The Deadstring Brothers

The Deadstring Brothers
'Starving Winter Report'
Bloodshot/Evangeline


With this second album from the Detroit exemplars of country rock, there is not much stylistic change from the eponymous debut, which received countless references in press reviews to The Stones/Exile Street and in which frontman Kurt Marshcke was widely touted as a musically spiritual kinsman of Gram Parsons, possibly even Keith Richards himself.

'Starving Winter Report' will indeed appeal to anyone with a hankering for the fusion of blues and country rock that Parsons delivered and perhaps those Stones fans who are looking for an alternative to transfer their allegiance to.

The energetic full band bluster that makes the band so popular at their live shows is also apparent on their studio recordings, 'Starving Winter Report' being no exception, although the studio recordings of their lap steel infused urban tinged country rock is tamed slightly by the gentler riffs that add texture to some of the more grandiose epics and observational tales.

Live, the band is a stripped down and raw powerhouse, fronted by a swaggering Marschke, sympathetically backed by a keening Marsha Marjeh and funky bass lines from Phil Skarich, along with the input (or output) from a talented collection of touring musicians, often pressed into service at short notice when commitments of regular band members exclude them from the frequent tours on foreign shores. On this album, however, the emotional charge that the band get from enthusiastic audiences at their live shows is replaced with tempered sonic power, neatly textured layers of a horn section and splendid vocal harmonies.

Pressed, packaged and put on the record shop shelf, 'Starving Winter Report', with The Deadstring Brothers trademark crashed bi-planes on the sleeve cover, makes a more than adequate supplement to ones more contemporary Americana collection of say, amongst others, Drive-By Truckers and Stewboss.


Related links:
The Deadstring Brothers
Bloodshot Records

The Deadstring Brothers

'The Deadstring Brothers'
Times Beach Records

I stoke up the CD player with this Deadstring Brothers album because I want to get into the lyrics before I go to the Deadstring gig tonight.  Well, you know how it is – I got so involved in the instrumentation, I lost sight of the lyrics.  A couple of minutes later the plumber puts his head around the door and says “That’s fucking great! Sort of Stones-like; who is it?”  And that comment alone, from someone who not two minutes earlier claimed to have no interest in music, epitomises the Deadstring Brothers debut album.  Of course, this being a music web site I can’t just say “it’s fucking great”, can I?

And the Stones references come thick and fast too, from experienced music critics and music philistines alike.  There’s some substance to the comparisons.  Dig a little deeper though - anyone who watched the recent BBC Gram Parsons documentary might recall the film footage of said Parsons hanging out with the Stones, and the speculation of what a collaboration between the 2 might have resulted in.  This is the essence of the Deadstring Brothers.

The Detroit-based quintet blend rock n blues influences with a country rock tradition set by the likes of Uncle Tupelo, and to some extent the Wilco/Son Volt off-shoots, equally at ease blowing the roof off with their alt country rippers (‘Entitled’, ‘I’m Not A Stealer’) as they are tinkling away at their melancholic slower tracks (‘It Takes Love’, ‘Jones Street’).  It’s always difficult finding contemporary comparisons for music like this, music that combines traditional country storytelling and instrumentation, high energy guitar rock and thoughtful arrangements.  Names such as Whiskeytown, Stewboss, The Sadies and The Hired Guns all spring to mind.

Indeed, there’s even a little of the old Ryan Adams (circa ‘Heartbreaker’) in both Marshke’s music and looks, and with the thoughtful arrangements throughout the album, even more of Whiskeytown than one would dare to consider.  But where the Adams myth has been overshadowed by the reality of a couple of recent dodgy albums, Marshke and company have their feet firmly planted in their roots rock, not pretending to be anything other than what they appear to be.  Whilst music critics have filed the bands music under a variety of pigeon holes, from alt country, roots rock to country rock, Marshke himself emphatically points out that its rock ‘n’ roll.  His own categorical answer to where his music fits best might fall on deaf ears, especially those belonging to alt country fans that get more out of the country aspects of the album than the rock.  And, as if to make it quite clear that the album does indeed lean towards country rock than anything else, there’s a couple of songs that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on one of those modern western movie soundtracks.

Marshke being the main force behind the Deadstrings it would be easy to disregard the rest of the band as a backing band.  Everyone involved with this future classic is an integral part of the machine, from the flexible rhythm section (King and Skarich, drums and bass respectively), all the way down the ranks to the pool of stunning backing vocalists (sisters Masha and Mimi Marjeh and Laura Rock).

