Interview: Brother Moses

Brewery District music spot Victory’s Live will bring in indie rock outfit Brother Moses for a free show on Friday night.

The Fayetteville, Arkansas-based quintet, featuring James Lockhart (lead vocal and guitar), Moses Gomez (guitar), Michael Seck (drums), Matthew Heckmann (bass), and John-Lewis Anderson (keyboards and guitar), are set to release their sophomore EP, Legends, on August 26. First single “Crazy Eyes” – a dreamy, steady-pulsed rocker with an irresistibly singable refrain – made its debut early in the year. The project was produced by industry veteran and owner of L.A.’s Red Rockets Glare recording studios, Raymond Richards, and will be released by east coast label Missing Piece Records.

Lockhart and Gomez founded Brother Moses in 2014 while they were students at the University of Arkansas. They released their first EP, Thanks For Your Patience, in the spring of 2015. About the common ground that initially brought the band together, Anderson recently told Harriet Kaplan of independent music site blackonthecanvas: “I think each of us share a common core of indie rock influences, but beyond that I think we each bring a wide range of influences to the table. For example I really love 80’s music, and Matthew grew up with classical training on the cello.”

Adds Gomez: “Yeah, I think we all have the same musical background for the most part. I’m more into early 00s Portuguese music. I don’t speak Portuguese, but I do like the timbre of the singers voices.”

Lockhart explained to Kaplan that Legends is “a pretty fun and unapologetic record, I think. The title means a lot of different things to us, but mostly it’s an homage to our time spent on the road, where John-Lewis would always pitch us these crazy driving ideas, like, driving 24 hours in one sitting from Ottawa to Fayetteville, and tell us that we had to do it because we’d be ‘legends of the road.’ It’s kind of become our mantra.”

Local stoner-grunge trio Highwire Kicks and alt-Americana ensemble Tourist Trap are also on the Friday night bill.

Brother Moses will appear along with Highwire Kicks and Tourist Trap at Victory’s Live in the Brewery District (543 South High Street) on Friday, August 26 at 9:00 pm. Admission is free. More information about the band, including music downloads, videos, and tour dates can be found on their website.