David Brown Show

2010-03-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

*** THIS SHOW BEGINS AT 6:30 pm!! ***

In 2007, after countless requests from local fans, David Arthur Brown first performed in Fresno with his internationally acclaimed band Brazzaville while on an exclusive five-city tour. The show was packed to capacity, and Fresno's history with Brazzaville/David Brown became legendary.

In January of 2010. David performed music from his new album, "Teenage Summer Days" to a sold-out audience at the Fresno Folklore Society's new venue called The Brick Wall. This truly INTERACTIVE performance was one of only THREE U.S. dates, and the standing-room-only show was noted on the Brazzaville website as being "the most fun of the three."

This summer, David Brown will be embarking on an international "House Concert" tour and is making Fresno the final stop on his cross-country journey. The show is part storytelling and part musical performance, as David often shares the back-story to songs inspired by characters from virtually any country imaginable.

The evening will begin with solo sets by Abigail Nolte and Steve Ono, two Fresno performers whose reputation is "musicians' musician." Nolte's signature acoustic stylings captivated the audience at the last local David Brown performance and she has been invited back by popular demand.
Ono is not only one of the most prolific local singer-songwriters, but has taught a roster of local heavyweights how to play guitar and bass.

David will be joined by Brazzaville guitarist/vocalist Kenny Lyon and will be accompanied by Fresno violin virtuoso Patrick Contreras on the songs 'Peach Tree,' 'Fallujah,' 'Taksim,' and 'Bosphorus'

About David Arthur Brown

2010-03-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

David Arthur Brown began keeping a journal and writing poetry while living as a runaway on the streets of Los Angeles. At the age of 18 he wound up living in San Francisco, washing dishes at a local punk rock/gay restaurant to save up money to buy a saxophone. Through a series of low budget international travels (India, South America, Europe and the Far East) he was able to hone his saxophone skills enough to land gigs with musicians like Beck, Siouxie Sioux , Ben Lee and Jude.

When Beck hit the big time, he tapped Brown as the saxophonist in his touring band, and invited him to play on the Odelay album. In 1997, during the world tour supporting Odelay, Brown conceived the idea for his band Brazzaville, taking the name from the capital of the Congo, which in a recent study had been branded with the worst quality of life of any major city in the world. In the wee hours of touring, Brown began writing the songs that would become the first Brazzaville record.

When Brown returned to Los Angeles in 1998, he put together a diverse lineup of musicians that reflected his own wide-ranging tastes:

Trombonist/saxophonist David Ralicke who worked with numerous acts, including Natalie Merchant, Ozomatli, Ben Harper, Macy Gray, and Ziggy Marley, and later joined the L.A.-based Cambodian rock band Dengue Fever. Guitarist/bassist Kenny Lyon, who'd grown up in Zaire and Spain, had performed with alternative bands like the Lemonheads and the Divinyls, as well as singer/songwriters like Mark Curry, Jann Arden, and David Baerwald. Guitarist Smokey Hormel was another Beck regular who also performed and recorded with Cibo Matto, Sam Phillips, John Doe, and Tom Waits, among others. Percussionist Danny Frankel had played with musicians from Victoria Williams to Luscious Jackson to bluesman Ted Hawkins. Pianist Mike Boito was another Beck cohort who'd also played with Ralicke in the ska band Jump With Joey.

Currently, David lives in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona with his wife and two young children.

The Brazzaville House Concert Tour 2010

2009-12-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

Brazzaville's House Concert Tour will be visiting cities across the United States for a series of performances both public and private.

Each show has its own unique backstory -- and frankD is interviewing the promoters, organizers and hosts of these performances, and featuring them on the SHOW POSTERS AND INTERVIEWS page!

