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Luke Brindley

"One of the year's best roots rock releases." The Washington Post "Top 12 Debut Records of the Year" Paste Magazine "His own compelling musical voice." Acoustic Guitar "Unabashedly American music performed without regard to fad or fashion." Amplifier With his new self-titled solo record, New Jersey raised DC-based Luke Brindley affirms his relevance among leading young singer/songwriters. Critics and fans are already responding with praise. The Washington Post called it "One of the year's best roots-rock releases." Luke is not your typical rock star. Though he appears to have all of the ingredients included in the modern recipe; young, good looking, rebel dress and incredible talent, his music draws from another time - it is reminiscent of artists some decades ago who focused on the timeless art of songwriting. Married to his high school sweetheart (a la Bono and fellow Jersey born rocker Jon Bon Jovi), compassion and the challenge of keeping love alive in a modern and dangerous world are recurring themes in Luke's music and his life. They recently took on the added challenge of a foster child born to a drug-addicted mother. His life-long pursuit of music has led him to travels in West Africa, Brazil and Eastern Europe and consistent touring across the country. He studied guitar at Rutgers with Ken Wessel, guitarist with free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, and built his main guitar himself. He is also one of the owners of Jammin' Java ’Äì a 200 seat music club recently named one of the Top 100 Clubs in the World by Pollstar Magazine. When asked about his influences he names artists from the classic singer/songwriter pantheon such as Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison, the straightforward American songwriters like Springsteen, Tom Petty and Paul Westerberg, the elegance of Nick Drake and early Bruce Cockburn, the rawness and simplicity of early American and British punk, the intricate and revolutionary guitar work of D'Gary, Michael Hedges and Ali Farka Toure, modern songwriters like Joe Purdy, Josh Ritter and Patty Griffin and but also authors and poets like Thomas Merton, Rilke, James Wright, and Rumi. No ’Äì definitely not typical. Inspired by the early Motown recordings and the classic 70's singer/songwriters records, the entire record was recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs in only three days. Luke entered the studio in Fall 2006 with a collection of new songs and a stellar band of DC-area musicians including a horn section, brother Daniel on keyboards, and brother in law Jared Bartlett as producer. The result is "a well-crafted and fairly seamless production, a collection of tunes that consistently makes the most of Brindley's raspy voice, soulful delivery and impressive guitar work", says the Washington Post. In 2004, the Brindley Brothers signed to Paste Records and released Playing With the Light, which was hailed by The Washington Post as "magical...a pop/rock gem...an early contender for one of the best albums of 2004" and was named by Paste Magazine as one of the Top 12 Debut Records of 2004 (alongside other familiar names as Franz Ferdinand, Jem, Jamie Collum and more). Rolling Stone said "Fans of Wilco and Gin Blossoms will swoon." Filled With Fire, released in July 2006, was produced and mixed by Jim Ebert (Butch Walker, Meredith Brooks, Matthew Ryan) and mastered by NYC-based Fred Kevorkian (Ryan Adams, White Stripes, Jesse Malin). Amplifier called it "Unabashedly American music, offered straight up without regard for fad or fashion" and the Washington Post called it "a sterling example of mature musicianship". Harp Magazine said "Filled with Fire finds Luke Brindley's songs working better than ever." Tracks "Angel" and "Man on Fire" were used in national campaigns by Coca-Cola, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Polo.

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Soundtrack with Joe Purdy, Mountain Stage, Falcon Ridge, XM, Aug 23
Background on the new EP Songs May 23

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Aug 23 2008, 06:05 PM

Soundtrack with Joe Purdy, Mountain Stage, Falcon Ridge, XM, Twitter and more...

Some news for ya:

SOUNDTRACK: My song "Loving Arms" is on the soundtrack to a new documentary called "10 Yards" about fantasy football. It's got some other artists I like on it as well - Joe Purdy and more. The directors are doing some some really interesting promotions with well known companies like OurStage, Crocs, Quizno's, etc. View the trailer and more about the film at 10yards.com. You can download it for free starting tomorrow. Here's the trailer:






10 Yards Fantasy Football Trailer from Josh Caldwell on Vimeo.

MOUNTAIN STAGE NEW SONG CONTEST: I'm a regional finalist in the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. Regional finals are this Sunday at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA. I need to figure out what songs i'm going to play....

