Interviews: Brother Venus

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Alternative Hard Rock band Brother Venus from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it, or did it just come out like that?

Kurt: Cody and I were up late one night and tossing names around. We had spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a name. We couldn’t come up with anything that we were crazy about. Band names are hard! So we just started joking around and riffing on antonyms for one of our favorite bands, I Mother Earth. (Hi Jag!) It started with one of us saying, “You Father Mars”, and after a couple more in-joke suggestions, “Brother Venus” came up. We both felt that it had such a nice ring to it that we had to go with it!

Cody: We were kicking around names and thinking about other band names that we liked, and one of our favorite bands, “I, Mother Earth,” came up, and jokingly, some names like “You, Father Venus” started to come up, and when “Brother Venus” was mentioned, we sort of did a double-take. We decided to sit with it overnight, and in the end, we went with it!

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Kurt: Brother Venus is sort of an amalgamation of every other genre of band that I’ve ever been a part of. I get so much musical satisfaction from playing these songs. We have such a wide array of sounds and styles we touch on, so I get to scratch a bunch of musical itches at the same time. The ultimate goal was to be both musically fulfilled and able to appeal to a wide audience.

Cody: I’ve always been a rock fan for my whole life. Starting out as a kid with classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s, and singing along to the words and to the guitar solos of Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Grand Funk Railroad, etc. It’s been in my bones and in my heart from the start.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Kurt: I have known Cody since we were freshmen together at Montana State, and we ended up forming a band called The Bent Bones. That band broke up after graduation, but Cody and I ended up living together for about 7 years, so we kept collaborating musically, albeit not in any official capacity, until we started Brother Venus.

I actually met Clayton through playing bass in a classic rock cover band. He was our sub drummer for a gig at a street dance (and that is a hilarious story in itself). I’ve known his family for quite a few years now, and I play in a band with his brother called Liquid Gnar.

Nick is an old friend of Clayton’s from high school, so I actually didn’t meet him until we were having him try out for the band. Our first major experience together was filming the music video for ‘Hit the Ground’. We all had such a good time that day, so we were confident that we had found our missing brother. The guy absolutely kills it on bass.

Cody: Kurt and I go back almost 15 years to our college days, where we both studied music at MSU in Bozeman. We were in a band back then as well!

4. Each band member’s favorite band?

Kurt: You do know that this is like, the hardest question to answer ever, right? (laughs). The answer will likely change on any given day, but I’ll narrow it down to a few. Metallica, I Mother Earth, Pantera, and Big Wreck have probably had the most staying power over the years.

Cody: This is always such a hard question to answer, so I will give you my favorite band that influences my singing and writing for this band. And that has to be Big Wreck. Ian Thornley is a near-endless pool of inspiration for me.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Kurt: I think anything that I’m listening to can seep into my writing or knock something loose. Even things that appear to be out of left-field stylistically can inspire something that I bring to BV. I’ve learned that I have no control over when or where inspiration strikes. Most times, though, inspiration comes from simply sitting down with a guitar for a while and just improvising. I can tell you that I’ve never had any success if I sit down with the intention of writing something. If anything comes of it at all, it’s usually garbage that I don’t end up keeping. You can’t force it (at least I can’t!).

Cody: I just love music, and I love making music. I draw from other artists I admire, I draw from my life experiences, and I draw from a desire to create something beautiful and exciting. When I’m writing lyrics and vocal parts, I draw from the instrumentals that Kurt and the guys create. I think songwriters are always trying to capture something universal in a unique way, so I try to find topics and themes that resonate with me and that I think will resonate with others.

6. Where was your last gig?

Kurt: The last gig we played was at the Tune-Up Bar in downtown Bozeman. It was our first time playing there, and it was a great time. Big shout-out to Mark for making that happen and making us sound good! It’s this cool basement bar that has a very speakeasy vibe to it. We definitely look forward to playing there again in the future.

Cody: We played at the Tune Up Bar last month, and we play at the Bozeman Hot Springs in a few days!

7. Where would you like to gig?

Kurt: In terms of local venues, I’d really love to play at The Rialto and The Elm! In terms of wishful thinking, I’d be happy to play anywhere in the world where there's a crowd that’s connected with our music and is excited to see us play those songs live.