About Abigail Nolte

2009-11-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

"With guitar at hand, and vocals in a class of their own, Abigail and the audience enter into a world of music and poetry. Exploring emotions in unseen places, feelings and experiences of the yearning heart. Soulful lyrics and moving melodies are all she needs to tell her story" -- RogueFestival.com

Abigail Nolte is a singer/songwriter based out of Fresno CA that has been turning heads and gaining recognition as a fresh voice in the world of independent music. Her songwriting and vocal versatility continue to amaze those who experience her soul-filled performances.

Nolte was raised in a musical family, and encouraged to explore all aspects of the artform. From a young age, she displayed a great love for music, dance and theater and moved to San Diego CA to attend Point Loma Nazarene University after graduating from high school. As a Theatre Arts major, she embraced the world of creativity and her love of music took the leap of becoming a full-fledged songwriter.

Since moving back to Fresno, Nolte has blossomed into a well-respected performer, musician and an unstoppable force in Fresno's music scene.

2008-12-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

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The West Coast Mini Tour 2010

2008-12-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

Since there will only be three opportunities for American fans of Brazzaville fans to catch David Arthur Brown during his short stateside visit (dubbed the "West Coast Mini Tour" on the Brazzville website and MySpace pages) we know that some people will want to catch more than one performance.

So - we created this page for the most hardcore of the hardcores with information and directions to all of the stops on the tour!

January 3 @ 8pm :

David Arthur Brown will play a solo acoustic show at the Lou Harrison House; a straw bale "composer’s cave" completed in 2002 on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park. The design was inspired by the great Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy. The unique structure features a vaulted hall that measures 36' X 12' with a sixteen foot ceiling-- proportions chosen by Harrison to create a superb and intimate sound environment for acoustic music.

This structure is a special integration of design, form, materials, light, acoustics and history. The experience of being inside has been likened to a chapel, mosque or temple. It is a special gem in about 1,000 square feet. The vaulted main room is flanked on both sides by three equal-sized spaces. To the south is a "monkish" bedroom; a bathroom with all fixtures built into the corners, and a fully equipped kitchen. To the north are three outdoor patios separated by rounded buttresses.

January 6 @ 9pm :

David's second show will bring him back to his (previous) hometown of Los Angeles at the world famous club known as The Echo Presale tickets are available HERE

Directions to the venue:
101 North
Exit Glendale / Echo Park Blvd.
Go straight off the exit (pass the lake on your left)
Turn right on Sunset
THE ECHO will be on your left at 1822 Sunset Blvd.

101 South
Exit Alvarado
Left off the off-ramp (heading North on Alvarado)
right on Sunset Blvd.
THE ECHO will be on your right at 1822 Sunset Blvd.

Interview with Pittsburgh show producer Rudi Boyd

2008-06-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Q1: What is your name, and what do you "do"

A1: I am an political reseacher, sometimes social worker and aspiring urban planner

Q2: How did you first find out about Brazzaville's music?

A2: A friend mentioned the Brazzaville concert during the short 3 city tour in winter 2007, saying it was indie/latin/goth-bossa nova from Barcelona. It sounded weird and interesting and I dragged 2 friends to the show having not heard a single song and fell in love with the music and had a great time.

Q3: How did you get Brazzaville to come to Pittsburgh?
A3: I sent David an email asking if he could manage it and I suppose the location and dates worked out. My friend had an affordable venue (Elk's Lodge) and I just wanted Pittsburghers to hear Brazzaville whom I really love and saw 3 times when I lived in Milwaukee.

Q4:Tell me about the Elk's location and your connection to it.
A4:The co-promoter and friend of mine, Brad R., also loves good music, is a member of the Elk's Lodge and has hosted another successful event there and figured that the location is odd enough to be Brazzaville worthy, plus it gets some more traffic to his Lodge.

Q5: Who else do you have on the bill?
A5: Some good friends of mine are going to be opening, Brother Renze & Friends and feature Mark Williams. They play some interesting soul/folk w/a great stand-up bassist and may back David Brown for a few tunes. Hopefully it'll be a fun and new experience for anyone that shows up!