FALCON RIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL: I was selected for the Emerging Artist Showcase at the 2008 Falcon Ridge Showcase. I was at the Jersey Shore and drove up to Hillsdale, NY for the festival. Guess i misunderstood my start time and got there a little late but worked out ok - they tacked me on to the end of the schedule. Went well. Beautiful area. Got to see some old friends - The Kennedys, John Sanders from the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA, Mary Granata from the Granata Agency, my friend Abraham Cates, and more. Apparently there was a horrible storm the last day of the festival and there was damage to the grounds and equipment. Here's a video:

NEW REVIEW: Speaking of folk music. The praise for the latest records keeps coming in. There's a great review of the self titled record in the new issue of Sing Out! - a great folk music magazine. I got turned on to the magazine at a Dave Van Ronk concert years ago. Check it out.

XM: XM50 The Loft has been playing my songs recently. This is a great station and I want to support them and show them we're listening. Please email theloft@xmradio.com or call 866.267.0447 and request Luke Brindley "On Your Side" or "Loving Arms".

TWITTER: Joined Twitter. You can follow me here: twitter.com/lukebrindley. Remember the iPhone I wasted a day in line at the mall to get? Well i can use it to send updates.

follow lukebrindley at http://twitter.com/a>

NEW SHOWS: Added a bunch of new dates with people like Pat McGee, Ben Lee, Matthew Ryan, Ari Hest and more. Details below. Here's a banner for the 10/9 NYC show:

Copy this code to use this banner on your own site...

<a href="http://www.myspace.com/lukebrindley" mce_href="http://www.myspace.com/lukebrindley"><img src="http://www.lukebrindley.com/images/rockwood.jpg" mce_src="http://www.lukebrindley.com/images/rockwood.jpg" border="0"></a><br />

8/24 Eddie‚Äôs Attic - Mountain Stage NewSong Contest Finals     / Decatur, Georgia

8/28 Sellersville Theater /    Sellersille, Pennsylvania (with Pat McGee)

8/31 Ram‚Äôs Head /    Annapolis, Maryland (with Ben Lee)

9/5 Coffee East /    Easton, Maryland (with Matthew Ryan)

9/13 Notaviva Vineyards /    Purcellville, Virginia

9/14 Rock and Roll Songwriter‚Äôs Circle at Jammin' Java    / Vienna, VA

10/9 Rockwood Music Hall /    New York, New York

10/18 Notaviva Vineyards /    Purcellville, Virginia

11/20 The Barns at Wolf Trap /    Vienna, Virginia (with Ari Hest)

11/22 Notaviva Vineyards /    Purcellville, Virginia

That's it for now. Leave a comment. Say hi. Spread the word.

Luke
May 23 2008, 09:58 AM

Background on the new EP Songs

Wanted to give everybody some personal notes on the songs on the new "Five Songs" EP. You will be able to pre-order it very soon.

1. Loving Arms: Guitar-wise this song grew out of a simple shuffle pattern based on a C Major chord. I wanted it too feel loose, rambling and laid back - a little of that folk blues feel. Jon Carroll (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Starland Vocal Band) played organ on this one. Random aside: I sing at my daughter's preschool sometimes and I remember working on this one (musically at least) in between singing for the little ones - lest anyone think I'm a rock star or anything.

2. On Your Side: This is one of the first one I finished from this batch of tunes. Pretty straightforward - pledging allegiance sort of tune. Got to play this one at my brother Daniel's wedding last summer. My friend Todd Wright said even my "love songs" are more "life songs". That's a real compliment to me and when people ask me to play at their wedding or a funeral it's one of the greatest honors that my music has a place there.

3. Wrecking Ball: This one is pretty dense lyrically. How powerful is love to affect change? I was thinking about how much we can really change - how much of who we are is inherited and how someone else's love can affect change in us. Can we really break down these barriers we've built up around us? At some point you need to decide what you want and how hard you are willing to work for it and what sacrifices you are willing to make - whether it's to keep a relationship going, or a career, or working for what you believe in. It's HARDEST when there is no reward in site.

4. Can't Save Yourself: I had the idea for this one for a couple years but never finished it. Then one morning I was writing at home and I saw two Mormon missionaries walking down the street towards my house. I didn't feel like talking with them so I took my guitar and went to the basement to wait it out. I finished the song right there. It has nothing to do with mormons...

5. Sun Gonna Rise: I got real into Townes Van Zandt for a while last year. This one I wrote pretty quickly during that time. Not that there is much correlation...just saying. There's a line about birds singing in it and every time we come to that line in rehearsal the band makes bird noises - not always friendly sounding birds either.

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Luke Brindley

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