Information about The Blood Brothers (band)

The Blood Brothers are an experimental post-hardcore/art punk band formed in the Eastside suburbs of Seattle, Washington, USA in 1997.

Origins

Vocalists Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney and drummer Mark Gadjahar formed the band from a previous musical endeavour they were involved with when they were 15 years old. Joining with bassist Morgan Henderson and guitarist Devin Welch the following year, the Blood Brothers was born in August 1997. The band recorded their first 7" record for $200 in a basement the following year. After replacing Welch with guitarist Votolato (who is a year younger than the rest of the band), the current lineup was complete. The band left on their first tour immediately after Votolato graduated from high school. [1]

Style

The band has been described as experimental, punk, hardcore, and post-hardcore, among many others, although their true style is a combination of several genres and is harder to pin down. In small circle discussions, the band related that they have influences from the No Wave punk scene of the 1980's. The band makes wide use of post-hardcore vocal styles (such as rapid shifts from singing to high-pitched screaming) and instrumentation (such as abrupt changes in meter and nonstandard chords). The style of guitar playing showcased by Votolato has greatly changed over time, most notably between the heavy, discordant sound of ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn and the minimalist lead lines of Crimes, where the energy of the drums and vocals tends to make up for the lack of thick distortion [2]. Whitney's voice is generally accepted to have evolved from the slurred, venomous drawl on This Adultery Is Ripe to the high-pitched squeals ("like a child being tortured [3]") heard on Crimes, while Blilie's voice has grown more distinctive while maintaining the same low, robust ferocity. The band has cited Botch, Drive Like Jehu, Gang of Four, Angel Hair, Highway 61, True North, and Bootsy Collins among others as influences.

The Blood Brothers' latest album, Young Machetes, was released on October 10, 2006, with Fugazi member Guy Picciotto co-producing it. The band recently told Alternative Press magazine that of the fifteen songs on Young Machetes, "six of them harken back to our first two records; they're a lot more chaotic and frenetic."

Other Projects

Several members of the band have been or are currently involved in other projects, including (but not exclusive to) the following:

• Johnny Whitney and Mark Gajadhar released an album under the name Neon Blonde shortly before the release of Crimes. An EP was also released earlier in 2005.
• Along with members of The Locust and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato formed Head Wound City shortly after the release of Crimes and released a self-titled EP.
• In 2007, Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato joined with Jay Clark (formerly of Pretty Girls Make Graves) to start Jaguar Love. To date, the band has only released a few tracks for streaming on their MySpace page. The tracks can also be purchased at the Crystal City Clothing website.
• Johnny Whitney, along with his wife Amy Carlsen, started a clothing company called Crystal City Clothing. To date, they have produced shirts for Panic! at the Disco, Thursday, and Rocky Votolato. They have also done the majority of merch designs for The Blood Brothers in the past several years.

Current Lineup

• Jordan Blilie - vocals
• Mark Gajadhar - drums, percussion
• Morgan Henderson - bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Cody Votolato - guitar, percussion, vocals
• Johnny Whitney - vocals, keyboards

Former Members

• Devin Welch - guitar (performed on Rumors Laid Waste and appear's on the EP's cover, but left the band prior to the recording of This Adultery Is Ripe)

Discography

Albums

• This Adultery Is Ripe (2000)
• March on Electric Children (2002)
• ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn (2003)
• Crimes (2004) US#157
• Young Machetes (2006) #92

EPs

• Rumors Laid Waste (2003)
• Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck (2005)

Singles

• "Ambulance vs. Ambulance" (2003)
• "Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck" (2004)
• "Laser Life" (2006)
• "Set Fire To The Face On Fire" (2007)

DVDs

• Jungle Rules Live (2003)
• This Is Circumstantial Evidence (2003)
• The Fest 3 (2004)

Other Appearances

• The Blood Brothers produced a cover of the song Under Pressure which appeared on the Queen tribute album Dynamite With a Laser Beam.
• The band also covered Gang of Four's "Anthrax" for a tribute album that never materialized. A remix can be found on the Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck EP.

Family Connections

Several members of the band have familial connections to other notable Pacific Northwest-based bands:

• Cody Votolato's older brother Rocky Votolato is a successful solo folk artist and was a member of Waxwing with Cody.
• Mark Gajadhar's older brother is Rudy Gajadhar, the drummer of Gatsbys American Dream and formerly of Waxwing. Rudy was in Waxwing at the same time as Cody's brother Rocky.
• Jordan Blilie's twin sister Hannah Blilie is the drummer for The Gossip.

External links

• Official Site
• The Blood Brothers (band) at MySpace
• The Blood Brothers collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Interview at wenn's rockt! WebTV