Q6: Other than this show -- how has Brazzaville inspired YOU.

A6: The way I felt at my first Brazzaville show and in listening since is that:
1) There is beauty in life if you take the time to experience it and 'let go' to some extent. When I first saw the band I was in a weird/unhappy spot in life and the show made me think that despite all the craziness life really is pretty amazing and beautiful.
2) The lyrics of wanderlust and travel appealed to me as I've spent a good deal of time traveling (Brazil, Europe, Israel, Australia) and some of the songs kinda convey that feeling you get flying across the ocean and being displaced, and the freedom there is in that.

At any rate, Brazzaville is an odd sound for me to be into as I mostly listen to old Philly soul (i.e. the Delfonics, the Intruders); but I guess there is some overlap as both have a rather wistful vibe in the lyrics. Happy and sad at the same time, which to me is what Brazzaville is like.

I hope some people turn up for the show and that Brazzaville gets some new fans!!

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David Brown feature in LA WEEKLY

2008-05-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

Strange Cargo

Brazzaville on Danger Island

By Erik Himmelsbach

David Brown’s 2002 dance card is already filled up. The Brazzaville leader and Beck sax man will be busy doing what he‘s done for several years -- touring the world. But he won’t be “on the road,” per se, because there‘ll be no rubber to burn. What Brown’s planning is the slowest-moving world tour ever: heading east from New York City on an old steamer filled with a rotating band of musicians and artists that‘ll play port cities around the globe. The boat would serve not only as a floating venue but also as a rehearsal space and lodging.

Speaking from Japan, where he’s touring with Beck, Brown says he‘s in the process of writing a business plan for the (ad)venture and has met with prospective investors. “Most people that I’ve spoken to about it are really into the idea,” he says. “The venues are boring. Sheds are ugly. Wouldn‘t you rather drive down to San Pedro and get on some beautiful, weird old ship and see some of your favorite bands play? It’s better for the artist, because as soon as you‘re done playing, essentially you’re home. You just walk up to wherever your room is on the ship, steam off to the next gig.”

Brown‘s unusual world-view extends to his music. His band, started in early 1998, is named after the capital of the former French Congo, which is not among the hottest tourist destinations on the planet. Its debut album, Brazzaville 2002 (Engine Group), is a dark and moody travelogue of places real and imagined. The seven-piece outfit, which includes guitarist Smokey Hormel and fellow Beck brassman David Ralicke, creates a musty noir Tropicalia with mysterious rhythms and shadings, like a humid back-alley cafe in some faraway land where the ceiling fan moves too slowly, perspiration drips down the walls, and one false move can be your last.

The places and people in Brazzaville’s music are all familiar to the vagabond Brown, be it Bangkok, Shanghai, Dakar or Rio. “My grandmother was a poet, and she sparked a curiosity in me about people and their stories,” says Brown, a Koreatown native. “Whenever I go anywhere, I‘m a lot more interested in the people than I am in the buildings. Usually, if you just hang out in a cafe or a restaurant every day, you’ll end up meeting somebody, and they‘ll introduce you to somebody else. People’s lives are great stories, no matter where you go.”

Sometimes these characters find their way into Brown‘s dreams, such as the Queen of the South Seas, a mythical goddess who lives south of Java. In “Shioda” she is a source of hope, while on “Shams” her scorn provokes a sailor’s suicide. “It was probably the most moving dream I‘ve ever had,” he says. “She a manifested herself as a Brazilian prostitute. The most intense part of the dream was when she spoke -- her voice completely overwhelmed me. It was a voice that I recognized from God knows when, and it had comforted me for lifetimes, but I had forgotten that it existed.

