Local Listens: Bluebrain
Welcome (back) to Local Listens, where we profile some of our favorite Washington musicians. This week, we shine the spotlight on Bluebrain. Artistic stunts, iPhone apps, and political-show setups are the tools of this indie-electronic pair of brothers.
By
Katie Glueck
Hays and Ryan Holladay.
The Washington-based band Bluebrain takes audience participation very seriously. During this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, founding brothers Hays and Ryan Holladay organized a performance built around a walk at the Mall, with participants bearing boom boxes playing Bluebrain-provided cassette tapes, creating what Ryan called a “walking orchestra.” The band also recorded a soundtrack for the Sant Ocean Hall in the National Museum of Natural History. Saturday at 8 PM, audience members will interact with the band’s dark indie electronica at the Fridge (516 Eighth St., SE, rear alley) by using the iPhone app TouchOSC to contribute to the concert. Contributors get half-price tickets; without the app, admission is $10.
Ryan, a former Obama campaign organizer, chatted with us about a revitalized Washington music scene, “stoner” music, soft power, and scooters.
Name: Bluebrain
Ages: Ryan, 28, Hays, 27.
Who does what? “We both sing, although Hays is the lead singer. When we record, we both play piano, guitar, and drums. But when we play live, it’s all electronics—like synthesizers and drum machines.”
How long have you been in Washington? “We grew up here. We moved to New York for a while and then moved back to DC about two years ago.”
How did Bluebrain get together? “Hays had been working on a bunch of songs. We didn’t know what to do with them, so we finished them up and decided to put them out under something new, just the two of us. We had our first show a little under a year ago and then signed a label out in California.”
Any story behind the name? “It’s the name of a project to recreate the human brain—a project that we’ve sort of followed. We liked the association of artificial intelligence.”
Does your band have a political bent? Your first full-length album is called Soft Power. “We’re not really political—my friend named the album, and I liked the term because it implies something sinister when applied to music. The record is kind of dark, so putting the word ‘soft’ in there worked well. Of course, the idea of being in DC and having a title like that certainly appealed to us as well. Our live shows play around with the idea of DC and power—our concert stage is flanked by two large lecterns and tons of mikes, like a weird, bizarro press conference.”
Now for the lightening round. First song that made you want to play music: “ ‘La Bamba.’ ”
First instrument: “Piano.”
Most inspiring local spot for writing music: “Nowhere in particular for music inspiration, but the FDR Memorial at night is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Best local venue: “The 9:30 Club is the first venue I ever went to, and it’s still the best-sounding place anywhere.”
Best local bar to hear music: “The Raven has an incredible jukebox. It’s a little temperamental, but when it works, it’s fantastic.”
Sum up Washington’s music scene: “It’s been a bit of a vacuum for the last ten years. It took a long time for us as a city to figure out what we were doing, post-punk scene. What’s cool now is there’s a diversity of style that hasn’t existed for a long time. People are now more excited about investing creative capital in DC. I’m not sure why, although electing a new President and the influence of that can’t be overstated.”
Best thing about Washington’s music scene: “It’s overwhelmingly supportive, for better or for worse.”
Worst thing: “There needs to be more people doing things to support music—I’d like to see more record labels.”
Finish this sentence: “When I’m not making music, you can find me . . .” “Scooting around the city. I have a scooter, so I love riding along Rock Creek Parkway all the way up to the Tidal Basin.”
Rolling Stones or the Beatles? “It’s a tough choice and age-old question, but I’ll come down on the side of the Beatles.”
Rolling Stone or Spin? “Uh . . . do they still exist?”
Club shows or festivals? “Festivals.”
Craziest tour memory: “We’ve stayed hyper-local. We’d definitely be open to doing tours, but so far we’ve enjoyed concentrating on making everything we do here count and really investing in this city.”
The first song you play for people when introducing them to your music:
“ ‘Ten by Ten’—it has a really out-there video, so there’d be a visual companion to it.”
If you could listen to only one album for the rest of your life, what would it be? “I might go with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. That’s a bit of a stoner answer there, but I’ve only realized how complex and rich it is as I get older. If that trend continues, I imagine it’d be a good one to keep with me for a long time.”
