grandy), but felt they were missing something in the percussion department. So John and Josh decided to just have Chaz join Our Brother the Native.
With Chaz still living in California, and John and Josh living in Michigan, their recording to date has taken place with tracks being slowly built up, sent between each other via e-mail for additions. Things would thus grow and gain shape piece by piece.
Josh and John Michael would begin by using acoustic and electric guitar for the basis of most songs, usually recorded straight into the computer through a Boss SP-303 sampler with built in-effects. They also use a Kaos pad, a loop station, and a couple of circuit-bent toys that they run through effects and destroy. They also search out samples of interesting sounds they can find around the house, as well as AM radio signals / static – mic-ing up the radio and running the noise through effects. The album is also noticeable for the vocals of Josh’s mum (a music teacher), who came in and sang at the end. For his parts, Chaz uses guitar, keyboard, vocals, accordian, and sometimes percussion elements like shakers, a snare and a cymbal, and also a circuit-bent Furby.
‘Tooth And Claw’ is the band’s debut album, and will be released on FatCat in Summer 2006.