”I had never heard of this goddess when I had the dream. It wasn’t until later that I put the two together. When I was in Indonesia, I heard people talking about this goddess, and they take her really seriously. There were hotel fires where the only room that was spared was the room that was dedicated to her. There‘s all kinds of intense mythology surrounding her, and I just knew when I heard of her that that was the being in my dream.“

The album’s South American vibe (Brown sings in both English and Portuguese) can be traced to an obsession with Tropicalia godfather Jorge Ben. ”I think he‘s brilliant,“ Brown says. ”His songs are pretty simple, but are just loaded with that thing at the core of all great art.“ In fact, it was Brown who introduced Beck to the music with a Ben tape after a trip to Brazil. Thus were begotten Beck’s ”Tropicalia“ and ”Deadweight.“

Although Brown promises the next Brazzaville record will include more localized character studies -- including a song about a North Hollywood hooker who once cavorted with European bohos -- he prefers to keep his eyes peeled to the distance.

”One of the things that attract me to those areas is the humanity that‘s allowed to exist there,“ he says. ”You go to the Far East and you see a lot of things that are covered up in the West, things that aren’t always pleasant, but they‘re just a part of the human condition. You might see a dead body next to the road. There are all kinds of smells in the air, the smell of smoke, the smell of crops burning. It makes me feel alive and human.“

About frankD and this website

2008-05-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

In 2004, while working as the Program Director at California State University, Fresno radio station 90.7-KFSR, I was introduced to Brazzaville via their greatest hits compilation 'Welcome To Brazzaville.' The disc featured songs from Brazzaville's first three albums: "2002," "Somnabulista" and "Rouge on Pockmarked Cheeks" and was a huge hit with our listeners -- so we ordered the CDs online and started to play songs from all of them.

We emailed David Arthur Brown in Barcelona to let him know that he had a whole legion of new fans in Fresno, California. To our surprise, David actually wrote back! A couple of years later -- March 31, 2007 to be exact -- Brazzaville came to Fresno as the headlining act for our radio station's annual fund raiser and we packed the house to capacity.

Brazzaville's music has incredibly impacted my life. Soon after the 2007 show I quit my job, began traveling the world, maxed out/overstayed travel visas, and experienced foreign cultures from the standpoint of the locals.

I even had the opportunity to play the song "Sewers of Bangkok" while working at an English-language radio station IN Bangkok, Thailand and later visited David Brown in Barcelona while on a European trip with my girlfriend.

This last January, we hosted another sold-out show in Fresno featuring David Brown and Kenny Lyon and re-established the

Lara Antal Interview

2008-05-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Frank Dee interviews Lara Antal:
promoter/organizer of the Baltimore Brazzaville show

Q1: What is your name, and what do you "do"

A1: My name is Lara Antal and I'm a practicing visual artist, curator, and author. I will be graduating this May from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Interdiscplinary Studio Art & Art History. What will happen in the future I can't say, but I just have to keep making work and sending out applications with some optimism.

Q2:How did you first find out about Brazzaville's music?

A2. I learned about Brazzaville from my friend Collin, maybe 3 or 4 years ago in Milwaukee (where I'm from.) He's studying to be an architect but is also an incredible musician and composer, so when he recommends me a band I always take it to heart. He showed me Brazzaville and ever since they have been my favorite musical group.

Q3: Why did Brazzaville choose to come to Baltimore?

A3: I signed up to be on the Brazzaville email list a few years ago. It is always exciting to get an email from the group, informal invites to shows in Barcelona and more. I was so excited when I heard they would be returning to the US for a tour. After getting the okay from the roomies, I invited the group to play in my home and, to my surprise and pleasure, they accepted.

Q4: Tell us about the location where you'll be hosting this performance.

A4: The apartment I live in now is truly Baltimore-ian: historic two level row-house, grand living room with faux marble and chandelier, falling apart in a charming sort of way. My roommates and I have lived here for two years, myself an interdiscplinary artist, one roommate a painter, and the other a graphic designer. The location is less than a block away from MICA and we have molded into an artist den littered with supplies, paintings and posters. We are moving out this summer, each graduating and going our own way, and our apartment will be practically empty, a blank canvas, for May 28th.