Testament, perhaps, to this up and coming bands wide appeal – not only to music fans, but to their somewhat more established musical peers, the band have appeared on stage with names as diverse as Jesse Sykes, Cat Power and Eleni Mandell to Jesse Malin. By my reckoning it won’t be long before the Deadstrings are pulling decent support themselves.

Ah, what the hell, the plumber’s right – it’s fucking great.....

The Deadstring Brothers can be found at www.deadstringbrothers.com
The album is on Times Beach Records and distributed in Europe through Cargo Records.

Related trivia - Aric Karpinski (keyboards) appears on the latest Mood Elevator album, 'Married Alive'

Kurt Marshcke and Philip Skarich, from the Deadstring Brothers.
Bude, Cornwall - April 2004

The permanent chalk board outside Rick’s Bar (Widemouth Manor, near Bude) reads ‘Cool Choons’.

Cool tunes indeed. We’re here to get an earful of Detroit based country rock outfit The Deadstring Brothers, with their Sheffield support band, The Long Guns.

Mid-evening, the main bar is full of pre-gig loungers, diners and drinkers.  There’s a double table with a group of tired looking people ordering a meal.  Somehow, it’s easy to pick out the musicians from the surfer and skateboard fraternity, although in this case the American accents are a bit of a give-away.  The Deadstring Brothers and gang are recovering from a long drive down from London, with the thought of another long haul the next day, heading up to Leicester.

At one end of the table is an unassuming young man, quietly observing his surroundings and the people milling around him.  He has the look of a poet or artist taking mental notes for future reference.  It’s a demeanour that I have also come to associate with many of the musicians I have encountered, especially those who write their own material.  Even without being armed with a photo of Kurt Marschke, founder member of the Deadstring Brothers, with the continuing role of lyricist, composer, vocalist and guitarist, I instinctively approach him with the knowledge that this is indeed he.

With a confident shake of the hand, Kurt is quietly enthusiastic about meeting later for a chat. None of the big star attitude of ‘go check with my manager’. He’s not even fazed by my embarrassed admission that the tape recorder is broken.

An hour or so later, I’m talking to Kurt and Philip (Skarich, bassist). They explain that, with the exception of Masha Marjeh, the rest of the formal band line-up on the album are back in the US; this touring line-up is comprised of 3 part-time touring members, getting some shut-eye before the gig.

Me, being a practical sort, I wondered why the band had detoured a few hundred miles out of their way to the next gig to play a free gig down in Cornwall. Kurt explains that their previous gig at the Manor (February) had brought them a small but solid fan base in the area and with more recent airplay (from the album), along with an interview and live acoustic set on Radio Cornwall the week before, that the trip was well worth the few hours drive to consolidate their standing amongst local music fans. Later, the band manager (Netty Turner) confirms the premise behind the current tour, so soon after the previous one. Playing small venues around the country has brought the band a dedicated following, many turning up night after night at different venues, and they see this tour as a consolidation tour – plans for the next UK tour (July 2004, with additional dates in the Netherlands) will see the outfit playing regional venues across the country, larger venues which will bring the scattered groups of fans under one roof.

However, the band hasn’t only attracted the attention of music fans around the country. Their eponymous debut album has received glowing reviews from mainstream music press. The common denominator of these reviews has been the Stones/Gram Parsons comparisons. Asking Kurt how he felt about these comparisons, he nods his head, smiles, and says in a self-effacing manner that he finds these comparisons flattering.

By and large, critics have labelled the band as a country rock band. When asked which genre pigeon hole he put his own music into, he is emphatic: “Rock ‘n’ Roll!” You can’t argue the point. Anyone who makes a categorical statement like that, without feeling the need to elaborate, cannot be argued with. However, digging a little deeper, he admits to growing up a diet of Dylan/The Band, his favourite album being ‘Nashville Skyline, with ‘Blonde On Blonde’ running a close second. I ask about their other influences – I point out that I myself tend to lean towards Uncle Tupelo as a musical comparative (hereby moving away from the rock ‘n’ roll point made earlier), to which both Marschke and Skarich nod their heads enthusiastically – both big Jeff Tweedy fans. No surprise. Exactly how much the likes of Dylan, The Band and Uncle Tupelo have influenced Kurt’s writing isn’t all that clear. Whilst Kurt leans towards the rock ‘n’ roll definition of what he writes and plays, it’s impossible to get away from the country aspects, whether he or the band like it or not. To emphasise the point, later, during the gig, as soon as the pedal steel starts wailing, there are a few country die-hards swirling on the tiny floor in front of the stage.

