Caleb Stine and The Brakemen

calebstine.com ************************************* PRESS ************************************* "Caleb Stine and the Brakemen, an Americana ensemble out of Baltimore, play music that is appropriately trainlike—steady and powerful." The New Yorker ************************************* ". . . lynchpins in the city's folk scene." The Baltimore Sun ************************************* "'A brakeman is the guy who couples the cars on the train,' Stine says. 'I think as soon as you start talking about trains you’re alluding to a mythic America. You’re instantly talking about the kind of America that’s in the songs we’re playing.'. . . Stine’s Brakemen are a four-piece band who make music using the simple--or elemental, depending on your point of view--materials of acoustic and electric guitars, drums, and an upright bass. Stine calls their music "Americana," explaining that for him the loaded term 'encompasses the fact that it’s not just country, there’s a lot of folk elements and a lot of early rock ’n’ roll elements, but it’s all centered around American themes and American ideas.'" The City Paper ************************************* "Stine’s songs have a prominent sense of place to go with their southern, Son Volt-ish twang. He sings about crossing the border and “this dry land” in the domestic-abuse ballad “Devil,” and croons, “How little I know about you!” to the cornhusker state in “Oh, Nebraska.” The fantastic “Since Sunday” is a letter to friend who is packing off to Barcelona while the singer heads west to California. Stine’s voice is earnest and honest, and his band (with its acoustic rhythm section and discreet electric guitar lead) keeps things simple. It’s good stuff." The Urbanite