Q5: Tell me about Jetlag Poetry. Was this your idea?

A5: Jetlag Poetry is an idea I concocted on a bus traveling between cities. I was thinking of a way to engage more of the Baltimore community, especially the artistic community, in the Brazzaville concert. The answer was self evident: curate an exhibition of art inspired by the music and themes of Brazzaville. Travel, culture, poetry, and decay are only some of the ideas inherit in the music. How many times have I found myself making work while listening to the band, and how many times have my friends done the same? And even if not directly inspired, these ideas are so universally human that is made perfect sense to create a collaborative project of visual artists and musicians. The entire two levels of the rowhouse will be dedicated to the idea of travel. We will pay homage to the places we've been, aspire to the places we will go, and celebrate the places we can travel to within ourselves.

It took a while to choose the title, as I was tempted to snatch a phrase from song lyrics. However, I wanted the title to more broadly address the exhibition, so I began looking at Brazzaville's own inspirations. The title is taken from the website's list of "likes" and is a perfect fit for the exhibition's aims. This exhibition feels like a natural extension of the band's messages, as well as my own curatorial and artistic practice. Some of the artists will be familiar with the band, and others newly introduced, so it should be an exciting mix of participants. It will be a joy to bring more people together to experience Brazzaville through music and artistic collaboration.

Q6: Did you design the show poster/flier? I love it. Tell me about the medium, the inspiration, and the font choice for the word 'Brazzaville.'

A6: I designed the poster throughout this semester through a series of steps. I first made a few mock ups, each circulating around a figure or object, only to realize the same problem with the title, it was too limiting to what Brazzaville's work was about. I wanted to capture a feeling somewhere between bright and nostalgic, much like their music videos, or mystic and starry. After listening to "Asteroid Fields," for inspiration, I thought it best to go with something cosmic.

So I treated a piece of paper (Reeves BFK for nerds!) with acrylic colored washes, and took the paper into the studio. Rolling etching ink onto plexiglass, I created the cosmic pattern through a technique I've used in other prints. I ran it through the press, photographed it, and took it into photoshop. The rest was all digital; a combination of scanning painted areas, masking fonts and layering, saturation, etc. photoshop jargon. I wanted the font for the word Brazzaville to large and sketchy, and I had always envisioned it on two lines, so I ran through my own collection and dafont.com until I found something I could manipulate. I'm pretty pleased with the poster (save the helvetica date/time information) so I will be selling editions of the poster with only the "Brazzaville: in Baltimore" text and the starscape on the day of the concert. All poster proceeds will go to Brazzaville, and to break even on the printing costs, and if there is a demand I may sell the posters online.

Q7: Other than this show -- how has Brazzaville inspired YOU?

A7: Brazzaville's music has made a huge impact on my artistic and personal life. For years it allowed me to dream about traveling, and when I finally started to travel on my own it served as a companion. The music has taught me to look at culture from a very sensory perspective, to look, touch, feel, smell, and remember. I thought about these things when I wrote my own travelogues and when I created carnet de voyages (travel journals/sketchbooks.) This past year I went to La Ceiba, Honduras for one month to learn Spanish, and studied abroad in Santiago, Chile for 5 months. Their music was with me humid nights in the tropic, and cold lonely days by the Andes. I collected stories from the people I met and documented what I experienced, simultaneously translating everything into my own artwork. Brazzaville has always served as an example of art that, through sharing personal stories, can positively affect others.My senior thesis is about travel and memory, the landscape and human form, and how these experiences translate into an imaginative way of viewing the world. I'm sure I wouldn't be here had I never listened to "foreign disaster days" in a Wisconsin coffee shop some 4 years ago. And lets get personal; Brazzaville was the soundtrack to my first great romance, the support I needed for that first great heartbreak, and the friend who has always been there to coincide with my fears and hopes. As maudlin as that sounds its completely true, and I can't think of a more exciting and rewarding graduation gift (or kick-start to my post-graduation life) than to have my favorite musicians perform in my space.

ps. Did I mention I have 48 gigs of music? Motel Room is still my most played song.