Best thing about being in a band? “Indulging a creative side every single day that most people don’t get to exercise, and getting to play in a band with my brother.” Check Hays and Ryan out at www.bluebra.in
More>> After Hours Blog | Arts & Events | Happy Hour Finder | Calendar of Events
|
Comments
I’d have to check with you here. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a publish that will make folks think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!
online generic cyklokapron <a href="http://home-pharmacy.com/buy-get-generic-cyklokapron-price/">online generic cyklokapron</a>
Posted by: buy generic desogen, Feb 07, 2012 01:26:46 AM
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I do not know who you are but certainly you’re going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already ;) Cheers!
buy Cycrin <a href="http://health-drugstore.com/buy-cheap-generic-cycrin-online/">buy Cycrin</a>
Posted by: mail order priligy, Feb 06, 2012 11:57:16 PM
A further issue is really that video gaming became one of the all-time greatest forms of recreation for people of every age group. Kids play video games, plus adults do, too. Your XBox 360 is among the favorite gaming systems for individuals that love to have a lot of activities available to them, plus who like to play live with other individuals all over the world. Thank you for sharing your notions.
online generic metaglip <a href="http://genericrxdrug.com/buy-generic-metaglip-order-online/">online generic metaglip</a>
Posted by: online levitra, Feb 06, 2012 09:57:34 PM
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?
cheap generic arorder <a href="http://genericrxdrug.com/buy-generic-arorder-online-istocort/">generic generic arorder</a>
Posted by: best price kamagra, Feb 06, 2012 08:57:31 PM
It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I desire to read more things about it!
order viagra online safely <a href="http://buyviagrapharmacy.info/buy-viagra-online-safely/">cheap viagra online safely</a>
Posted by: buy generic cialis, Feb 06, 2012 08:28:26 PM
One thing I have actually noticed is always that there are plenty of fallacies regarding the financial institutions intentions whenever talking about foreclosures. One myth in particular is the bank prefers to have your house. The lending company wants your hard earned dollars, not your house. They want the bucks they lent you with interest. Preventing the bank will draw some sort of foreclosed summary. Thanks for your article.
buy viagra soft <a href="http://buygenericdrugs.info/buy-get-viagra-soft-without/">online viagra soft</a>
Posted by: for sale zithromax, Feb 06, 2012 06:55:57 PM
The following time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I do know it was my choice to read, but I really thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could possibly fix for those who werent too busy in search of attention.
viagra generic <a href="http://buydiscountviagra.info/viagra-generic/">viagra generic</a>
Posted by: buy Imuran, Feb 06, 2012 05:28:26 PM
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
order Plavix <a href="http://buygenericlist.com/buy-order-cheap-generic-plavix-clopidogrel-online/">order Plavix</a>
Posted by: buy viagra online a prescription, Feb 06, 2012 04:24:57 PM
I used to be more than happy to search out this web-site.I needed to thanks in your time for this excellent read!! I undoubtedly enjoying each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.
order viagra for men <a href="http://buyviagrapharmacy.info/buy-viagra-for-men/">generic viagra for men</a>
Posted by: web drugstore canada, Feb 06, 2012 12:24:28 PM
Thanks for your write-up on this blog. From my own experience, occasionally softening upward a photograph could provide the digital photographer with a bit of an creative flare. Many times however, that soft blur isn’t what precisely you had under consideration and can sometimes spoil a normally good snapshot, especially if you consider enlarging them.
generic kamagra <a href="http://buygenericdrugs.info/buy-price-kamagra-without-prescription/">order kamagra</a>
Posted by: buy plavix, Feb 06, 2012 11:56:25 AM
Thanks for your writing. I would love to say that the health insurance broker also works best for the benefit of the actual coordinators of your group insurance policies. The health insurance broker is given a long list of benefits sought by individuals or a group coordinator. What a broker really does is seek out individuals or perhaps coordinators which often best match those desires. Then he presents his suggestions and if all parties agree, the actual broker formulates legal contract between the 2 parties.
generic diflucan <a href="http://buycheapgeneric.info/online-order-diflucan-cheap-buy/">buy diflucan</a>
Posted by: generic viagra uk suppliers, Feb 06, 2012 11:03:23 AM
You can certainly see your skills in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
order viagra safely <a href="http://buydiscountviagra.info/buy-viagra-safely/">order viagra safely</a>
Posted by: web pharmacy australia, Feb 06, 2012 09:25:57 AM
Thanks for your fascinating article. One other problem is that mesothelioma is generally attributable to the inhalation of materials from mesothelioma, which is a very toxic material. It really is commonly noticed among laborers in the structure industry who definitely have long contact with asbestos. It is caused by residing in asbestos protected buildings for long periods of time, Genetic makeup plays a huge role, and some consumers are more vulnerable for the risk than others.
viagra professional <a href="http://genericrxdrug.com/viagra-professional-order-online-is/">viagra professional</a>
online drugstore without prescription sale discount canada http://health-drugstore.com/
Posted by: generic tadalis sx, Feb 06, 2012 02:43:37 AM
That Ten by Ten video and song are SO CREATIVE.
Posted by: Cary , Jun 19, 2010 11:09:37 AM
|
Post a comment
Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Because of the prevalence of spam, we ask that you fill out the code in the image below to help us eliminate spam comments. By posting here, you affirm that you are 13 years of age or older. Washingtonian.com reserves the right to remove or edit content once posted.
|
|
|
