LOCAL
“WITH CHET’S NEW STUFF, I’M SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD AND LET LOOSE.”
BEAT
{BY NICK KEPPLER}
NOT IN THE FAMILY
INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
THE MIXUS BROTHERS CD RELEASE with AGAIN THE BANDITS. 7 p.m. Sat., Jan. 11. Club Café, 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $7. All ages. 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com N E W S
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A WELL-ROUNDED
BEND
All dressed up: The Mixus Brothers
To answer your first question: No, The Mixus Brothers are not actual brothers. Drummer Johnny Willett and banjoist/ guitarist Jacob Stempky present themselves as Red and Jebbh Mixus, two hardtraveling Americana musicians dressed like old-time farm workers, as a way to “step out of ourselves as husbands and fathers and employees for as long as it takes to put on a show,” says Willett. “I like the old-time bluegrass,” adds Stempky (who wants it to be known he’s been playing the banjo since 1994, long before the rise of Mumford & Sons). “I like the way they presented themselves. It’s all in the name of acting and entertaining.” Stempky and Willett actually have lives that are much more comfortable than those of the Dust Bowl vagabonds seen on their album covers and promotional photos. Both well into their 30s, Stempky is a grants and contracts officer for the University of Pittsburgh and Willett an occupational therapist. They met when they both took their daughters to the same playground in serene Frick Park. “We were both laid-back guys with the same goals for music,” says Willett, “so it made sense for us to form the band and have an outlet.” They have impressively found the time to churn out two full-length albums in about a year. Next week, they release the second, To the Far Blue Mountains. With the two sharing vocal duties, it’s an even mix of romp-and-stomp numbers and slower, dreamier songs. “I have always liked the way Beck has his albums compiled,” says Stempky. “You need a lot of ups and downs and mixes of slow and fast.” The disc features both the usual rural references of folk music (acorns, mountains and foxes) and a few moments that give away its creators’ educated backgrounds; there are nods to the myths of Sisyphus and Ouroboros. The concept of family is never far from the Mixus Brothers, even if the’re not related. “When we started, we made a deal,” says Willett. “We would only make music our daughters would like dancing around to, or would be good for bedtime.”
Getting away from their roots: The Big Bend (from left: Abe Anderson, Chet Vincent, Dan Dickison, Madison Stubblefield, Andy Voltz)
{BY ANDY MULKERIN}
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T’S NO PRINTER’S error that led to the band Pittsburgh has come to know as Chet Vincent and The Big Bend putting out its new LP, Unconventional Dog, under the pared-down moniker of The Big Bend. No, Chet didn’t get booted from the band — but he’s also not the focal point he once was. “Early on, I had a lot of false starts with groups; it was painful in the way that that is, and I was sick of restarting,” he says. “And when we started [this band], there was no reason to believe that that wouldn’t be the case also. I wanted to have something to fall back onto with all the gains we made, or, in my mind, that I would’ve made. But then it ended up working out; we had a great relationship.” Drummer Abe Anderson notes that the band hasn’t completely dropped the Chet Vincent nomenclature: the names
are “interchangeable now,” he says. The band’s new full-length is a similar blend: taking some of the old Big Bend with it, but moving into largely uncharted territory. If your knowledge
THE BIG BEND LP RELEASE
WITH GRAND PIANO, ANDRE COSTELLO AND THE COOL MINORS 9 p.m. Fri., Jan. 10. Belvedere’s Ultra Dive, 4016 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $5. 412-687-2555 or www.belvederesultradive.com
of The Big Bend comes mostly from the 2011 album For Everyone, prepare for a shock: This one’s got fuzzy guitars, heavy riffs and a classic-rock — sometimes even stoner-rock — vibe.
While “it’s cool to have this rootsy sound,” says Anderson, it wasn’t completely natural to the band as a whole. “I like to play loud, funky drums. With Chet’s new stuff, I’m supposed to be loud and let loose.” Loud rock, Anderson notes, is familiar to all the band’s members: “We are children of the ’90s; that’s what we grew up with.” “We’re gonna change from cowboy shirts to flannel shirts,” says keyboardist Andy Voltz, with a wry smile. Unconventional Dog is a blues-rock slow-burner with a persistent rhythm section, and it lets you know right off the bat that The Big Bend is a different animal these days. The keys are aggressive; Vincent’s vocals, which on the last record were sometimes tentative, are commanding. “Limousine,” the third track, recalls blue-rock revival acts like CONTINUES ON PG. 18
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