THE BROTHERS STEVE (Los Angeles, CA)
THE BROTHERS STEVE is a rock band from Los Angeles, California. Their energetic pop sound combines elements of British Invasion, indie rock, bubblegum and power pop.
More specifically, the Brothers emerged seemingly out of nowhere – or from the ashes of LA guitar pop legends TSAR, depending on whom you ask – in 2019 with their audaciously titled album #1, which was audaciously issued on vinyl and CD only. The record was rapturously received, adorned many a critic's Best of 2019 list, and was accompanied by a pair of triumphant local live appearances and a pair of singles counted by Big Stir Records as jewels in the crown of our Digital Singles Series: "Angeline and Carolanne" and the exclusive holiday release "Christmas Magic!" Meanwhile #1 remained otherwise a physical-only release while its deep well of crunchy instant pop classics ("She", "Good Deal Of Love", "Carry Me" and more) splattered themselves across the airwaves from the US to the UK and Spain and beyond.
Although #1 is the debut album for TBS, their roots run back back to when members JEFF WHALEN (vocals and guitar), OS TYLER (vocals), DYLAN CHAMPION (guitar, vocals), STEVE COULTER (drums) and JEFF SOLOMON (bass) met as students at UC Santa Barbara. Whalen, Coulter and Solomon would go on to form Tsar and cut an impressive swath through the LA pop scene in the early part of this century. Recently Whalen's solo record 10 More Rock Super Hits! demonstrated his undiminished songwriting and vocal magic and Coulter, under the pen name S.W. Lauden, has emerged as a writer of both fiction and music history, with the co-editing of last year's GO ALL THE WAY: A LITERARY APPRECIATION OF POWER POP among his credits (and both also moonlight in The GoAllTheWays, the punk-goes-pop side project that accompanied the book).
The Brothers Steve, though, are most certainly their own animal, with that bubblegum sound and Monkees fixation at the forefront and an unparalleled energy in its delivery. Big Stir Records, having played a small part in launching their career, is thrilled to welcome them to our official roster... and we can't wait to share what they're up to next.
Carry Me (Big Stir Digital Single No. 81)
The Brothers Steve
Having just announced the first-ever full digital release of THE BROTHERS STEVE's debut album #1 (due July 17 and accompanied by a new CD edition and the classic blue vinyl LP), BIG STIR RECORDS is thrilled to complement the news with a new TBS Single: a fresh mix of “Carry Me”, b/w the exclusive and never-before-heard “Lunky Do”! Both sides are out Friday, July 10 and available for pre-order at www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles now!
“Carry Me”, previously only available on the 2019 physical editions of #1, remains the best slab of biting bubblegum pop ever to namedrop the Beaver Brown Band while chiming and charming its way into your heart. According to TBS singer-guitarist (and former TSAR main man) JEFF WHALEN, “the new mix is hardly different at all, but it's way better!” The B-side “Lunky Do” has been specially recorded for this release and is part of the ongoing new sessions for the Brothers, who are hard at work on a few super-secret cover songs for star-studded tribute records yet to be announced, all pointing to the promise of album #2, whether it's to be called that or not.
Whalen is joined by the full band, co-vocalist OS TYLER, guitarist-vocalist DYLAN CHAMPION, and former Tsar collaborators, bassist JEFF SOLOMON and drummer STEVE COULTER (also of The GoAllTheWays, alongside Whalen and Rex Broome of The Armoires). It's a real renaissance for Team TBS these days: Coulter, under the pen name S.W. Lauden, has just published the second installment of his Power Pop Heist crime fiction novella series, Good Girls Don't, and Whalen's busy 2019 included not just #1 and the GATWs single but his own celebrated solo album TEN MORE SUPER ROCK HITS. It's enough momentum that we at Big Stir can't wait to hear what THE BROTHERS STEVE do next, and we're equally eager to bring it to you!
Angeline and Carolanne (Big Stir Digital Single No. 32)
The Brothers Steve
The latest BIG STIR DIGITAL single comes to us from THE BROTHERS STEVE. At once completely new to the LA pop scene and a reboot of a legendary band that prefigured the much-missed TSAR and encompasses much of that celebrated group's lineup (including JEFF WHALEN whose acclaimed 2018 release 10 MORE ROCK SUPER HITS showed him still on top of his game), the group remains otherwise shrouded in mystery. The uniquely titled Angeline and Carolanne single -- the A-side and B-side just sound too good together to name it after just one tune – is out Friday, June 28, and up for pre-order now!
www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles
All else that can be currently revealed about THE BROTHERS STEVE can be gleaned from the attached document.
Christmas Magic!
The Brothers Steve
It's that time of year again, and Big Stir is here with a holiday surprise: a brand new exclusive Christmas double A-side single from THE BROTHERS STEVE! Worthy of a title of its own, Christmas Magic! is out on – yep – Black Friday, November 29 and is available for pre-order at www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles now... and it wraps up not one but two totally new tunes from TBS, “I Love The Christmastime” and “Listen Up! It's Christmastime” in one heartwarming package. Let's let the Bros themselves explain:
“And! Tidings of great joy! Christmas will be magic again! Just in time for the holidays, The Brothers Steve explode with a double-barrel yule log of Christmas cheer and seasonal mirth with two instant holiday classics--'I Love the Christmastime' and 'Listen Up! It's Christmastime'. A pair of ear candy cane from us to you this holiday season.”
In case you somehow missed the sudden appearance of THE BROTHERS STEVE and their deserved dominance of the pop rock scene in 2019, here's a quick recap: singer-guitarist Jeff Whalen (fresh off his rapturously-received 2018 solo album 10 More Rock Super Hits) reconvened with drummer Steve Coulter and bassist Jeff Solomon, his bandmates from the beloved and much-missed TSAR, brought in the enigmatic Os Tyler (vocals) and Dylan Champion (guitar), and TBS was born. The new band burst onto the scene with a digital single on Big Stir Records followed by their initially vinyl-only debut album #1. The album's audacious mix of rock energy and bubblegum hooks took the pop world by storm.
By the time #1 was issued on CD by Supermegabot later in the year, TBS had already racked up a fistful of rave reviews (having preemptive Album of the Year honors bestowed upon by more than one noted journalist) as well as airplay and prominent chart placements on a number of respected indie radio outlets. Suddenly they were everywhere: the band debuted their dazzling live act at a pair of explosive LA gigs, the members were in print with essays from Whalen, Champion and Coulter providing highlights in the new book Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop (co-edited by Coulter, no less), while Coulter and Whalen somehow found time to form a side group, The GoAllTheWays (also including Rex Broome of The Armoires) in conjunction with the book's publication, notching up another best-selling Big Stir Digital Single in the process.
This special holiday release wraps up The Brothers Steves' flurry of 2019 activity in appropriately festive style (and kicks of a three-week run of seasonal singles releases for BSR). We're sure these are modern classics you'll be returning to for years to come! See www.thebrotherssteve.com for more about the band and keep checking back on the Big Stir Singles Series for more seasonal cheer throughout the holiday season... and thank you, friends!
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