When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 8
Where: Mojo’s
Tickets: $5
After a long first week of classes, the first weekend seemed like a shining beacon of hope: two full days where I could lie in my bed snuggling with a Pillow Pet and snacking on cookie dough bites from Emporium.
Instead, I found myself sitting on stage at a rock mini-concert, getting my eardrums blown out by deafening bass beats courtesy of the Dark Blue Dark Green at the First Annual CoMo Jams BBQ. Quite the turnaround, I know.
However, while taking in the alternate universe around me, the thing that caught my attention wasn’t a killer vocal riff or a guitar solo. Rather, it was the lead guitarist’s T-shirt that read, “Vinyl is killing the MP3 industry.”
And although I have no credibility to say whether that statement is true, Ben and Jack Falby sure do.
These two brothers and sole members of the band Dark Blue Dark Green have been making music together since they were nine, and after years of work (and a multitude of band names), they are releasing their first vinyl record this Saturday.
“People generally aren’t buying CDs anymore,” Ben Falby says. “In an age where music is free, we wanted whatever we made to feel like a real artifact. It needed to feel like it couldn’t be recreated.”
The brothers certainly had no trouble achieving that goal. The record includes nine songs that, when performed live, are a combination of previously recorded and live music, all weaved together by Ben onstage.
“It’s an electronic adventure,” Ben says.
His brother, Jack, who plays saxophone, bass and guitar, records almost every instrument beforehand so that the two can produce the sound of a full band. Ben provides vocals while operating a midi controller, which allows him to blend everything together.
“It’s electronic rock ‘n’ roll with a heavy dose of R&B,” Jack says.
Along with the nine original songs, the brothers of Dark Blue Dark Green put together an unconventional, homemade casing for the vinyl. With help from friend and former MU student Mary Sandbothe, they were able to use yucca plants to create their own paper covers, a process that took more than a year to complete.
“It’s always exciting to check out merchandise that’s more personalized,” Ben Falby says in an email. “Whether it be the material that it’s made out of or the thought that has been put into the design. Having a backstory adds depth, and depth is where it’s at in a world that all too often feels overly superficial.”
Sticking with their theme of personalization, the brothers have decided to advertise the release by handing out scraps of pressed newspaper, hand-stamped with the date and location of the show. But don’t let this seemingly nonchalant approach fool you. These boys are definitely ready to rock.
“We’re prouder than ever of this newest incarnation of our collaboration,” Ben says. “Everything’s firing on all six cylinders.”
So get your guns out, MP3 industry. With help from the Falby brothers, it looks like vinyl really is ready to fight.