Brown Bird

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Brown Bird
MorganEve Swain and David Lamb (2011)
MorganEve Swain and David Lamb (2011)
Background information
OriginPortland, Maine
Providence, Rhode Island
GenresFolk, Americana
Years active2003–2015
LabelsPeapod Recordings
Past membersDavid Lamb
MorganEve Swain
Jerusha Robinson
Jeremy Robinson
Mike Samos
Websitewww.brownbird.net Edit this at Wikidata

Brown Bird was an American folk music group, originally formed in 2003 in Seattle, Washington as a solo project by David Lamb. Adding and changing its membership over time, the band's final incarnation was the duo of Lamb and his wife MorganEve Swain. The band ceased in 2014 following Lamb's death from leukemia.

History[edit]

Lamb formed Brown Bird in 2003 in Seattle, Washington but moved soon thereafter[1] to Portland, Maine.[2] The line-up soon included Jerusha Robinson on cello and her husband Jeremy Robinson on multiple instruments.[2] The Robinsons left the group in 2009, leaving Lamb, MorganEve Swain on fiddle,[3] and Mike Samos on lap steel guitar and dobro[3] in the line-up.[4]

In 2010,[1] with the departure of Samos, the band became a duo.[4]

Brown Bird played the Newport Folk Festival for the first time in 2011[4] and were based in Providence, Rhode Island at the time.[1] They have toured with The Devil Makes Three.[5]

Brown Bird went on hiatus in early 2013 after David Lamb was diagnosed with leukemia.[6] Lamb died from the disease on April 5, 2014.[7]

In April 2015 Brown Bird released their final album, Axis Mundi, produced by MorganEve Swain. Most of Axis Mundi was written and demoed while David was recuperating at home from his bone marrow transplant. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Heatseeker Chart.[8] MorganEve continues to record and release music, now under the name The Huntress and the Holder of Hands. [9]

In 2021, Brown Bird's "Bilgewater" was featured as the theme song of the Syfy television series Resident Alien.[10]

Musical style[edit]

Brown Bird is influenced by American folk music, Gypsy music,[3] and bluegrass.[1] The band crosses many genres and cites their inspiration as the music they love including Middle-Eastern psych-rock from the ‘60s and ‘70s, intricate post-metal, and the music of the Balkan gypsies. [11] According to Aimsel Ponti of the Portland Press Herald "[t]heir sound is one that lives on the darker side of American folk, ensconced in Eastern European roots music."[12]

Works[edit]

  • Tautology (2007)
  • Such Unrest (Spring 2007)[13]
  • Bottom of the Sea (2008)
  • The Devil Dancing (2009)[4]
  • The Sound of Ghosts (EP, March 2011)[14]
  • Salt for Salt (October 2011)[4]
  • Fits of Reason (April 2013)
  • The Teeth of Sea and Beasts - The Poetry of Brown Bird (Book, April 2014)
  • The Brown Bird Christmas Album (November 2014)
  • Axis Mundi (April 2015)[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Interview with Providence-based multi-instrumental duo Brown Bird". Providence Examiner. October 26, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Stephanie Bouchard (January 17, 2008). "10 Maine bands to watch". Portland Press Herald. p. D10.
  3. ^ a b c Chip Chandler (November 22, 2011). "As a duo, Brown Bird loves touring together". Amarillo Globe-News.
  4. ^ a b c d e Brian Bake (December 15, 2011). "How Now Brown Bird - Brown Bird now light as a feather as duo". New Haven Advocate. p. A37.
  5. ^ Angela Sutfin (September 16, 2011). "Foot-Stomping Good Time A Promise From Rising Duo Brown Bird". The Evening Tribune (Hornell, NY).
  6. ^ Alison Geisler (August 8, 2013). "A Friend in Need - Local and regional acts come together to help one of their own". New Haven Advocate. p. A21.
  7. ^ "David Lamb of folk duo Brown Bird dies of leukemia". Providence Journal. April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Brown Bird Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  9. ^ "The Story".
  10. ^ Duguay, Rob (March 11, 2021). "Brown Bird's music lives on in Syfy series 'Resident Alien'". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "The Story".
  12. ^ Aimsel Ponti (September 22, 2011). "Humans, Space, Nirvana: the best of all worlds". Portland Press Herald. p. E6.
  13. ^ "Cheap Thrills - Brown Bird touches down for a Biddeford show". Portland Press Herald. December 20, 2007. p. D14.
  14. ^ "Brown Bird EP Release Party. May 19 at The Met". Providence Examiner. May 17, 2011.
  15. ^ Fahey, Linda (19 April 2015). "First Listen: Brown Bird, 'Axis Mundi'". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved 21 April 2015.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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