Cody: To keep a lid on the possibilities, I will go with a local Bozeman venue and a larger state-wide answer. In Bozeman, I think the best place anyone could hope to play at is the ELM. And if we could play anywhere in Montana, the Kettlehouse Amphitheater is easily the top venue in the state for me. Both run by Logjam!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Kurt: As scary as it would be to have to go on before either of these bands, I would love to have the chance to open for both I Mother Earth and Big Wreck. I feel like I would learn so much from the experience, especially if we were able to go on even a short leg of the tour with them. I’ve personally never been on tour with a band before, so tagging along with anyone who’s been doing it as long as those guys have would be so good for us. Not to mention that I think it would be a good fit, musically.

Cody: To have the chance to share the stage with some of my heroes of the genre and inspirations for this band would be a dream. I would have to say Big Wreck or I, Mother Earth would be at the top of my list, along with King’s X and The Galactic Cowboys.

9. Whom not?

Cody: I don’t think I’m in a position to be THAT picky.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Kurt: Definitely. I still tend to get the jitters before shows. A lot of it is the pressure of my own expectations for myself. There’s not really a cheat anyway to “practice” playing in front of people (unless you have the gig simulator from the Tenacious D movie!) The best thing is seat time. You have to get out in front of people and play! You have to be comfortable knowing that you will make some mistakes or flub some notes in every performance. The person who will notice the most is always you. Even the pros make mistakes, but what makes them pros is that they’ve learned how to move on so quickly that no one notices. People also listen with their eyes. If you look nervous, or make a face when you flub a note, the audience will notice that way more than the actual mistake itself. Easier said than done, of course, and I’m still guilty of it!

Cody: Of course. When I was younger and performing for high school and college, I would get extremely nervous. My solution then is still my solution now: Be overprepared. It is truly the silver bullet for stage fright and nerves. That kind of insecurity usually only comes from a few things: Messing up and/or looking stupid on stage. If you are over-prepared, it takes care of both. If you aren’t afraid to mess up because you are prepared, you can perform passionately and confidently, which will never look stupid. You can’t always eliminate all of the nerves entirely, but being prepared will prevent most of the disasters we fear. Practice kids.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Kurt: In terms of my main inspirations for this project, there’s a whole menagerie. In no particular order: I Mother Earth, King’s X, Stone Temple Pilots, Big Wreck, Incubus, Dishwalla, Third Eye Blind, Alice in Chains, Creed, Galactic Cowboys, Soundgarden, Sum 41, Thin Lizzy, The Hellecasters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Caroline’s Spine, Matthew Good Band, and I’m sure many others that will come to me five minutes from now.

Cody: It’s really hard to just name a few. I am inspired by passionate songs and powerful production. It can come in many forms and genres. I have to mention Big Wreck again. I, Mother Earth. All of my childhood influences got me hooked on music in general. More recently, I have really been loving Wolfgang Van Halen’s latest Mammoth record, “The End,” for the songs, the attitude, and the production. Sturgill Simpson. I really would have to send you my entire Spotify listening history to cover it all. Anything that makes me feel something is inspiring for me as a musician who is trying to make people feel something.

12. What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Kurt: I mean, I’ve never had anyone ask me for stage-worn socks or anything like that (laughs). Not that it’s weird or bad in any way, but I’m still pretty blown away whenever people ask us to sign stuff.

Cody: I haven’t really had a lot of strange fan requests. I can’t think of anything in particular that stands out as weird.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Kurt: Judging by our streaming data at this point, the vast majority of our fans are people that we’ve never met and have never seen us play live before. We are super thankful to them for tuning in! Seeing how many people are listening to our music all over the place is definitely motivation for us to keep making new music, even if we aren’t able to bring our live show to them. We are also super grateful to have such supportive friends within our local music scene. Whether it's adding us to shows, putting in a good word with venues, or just coming out to shows to rock out with us, it’s great to be a part of the music scene with such amazing people here in Bozeman. One more huge thank you to everyone who has streamed our music, watched our videos, come to see us play, bought our merch, and shared us with others!

Cody: A great group of smart and good-looking individuals, certainly. With good taste.

14. What do you think of our site?

Kurt: I think it’s a very cool platform for smaller bands like us, and the presentation is awesome! Thank you so much for reaching out!

Cody: I think it is awesome to provide a place for bands like us to be heard and seen on a deeper level for a larger audience than we might reach otherwise.

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