Brian Field started doing open mics in 2007 after having given up music for a decade or so. Then he put together a band called Traffic Violator with Courtney Robbins, Fen "Hero Alligator" Ikner, and Miguel Monroy, but didn't last all that long. Around spring of '08, he met Matt Anderson, who helped him cultivate a different sound. Matt Anderson grew up in Kansas, and was in Manhattan bands The Hard Guilt, and Egomaniacs when he lived there. Now he's got a project with his buddy Ben Laden called Awestrich. He plays guitar, writes, programs in that band. You oughta check that out. Awestrich is in our top friends when ya scroll down.
Here's a video of Brian and Courtney. One of Brian's pretty songs. Live shows with Matt are more obnoxious. But pretty in a different way. Do Not Resuscitate - Club Congress, Tucson - 2/23/08We are called "Pretty Bird. Smash." and we are hardcore anti-folk. We will melt your hearts and faces. Wanna read more? Here's some words from a couple dudes who liked Brian's solo stuff enough to write something. PB.S. press is forthcoming. Well. Hopefully.
From professor/music writer/photographer Charles Bertsch, on Mog.com about a demo he got his hands on:
“[Field] consistently steers clear of the alternative Southwestern ornaments - some would say clichés - that have dominated the indie scene here for two decades...You could say, in fact, that Field’s music goes out of its way to resist being placed, an admirable quality that could well make it more difficult for him to get the attention he deserves...In Field’s case, however, the force and specificity of his lyrical invention may yet be enough to make up for the easy ways out he tries hard not to take...At first glance, these lyrics may seem too matter-of-fact, banal even. The closer you look and the harder you listen, however, the more it becomes apparent that what seems simple here actually represents deft maneuvering to avoid the pitfalls that leave so many songwriters staring up at the jungle from six feet down...Field’s half-sung delivery and rhythm-forward acoustic guitar work sometimes reminds of The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle. But whereas the latter tends to retreat into an irony shell when things get too real, Field pushes forward in the quixotic quest for sincerity. In that regard, he reminds me more of the solo acoustic side to Hüsker Dü and Sugar’s Bob Mould.â€.. From Ben Cook, formerly of Saint Rorschach and currently of Chicago's Ghostrunner Assembly on Brian Field playing acoustic:
"If Brian Field played an electric guitar and had a full backing band, he'd be one of the loudest motherfuckers on Earth...or at least in Tucson. And I would know. But he doesn't, so you can actually hear the notes he's playing, which is really pretty cool."
.. From me: