From sweet soul-slowies to psyche-rock tinged bangers to ballads with a hint of jazzy 70s R&B – Brainstory’s music is a sublime blend of Californian musical history.
The story of brothers Kevin and Tony Martin (guitar/vocals and bass) and Eric Hagstrom (drums) begins in the wasteland of California’s San Bernardino Valley, in Rialto. Inspired and conceived in California’s Inland Empire, these three found each other through the common denominator of jazz. With no real music scene to speak of in the IE, Kevin and Eric landed in music school (where they initially met) while Tony left for San Francisco to study jazz bass the more traditional way. By the mid-2010s, the trio was in Los Angeles – the birth of Brainstory.
After two EPs for Chicano Batman’s label El Relleno Records, Big Crown Records took notice of the band and released their globally acclaimed, debut album “Buck” in 2019.
The new vinyl single features “Seasons” and “Bye Bye”, a slow, sweet-soul burner—but set apart by interwoven elements of hip-hop, rock, and jazz. The two songs are the only vocal tracks from their otherwise instrumental EP “Ripe”, which will be released on June 25.
Photo: Carlos Garcia/ Big Crown Records