There’s a point in our conversation where Marschke turns the tables on me, asking about my own music preferences. Expressing my own interest in jam bands (Gov’t Mule), Marschke, without being critical, makes the observation that he preferred “telling a story, creating a drama in a short space of time; a beginning, middle and end”. There’s a glint in his eye; he’s passionate about his own music and although he might not particularly like something else (in this case rambling jam sessions), he appreciates music for music’s sake. He makes it clear that he loves what he does, fine tuning his songs, playing music for music’s sake, and wants to be the best he can at what he does, without feeling the need to break new territory.

Indeed, he has fine-tuned his music. Everything he says indicates a love of songcraft. Once an album has been pressed and released, it’s on show, warts and all. I ask Kurt if, with hindsight, there is anything he would change on the album, if he could. He shakes his head; “No; there were 4 or 5 songs that I wrote horn arrangements for, but…..” He shrugs. I get the impression that the next album is going to be a much more elaborate affair.

The subject of a follow up album crops up at this point. Kurt seems confident that he and the band easily have the musical tools for another 10 albums. He talks enthusiastically about the next album, mentioning next March as a likely release date. He’s impressed with the following the alt country scene has in the UK and hints that the next album will probably be released here before it does in the US. With a steadily growing fan base in the UK, there’s even talk of the new album seeing a UK (European) release before a US one.

Whilst the UK has a number of excellent home-grown alt country and roots acts, the Deadstring Brothers have the added appeal of being ambassadors of the ‘real thing’; no doubt a big advantage when trying to pull new fans from the niche market music lovers in the UK, for their new album.

Heading the conversation back to said album, I ask Skarich about the album sleeve artwork (another of his contributions to the album). Many American musicians felt the need to bring post 9/11 politics into their music and I queried whether there was any political significance to the artwork (crashed bi-planes and a photo of 2 pilots in a bomber cockpit). Both Marschke and Skarich are instantly apolitically dismissive. Phil Skarich shrugs and says “I just play bass.” With politics out of the way, Skarich is happy to elaborate on the artwork, pointing out that the image innocently portrays the solidarity of brotherhood, an ideology which bodes well for the continued success of the band as an entity. I get it, but am not convinced that the more politically inclined anti-war activists who hover around alt country record shelves will.

At the end of the day, neither the band nor the album is about politics. It’s about a love of music and performing to appreciative audiences. They’re not precious about what they do; they might be looking for success, but are happy with the hand they’ve been dealt.

Both Kurt Marschke and Phil Skarich have the air of seasoned rock stars. There’s no hidden agenda; they know what they have to do to make it in the dog eat dog music world. They walk the walk, and talk the talk – an almost casual non-chalant swagger on-stage; off-stage, they talk music, not about themselves. Unassuming but charismatic guys who are happy to take their place in the overall tradition of music.

Footnotes:
The Deadstring Brothers lineup for the current tour includes permanent band members Kurt Marschke and Philip Skarich, along with Masha Marjeh (backing vocals on the album). Bob Hoffner (pedal steel, previously with Cuartet Lucy), Travis Harrett (drums, also of The Dopes and Ron Getz Trio) and Charles Hughes (keyboards).


Marschke previously recorded an album, under the guise of ‘Life of Crime’, entitled ‘Demos For The Choirbook’.  This album included a track called ‘Six Dead Strings’, the seed for the name of the current band.  'Demos For The Choirbook' is available through disclogic.com

The Deadstring Brothers can be found at www.deadstringbrothers.com
The album is on Times Beach Records and distributed in Europe through Cargo Records.

- May 2nd 2004

Many thanks to Kurt Marshke, Philip Skarich, Masha Marjeh and Netty Turner (band manager) for their time and patience, the chef for the homemade lasagne, the waitress for putting another heater in our freezing room, another waitress for the fried breakfast (belch!), Lesley Shone at Indiscreet PR for the album; and to my own Lesley (aka Mrs Musicworkz) for putting up with my unnatural preoccupation with music, musicians and my computer.