Brokeback // Terry Gross

Show Description:

Brokeback began in 1995 as a solo performance outlet for Douglas McCombs. At the time McCombs’s bands Eleventh Dream Day and Tortoise had both achieved a level of sonic density that left him wanting to perform something quieter and more delicate. Some called Brokeback “ambient,” which isn’t quite accurate. That said, the music held a lot of space, based around fairly simple melodies played on the Fender Bass VI.

Over the years McCombs collaborated with a variety of people and Brokeback membership expanded or contracted accordingly. The current lineup, consistent since 2013, reflects a democratically organized quartet featuring Pete Croke on bass, James Elkington on guitar, and Areif Sless-Kitain on drums, with McCombs primarily on guitar and occasionally Fender Bass VI.

Together, they’ve grown into a dynamic unit centered around McCombs’s and Ellington’s interwoven guitars, creating atmospheric, textured arrangements while navigating all the peaks and valleys contained within. Tension swells and dissipates as each cinematic frame unspools to reveal a sound reflecting a tectonic shift from Brokeback’s beginnings, yet the foundation remains the quiet restraint at the core of McCombs’s initial vision.

Terry Gross

Few bands are as primed to capture their ecstatic live energy in masterful sonic detail like Terry Gross. Composed of three renowned engineer/producers whose studio doubles as their jam spot and communal gathering place, the trio are able to document their longform psychedelic escapades with granular precision. The potency of the fellowship formed by drummer Phil Becker, bassist Donny Newenhouse, and guitarist Phil Manley (Trans Am) lies in their ability to utilize their prowess as both players and recording engineers to translate feeling with immaculate clarity. On their second full-length Huge Improvement, Terry Gross embody a complex web of emotion with songs as ferocious and precise as they are agile and care-free, delighting in the catharsis of excising tension alongside one’s most trusted peers.

21+

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