The Lava Brothers profile picture

The Lava Brothers

About Me

BARACK OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO - SET TO "TODAY"
This Chicago-based band of brothers lucked into the last name of Lava and the genes of grandfather Neal Hefti, a legendary composer who wrote for Count Basie and Frank Sinatra before penning the Batman and Odd Couple themes. Two of his most famous tunes, “Lil’ Darlin’” and “Cute,” were written for the band’s (late) mother when she was a child.
As a result, the brothers grew up in a musical household where harmonizing was as routine as fighting over the front seat. Jesse and Josh played in a high school rock band together, but youngest brother Gabe, who then suffered from a single-digit age, was consistently denied in his efforts to participate. Gabe and his abilities eventually grew, of course, and as of 2007, the Lava brothers have finally become The Lava Brothers.
The band’s songs are tender yet intelligent, combining vulnerable lyrics with intricate chords and arrangements. The result is “sophisticated and soulful pop” that “fans of Rufus Wainwright and Steely Dan will find plenty to swoon over” (TimeOut Chicago). The brothers’ chemistry is particularly evident during live shows, in which the band often improvises songs and segues on the spot.
Before The Lava Brothers, Jesse was a political activist who founded a group for religious Democrats, Josh got a music composition degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, and Gabe gigged as a jazz guitarist.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/22/2007
Band Website: The one you are viewing right now.
Band Members:Jesse Lava writes, sings, and plays guitar.
Josh Lava writes, sings, and plays keyboards, drums/percussion, and guitar.
Gabe Lava plays bass.

Andy Thompson plays extra bass, drums, guitar, keyboard, and various other instruments on the new record.

Influences: The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Bach, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sufjan Stevens, Jon Brion, Ben Gibbard, REM, Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Glenn Gould, Murray Perahia, Matthew Lurie, Mike Kocour, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, David Wilhelm, Henry David Thoreau, Paul Tillich, the prophet Isaiah, Noam Chomsky, Paul Wellstone, Stephen Colbert (before he scabbed the writers’ strike), Andy Kaufman, General Zod, Non, and the woman Ursa.
Sounds Like: "Fans of Rufus Wainwright and Steely Dan will find plenty to swoon over in this local outfit's...sophisticated and soulful pop." - TimeOut Chicago

"Their shows are full of fun, including improvised songs, witty banter and name-your-price t-shirts."- Centerstage Chicago

"Well crafted and complex, mellow and laid back pop songs."- ADD Reviews
Record Label: Crooked Spin Records
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Our new Barack Obama music video!

We've got our first-ever music video -- and we're not even in it!  It's all Obama.  We're too close to a historic election to be too worried about everything else. Check it out: http://www.y...
Posted by on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:52:00 GMT

Chicago Sun Times profile

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/chicagomusic/101 2340,lava061908.article By Lauren Williamson "The Dark Knight" isn't the only Batman-related creation coming out of Chicago this year. The L...
Posted by on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:46:00 GMT

The new records seamy underbelly

The big news is we've finished and released our album, "Waking Birds Will Harmonize."  JFC, it's done.  Hours and hours spent standing over Josh's shoulder staring at the ProTools screen  o...
Posted by on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:19:00 GMT

What Jesse’s Listening To

The last couple weeks I’ve had several songs on repeat, either in my head or on iTunes.  They lead me to make faces and such while I’m listening.  Here’s the list: 1) ...
Posted by on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:14:00 GMT

The album proceeds apace

We recently had a three-day stint with our producer Andy Thompson in Minneapolis to continue work on the album.  We filled out the sound pretty well, finishing most of the drum, guitar and keyboard tr...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:55:00 GMT

Like a record...ooh ooh! [finger circle motion a la office space]

We're making a record, folks.  About a week ago we finished a four-day stint with Andy Thompson, an amazing producer and engineer from Minneapolis, during which we began work on a full-...
Posted by on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:09:00 GMT