http://brmr.net/
01.
Train
02.Staying
Gold
03.For
Yellow Walls
04.
Hollow Tune
05.
Move To
The Ocean
06.
Dark Skies
07.
Brighter Than the Sun
Brick + Mortar is an indie rock duo founded in
Toms River, New Jersey in
March 2008. The duo consists of frontman
Brandon Asraf (bass guitar, vocals) and
John Tacon (drums, electronic samples, vocals). The two members have garnered a notable amount of regional success since their formation and partnering with independent label
Anchor &
Hope Music. They were signed to
Photo Finish Records /
Island Def Jam Records, but are now currently signed to Merovee
Records as part of the
ADA music group. The duo is a significant part of the musical and artistic culture of
Asbury Park, New Jersey as it is the first electronic drum and bass pop duo to have such success in the area. Asraf and Tacon began playing music together when they were in middle school, initially beginning as a drum and bass improvisational duo. The two bonded further over their shared interest in the artistry of songwriting. They had many attempts at playing music with other people but "it never worked. It always ended up with Brandon [Asraf] and I", according to John Tacon. Their first band together was called
Black Rhythm. The members each took private lessons for their respective instruments at a young age, however, were largely self-taught in their knowledge of theory and performance. In 2008, Asraf and Tacon renamed their project Brick + Mortar, and began focusing more heavily on the use of electronic samples in their music as well as relying less on improvisation and more on structured pop songs. With the promising rise of the
Asbury Park musical scene, the duo began performing regularly up and down the
New Jersey coast and building a reputation as one of the strongest live acts to come out of the state. Brick + Mortar's consistent performances quickly gained them a strong following as one of the best live bands in the Asbury Park music scene, eventually rewarding them with opening spots for larger national acts such as
River City Extension and
Jimmy Eat World at such well-known venues as the
Starland Ballroom and the
Stone Pony. In
2010, the band released their first studio LP, recorded independently, entitled
7 Years in the
Mystic Room. The record garnered a great deal of positive feedback by critics and fans. The duo's high energy shows, positive local press, and successful first record had not gone unnoticed by music executives. In
December 2010, Brick + Mortar were invited to perform at a Sony/
Jive Records showcase the performance venue
Le Poisson Rouge in
New York City. After a sing-off with a heckler in the audience, the duo won an award presented to them by
Senior V.P. of the label. After building much of their success independently, Brick + Mortar signed to an independent music label, Anchor & Hope
Music (publishing label of acts such as
Squeeze,
Glenn Tilbrook and River City Extension). This move supported the duo in successfully gaining a performance spot in the "No
Pulp Music" showcase in the
CMJ Music Marathon. Brick + Mortar continue to build their fanbase as well as showcase for additional labels. During the later part of
2011, the duo released a number of new
singles as well as performance videos after partnering with video artist/media group Humble
Humans. In
January 2012, Brick + Mortar announced on their
Facebook page that they had "officially been invited" to perform at the
2012 South by Southwest Music Conference at the "
House of Creatives" showcase. In
2013, Brick + Mortar announced that they had signed to Photo Finish Records and would release an EP titled
Bangs. In 2014, Brick + Mortar was dropped by their record label, but continued to produce music. They released two singles, "Hollow Tune" and a rerecording of "Move to the
Ocean". In
2015, the band released a remixed cover of "
Voodoo Child" by
Jimi Hendrix that was used in the trailer for the movie
Hitman:
Agent 47.
Later that year they released the
album Dropped and went on a subsequent tour. In 2016, Brick + Mortar announced via Instagram they were working on a new song entitled "
Dead Moon".
- published: 30 Mar 2016
- views: 4