Name:
Brother Twang
Members:
George
Skoupas, Downtown Jay Brown, Heavy D Stembridge.
Pique: What's the origin of your name?
Brother Twang:
We
started off as Too Soon to Tell as we were just having fun playing covers.
Everyone kept asking what our name was, we didn’t have one so we told them it
was “too soon to tell” and the name stuck. We always knew that the name would
change once we started original material. Brother Twang represents the
brotherhood between band mates, and the twang refers to Jay’s vocal delivery at
times. It was one of those things that was born during a recording session; the
name came out of nowhere and it just works.
Pique: What are your musical backgrounds?
B.T.:
We’ve all been
playing in excess of 20 years and our musical tastes are extremely varied; from
classical music, to electronica, to death metal fusion!
Hometowns:
The Big
Smoke and Steel Town.
Pique: What brought you to Whistler?
B.T.:
The fresh and
clean air primarily, George has family here also, and you can’t deny those
powder days. You know, the old adage “we came for the winter, but stayed for
the summer…”
Pique: When you aren’t on stage, where can people find you
just hanging out?
B.T.:
Either the dog
beach or 7
th
Heaven, or with our respective loved ones, or Heavy D’s
personal favorite: the couch!
Pique: When did you form your band?
B.T.:
1.5 years ago.
Pique: What inspired you to make music together?
B.T.:
It all started
with the open mike jam nights that George started at the Longhorn. The Force
was with us from then on.
Pique: How do you describe your music?
B.T.:
Gunt-tastic!
Pique: Do you play covers, or original material?
B.T.:
Both, but our
focus is definitely on original music. For every original added to the set, one
cover is dropped.
Pique: Describe a typical rehearsal…
B.T.:
Out on the golf
course, having a few beverages discussing how amazing we were last night. So
far this seems to be working.
Pique: Hit shuffle on your iPod — what are the first
three songs you come across?
B.T.:
The Mob Goes Wild
(Clutch), Camera Eye (Rush), Hockey Cards (Brother Twang), which is available
on our four-song CD for just $5!
Pique:
W
hat
are your
favourite
song(s) to perform together?
B.T.:
Any of our
originals (especially Hockey Cards as we’re going to submit that one for the
Hockey Night in Canada contest), Folsom Prison Blues, Old Man, or It’s Still
Rock & Roll to Me.
Pique: What/who are your musical influences?
B.T.:
Band wise: Rush,
Clutch, Faith No More, Iron Maiden, and so many more it would fill this whole
page. Otherwise, we all have been influenced by various teachers and family
members as music seems to run in our families’ veins.
Pique: If you have to pick one “theme song” for the band,
what would it be?
G.S.:
Hockey Cards.
D.S.:
Without a Trace
(as it’s about Whistler locals).
J.B.:
Let’s Get
Physical.
Pique: What song is requested most (that you secretly hate
to perform)?
B.T.:
Wonderwall
by Oasis hands down!
Pique: What’s your favourite venue in town, and why?
B.T.:
That’s a very
hard call. It’s a toss up between The FireRock and Merlin’s. We like the
FireRock because the acoustics are incredible and they’re like family to us,
and Merlin’s because of their awesome staff. Honourable mention goes to the
PemHo because that crowd definitely knows how to party and it’s always a good
time!
Pique: Have you had any embarrassing moments on stage?
B.T.:
Jay loves to sing
before the mic is turned on, but the best was when George’s zipper broke while
we were playing at Buffalo Bill’s. Did I mention that he was going commando at
the time…?
Pique: What musician (alive or dead) would you like to jam
with?
B.T.:
Rush, Kirk
Hammett, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, the list goes on…
Pique: Do you have any upcoming performances in town?
B.T.: We are incredibly stoked about playing at the Pemberton Festival Barn Dance (Sunday, July 27 th at 6 p.m.) but we play at least twice a week in Whistler, check the Pique’s listings for where and when!
