Brother.
Photo Credit: Taylor Elaine Photography
Brother.’s music is broadly rooted, not sticking to one or even two genres. Instead, it smoothly strings together a diverse array of sounds. From smooth bass lines, to a softly played electric guitar, to sultry voices, to beautifully dissonant harmonies; the Utah-based band simply does it all. Consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Chuck Emery, guitarist and keyboardist Nathan Standage, guitarist Erika Goodwin, and bassist Elias Pratt, the group got its start about four years ago with their debut album Volume I. Since then, songs like “Without It” and “Too Late” have made Brother. mainstream. In the last few years, the group has toured the West Coast, as well as the UK/EU, opening for artists like Slothrust, Making Ritual, and Joshua James. We recently spoke with the quartet about the highs of being in a band, their secret talents, and more!
How did you start making music?
I, Chuck, met Erika back in 2012ish in southern Utah. We became friends and had sung and recorded some songs together. After I moved up to Northern Utah in 2015 to pursue a better music scene, my roommates and I started Brother. and jammed around some of the local venues. We were in need of some new members as we wanted to do the full band thing. I met up with Erika again and she joined the band to play guitar and bass. I met Nathan at church. He lived close and he always dressed like he was into music. I walked up to him at church and asked if he was a band guy. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “I am.” He has been playing with us ever since. He started out on drums, then moved to guitar and now is playing guitar and keys.
Elias has always been a friend of ours. He was playing bass in a band called Grey Glass when we met him and we have gone on a couple tours with them. Grey Glass broke up around the same time we were doing some other touring in Europe and in the US and he always tagged along as a groupie/roadie. We figured he has been on so many tours with us that it was time to promote him to bassist.
Where is your go-to place when it's time to song write?
I don’t necessarily have a designated place to write, but I do write quite a bit of songs on the toilet. I have a guitar that is my dedicated toilet guitar and I bring that in when it’s time to do my business. It’s a good time to be alone and have zero distractions.
Besides making music, what’s something you love to do?
Chuck: I love movies and aliens. The combination of the two is the way to my heart.
Elias: Climb, hike, read
Erika: I like to bike with my dad or skate with my friends.
Nathan: Programming, camping, watching movies, going for walks.
What’s your favorite part about being a band?
Chuck: I really enjoy recording and playing live. Nothing beats the thrill of either.
Elias: I love observing/participating in the creation of a new song. My favorite song is often the newest one that we are currently working on. For me, it’s like seeing pieces of a puzzle come together—I love trying to figure out how to make those pieces fit.
Erika: Being in a band with some talented people pushes me to be better, I’m a much better musician for it. I honestly think people with varying tastes coming together can make a pretty cool sound.
Nathan: I love everything to do with recording studios!
What's a secret talent that each of y'all have?
Chuck: I am really good at embellishing stories. Give me any story and I will give you a masterpiece.
Elias: I can make some cool origami shapes...?
Erika: I know magic tricks but I need my magic kit so don’t ask me to perform unless I have my magic kit
Nathan: I’m randomly good at yo-yoing.
It's collab time: Who are you choosing to make a song with?
We would love to work with bands like Wallows and Mini Mansions!
What’s in store for fans in the future?
We have some new songs coming out in the next couple of months that is leading up to our new album Vol. III that we are hoping to put out at the end of the year. We are really excited about this new music. We are putting a lot of cool things together for this new album!