You can find out more about Lara on her website: www.lara-antal.com

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Brazzaville House Concert Tour Posters and Shows

2008-05-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

We will be adding posters and fliers to this page as they are sent to us. If we have not added or contacted you, please send them to frankD@DavidBrownShow.com

Baltimore show : Poster design by Lara Antal

Click on the image to read an interview with Lara to learn a little more about the backstory of this house concert

New York City show -- Facebook Event Page

Brazzaville in Pittsburgh
w/Brother Renze & Friends (feat Mark Williams)
June 8 at the Allegheny Elks #339
400 Cedar Ave. 8pm, 21+, $10
Click HERE for Facebook Event Page

Hosted by Rudi Boyd. Click on the image to read some more about Rudi + the show!

San Francisco Show: Hosted by Kincy Clark

Click on the image to read an interview with Kincy to learn a little more about the backstory of this house concert

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Interview with SF Show Producer: Kincy Clark

2008-05-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Q1: What is your name, and what do you "do"
A1: Kincy Clark - I run operations for a software startup and I'm also a captain in the California Army National Guard

Q2: How did you first find out about Brazzaville's music?
A2: I was following a small indie music blog (I cannot remember the name, I think they are no longer in business) and they featured some of his songs. Once my wife had a listen, we bought every album we could find.

Q3: How did you get Brazzaville to come to San Francisco?
A3: I was very fortunate to be in Barcelona for business the same week he had his first microconcert. I met him there and we exchanged emails.

Q4: Tell us about the San Francisco venue.
A4: The venue is right up the street from our house in Glen Park. It's going to be in a converted therapist's office. We were originally planning to have it on our living room, but we felt the room was too small given the likely interest. We found the office by posting to our neighborhood's email listserv; her response was quite enthusiastic and after she heard some of Brazzaville/David Brown songs, that sealed the deal. We committed to do it, and once we started getting feedback from the community after posting the show to David Brown's site, it calmed our nerves significantly

Steve Ono Bio

2008-05-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Steve Ono began singing at 10 years old in "The Candlelighters," a children's choir in Fresno California. While learning to sing he started playing the bongos which led to drums and guitar at age 14. His early repertoire consisted of folk, folk-rock songs of the 60's & 70's, as well as early originals.

In 1976, Ono met swing era guitarist Frank Hicks, whose vast chord knowledge sparked a flurry of study on Steve's part. This study resulted in his 1980 graduation from the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood.

After playing with performers throughout Southern California and doing session work, Steve moved back to Fresno in 1985. He has since worked with a variety of great musicians including Kool and the Gang member Larry Gittens, the late Paul Shagoian, Mike Dana, Gene Doi and his partner of more than a decade, Harmonica Master Eddie Gordon.

Steve returned to LA in November 1991 with Eddie Gordon and played with Lee Oskar of "War" at the legendary club "The Baked Potato." Steve and Eddie have also played: Victoria, BC; St. Louis, MO; the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival in Idaho and the Fresno Trade Club Business Conference in 1994 featuring former US Presidents Ford and Bush.

Songwriting took on new importance in November 1993, with the release of "The Maximus Sessions," a compilation CD of Fresno area songwriters and artists. Steve's song: "Serious Man," was mentioned as a standout by critic Don Mayhew of the Fresno Bee and received airplay on KKDJ-FM. His song “Mean Streets” has also been used as the theme song for the Farm Aid to Fresno campaign.

Ono is an active member of the Fresno Folklore Society and conducts a Free “Folksinger 101” workshop on Monday nights at the Brick Wall (2003 N Van Ness Blvd) in addition to teaching classes in a variety of guitar and bass guitar techniques for all levels at the California Arts Academy.

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2006-04-27T10:46:00.000-07:00